Job Description: 

Reporting to the Principal Gifts Officer, the Donor Relations Officer for Principal Gifts is the primary central officer in the Principal Gifts Office charged with creating and carrying out programs to ensure Virginia Tech properly stewards its highest-level donors who have the capacity to make transformative gifts. The individual will serve as a visible frontline connection for the University’s principal gift donors to fulfill obligations to them and to ensure and reward ongoing support. Principal gifts donors are defined as having the capacity to give $5 million or more. The Donor Relations Officer for Principal Gifts will work closely with the Senior Associate Vice President for Advancement, the Vice President for Advancement, the President, the Provost, the Deans and with other key academic leaders to set short- and long-term donor-centric strategies and develop initiatives to advance each donor’s meaningful connection to the university.

Required Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree and experience working in fundraising or for a non-profit organization, or Master’s degree.
• Demonstrated project management experience, including managing multiple high-level projects simultaneously and carrying out projects from a self-initiated idea to a successful conclusion.
• Demonstrated experience in organizing, motivating, and working effectively with senior administrators, faculty, staff, institutional boards, volunteers, and/or donors.
• Demonstrate a broad knowledge of fund-raising concepts and the ability to think strategically about moving individuals across the spectrum of prospect development.
• Willingness to occasionally travel nationally for the purpose of donor relations or stewardship needs.
• Demonstrated excellent communication skills, specifically writing agendas, memos, and/or correspondence.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Experience working with high-capacity donors in a university setting, or relevant experience.
• Demonstrated experience using Blackbaud, or similar CRM database, or related systems to enter and extract data as it relates to the duties of the position.
• Preference for proven success in problem-solving using an analytical aptitude with minimal supervision.
• Experience in developing cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for high-level prospects who have the capacity to make transformative gifts.

Salary Information: Commensurate with Experience

Additional Information: The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check as well as documentation of COVID-19 vaccination or receive approval from the university for a vaccination exemption due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief.

Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, or military status, or otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of other employees or applicants, or on any other basis protected by law.