Description:

The Director of Development and Community Engagement is responsible for providing leadership and strategically managing all the School’s fundraising programs as adopted by the Board of Trustees and directed by the Headmaster. This individual oversees all fundraising—annual, capital, planned giving, endowment, and special events—as well as constituency relations and volunteer coordination.

Additionally, this individual is responsible for preparing and monitoring the development budget and generating annual goals and objectives. Other responsibilities include collaboration with the marketing/communications department as it relates to development, and to other departments as part of an integrated approach to Lausanne’s overall advancement efforts.

The Director of Development reports directly to the Headmaster, and works closely with the Board of Trustees, especially with Committee on Trustees and Development Committee. This individual works with a broad range of Board members, administrative colleagues, faculty, students, alumni, parents, grandparents, and community members. This individual participates in the policy-making of Lausanne as a member of the senior administrative team. This is a full-time, 12-month administrative position.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Develops and implements strategic development plans, programs, and campaign initiatives to expand and strengthen the school’s current base of philanthropic support
• Educates the school’s constituencies about development and fund-raising activities
• Leads major gift strategies: coordinates the identification, cultivation, solicitation, recognition, and stewardship of Lausanne’s top prospects
• Proactively develops, provides, and supports individualized solicitation plans for the Headmaster, Trustees, other volunteer leaders, Division Heads, and faculty
• Manages and guides the Development Office team, setting clear objectives, providing regular feedback, and encouraging open and on-going communication both within the office and with other key departments
• Directs the day-to-day activities of the Development Office and ensures that administrative systems and procedures such as database management, solicitations, stewardship, and prospect research function smoothly and efficiently.
• Keeps the Headmaster, Administration, and Development Committee informed with accurate and timely information regarding fundraising activities and progress toward established goals
• Staffs the Board’s Development Committee and the Committee on Trustees, offering them guidance, status reports, and support
• Plans and implements all aspects of campaigns (e.g. capital, endowment, or comprehensive) and/or an ongoing major gifts program
• Develops a planned giving program
• Sets annual and strategic goals for, and plans, develops, and coordinates the expense budget of, the Development Office
• Plans and implements approaches to potential foundation funders and to potential corporate/business prospect sponsors
• In partnership with the Communications team and with the involvement of the Development staff, creates and executes a strategic communications plan for donors, alumni, parents of alumni, and past trustees incorporating direct mail, social media, texting, e-mail, web pages and print publications.
• Cultivates an active and supportive relationship with the alumni of Lausanne Collegiate School by assertively building relationships locally and regionally, uncovering attachments, values and potential interests; encouraging active participation in local and regional events and communicating regularly with regional and class agents
• Manages the relationship between the Lausanne Alumni Network and the School, including its volunteers: the Alumni Board and regional, decade and class representatives.
• With the support of the Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs, oversees local and regional events for alumni, parents of alumni, and past faculty and staff, including Alumni Weekend and regional alumni gatherings, among others.

Qualifications and Characteristics: 

• Ten years of non-profit management experience or a minimum of five years of experience within the independent school sector as a Director or other supervisory level
• Possesses a broad knowledge of fund-raising principles and successful development programs  Goal oriented, results-driven fundraiser.
• Demonstrated ability to develop strategies to achieve the institution’s goals, while understanding the school’s strengths, challenges and capacities
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to vary writing style to meet needs and presents numerical data effectively
• A good listener with great interpersonal skills
• Includes staff in planning and decision-making, develops direct reports’ skills and encourages growth, improves processes and continually works to improve supervisory skills
• Shows respect for, and sensitivity toward, cultural differences and educates others on the value of diversity

Lausanne Collegiate School is a pre- K – 12 non-sectarian, co-educational independent day school of 800 students, located in Memphis, Tennessee. Its mission is “to prepare each of its students for college and life in a global environment.” As an International Baccalaureate World School it enjoys the reputation of having a premiere combination of excellent academic, athletic and artistic programs, serving students from all over the Memphis area, the United States and over 55 different countries. The success of the nurturing environment created by “The Lausanne Way” and the unique process approach to education offered through Lausanne’s innovative, student-centered, college preparatory and global education for boys and girls has resulted in tremendous success for our graduates.

Lausanne’s Commitment to Diversity:

Lausanne is a community that will never tolerate any form of discrimination, intolerance or ignorance from its students, faculty/staff/administration, parents or any other Lausanne community members. We promote diversity and inclusion within all areas of our community. Therefore, as an educational institution, Lausanne’s goal is to foster a community that evokes positive change in the world.