Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, a private, Catholic, college-preparatory school in Olney, MD, seeks a talented professional to serve as its Director of Advancement Services. Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer, the Director of Advancement Services works collaboratively with teammates to define, plan, and advance the philanthropic, stewardship, and constituent engagement goals of the Advancement team and school. The Director of Advancement Services must have a demonstrated record of adapting new technologies, meeting deadlines, collaborating effectively on a team, and thriving in a fast-paced environment. The Director of Advancement Services manages the school’s donor database (Raiser’s Edge NXT), data services, and operations including gift recording and acknowledgments, financial reconciliation, biographical data maintenance, prospect tracking, reporting, data insertion and extraction, list production for publication, and database software support. The ideal candidate has a high degree of analytical skill coupled with strong communication to effectively collaborate with front-line fundraisers to achieve philanthropic goals. The Director of Advancement Services leads the interpretation and translation of complex data for the optimal use and benefit of front-line fundraisers. This position also assists with the operations and stewardship of scholarships and special projects.

Essential Functions

• Serve as the lead database manager for the advancement office, which uses Raiser’s Edge NXT. Manage Raiser’s Edge NXT integration with other technology platforms.
• Conceptualize, develop, and deploy data integration solutions to support school business goals.
• Promote positive donor relations by helping to ensure the accuracy, confidentiality and integrity of biographical, demographical, gift records and other information. Work with other members of the Advancement team to track donors and prospects in the database.
• Spearhead Advancement team policies and procedures for database management. Keep current with all system updates and training. Routinely update and maintain policies and procedures manual. Stay at the forefront of best practices and procedures for database management and development services to ensure the appropriate level of leadership and support.
• Design, execute, and maintain customized database reports, lists, and queries to support the Advancement Office and to fulfill requests for information from other institutional departments. Further utilize the database to build queries for Advancement communications.
• Develop and maintain a suite of reports to monitor and measure fundraising performance for the Chief Advancement Officer, Business Office and, as required, other departments in the school.
• Assist with the prospect and donor research program in support of annual and campaign fundraising plans and goals using web research and DonorSearch to help identify prospects.
• Prepare monthly financial reports to reconcile Advancement Office records with the Business Office. Work closely with the Business Office team on reconciling donor gifts for each month, as well as for the school’s annual audit and tax return.
• Manage all Advancement database-related procedures, functions, records, analytics, and data integrity.
• Perform the more complex database functions and provide support and guidance to all colleagues who use the databases.
• Work with other administrative departments, school operations teams, and colleagues as needed.
• Use quantitative analysis tools to assemble, analyze, and draw conclusions from data.
• Document and maintain procedures, workflows, processes, and complex functions.
• Prepare financial reporting as needed for Board of Director meetings, Advancement Committee meetings, as well as data-driven surveys to CASE, NAIS, AIMS, and peer schools.
• Serve as a liaison with Blackbaud, Give Campus, Graduway, DonorSearch, charitable matching gift companies, Network Merchants, etc. to help manage these vendor relationships.
• Assist with the operations of the scholarship administrative processes and the stewardship of scholarship donors.
• Assist with the development of event briefings to include adding bio information about key donors, prospects, and attendees.
• Attend and assist with all Advancement team events and selected school-wide events involving some evenings and weekends.

Qualifications

A Bachelor’s degree is required with three to five years of experience in advancement services, preferably in a higher-education or independent school setting. The successful candidate will have an understanding of fundraising, charitable giving, and have proven success in the implementation and the streamlining of processes to positively affect operational outcomes. Professionalism, discretion, and the ability to deal with confidential information are vital in this role

Required Skills and Abilities

• Strong ability to organize and prioritize work, be proactive, take initiative, resolve problems, follow-through, and simultaneously manage multiple priorities to ensure goals are met in a timely manner.
• Comfort and effectiveness translating between end-users needs and database output. Must be able to understand development and alumni team members’ needs so as to accurately translate their requests into effective queries and reports.
• Knowledge of charitable giving, applicable tax laws,the fundraising process, and non-profit accounting.
• Skill in making presentations and training individuals in software applications.
• Demonstrated experience in managing constituent relationship management systems.
• Excellent organizational ability and analytical skills.
• Advanced knowledge and skill in Excel and Google Sheets
• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to work cooperatively and collaboratively with colleagues.
• Experience using Raiser’s Edge NXT in a non-profit setting is preferred.
• Previous experience with system conversion responsibilities and knowledge of accounting principles is preferred.

Required Work Hours 

A minimum of forty hours per week, plus other hours as may be necessary to complete job duties including occasional travel, evening and weekend work.

Non-Discrimination

Our Lady of Good Counsel High School does not discriminate in its educational and employment policies on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policy: Evelyn Nicholas at [email protected].

How to apply

• All applications should be emailed to Julie Potter, Chief Advancement Officer, [email protected].
• Complete applications shall include:
  • cover letter;
  • resume;
  • contact information for three professional references.
• Review of applications will begin immediately upon receipt with priority consideration by Wednesday, June 30. Only complete applications submitted via email will be considered.