Director, Athletic Annual Giving and Leadership Gifts

Title:
Director, Athletic Annual Giving and Leadership Gifts

Department:
SVP Advancement

Reports To:
Senior Vice President of Advancement

Position Type:
Staff

Position Summary:
NJIT Departments of University Advancement and Athletics seeks a dynamic and strategic advancement professional to serve as the Director of Athletic Annual Giving and Leadership Gifts. Reporting to the Executive Director of Athletic Development, this position plays a critical leadership role in designing, implementing, and managing annual giving programs that drive philanthropic support for Highlander Athletics.

The Director will lead the planning and execution of comprehensive annual giving strategies to expand donor participation, increase contributions, and strengthen overall engagement. This includes overseeing annual campaigns, giving days, sport-specific fundraising, and other donor acquisition and retention initiatives. The position will also manage a small portfolio of Leadership Circle donors ($1,000+) in addition to working in collaboration with the Alumni office on sport specific alumni events.

The successful candidate will combine strong leadership, strategic planning, and relationship-building skills to inspire donors and enhance support for NJIT student-athletes. This position requires the ability to analyze donor trends, develop innovative programs, manage events, and oversee communications that foster long-term donor loyalty. Evening, weekend, and occasional regional or national travel are required.

Essential Functions:

• Lead annual giving strategy by developing, implementing, and evaluating comprehensive programs to increase donor participation and annual contributions.
• Direct annual campaigns and sport-specific fundraising initiatives, collaborating with University Advancement and internal partners to maximize outreach and participation.
• Analyze donor trends and leverage data-driven insights to identify opportunities for donor acquisition, retention, and growth.
• Lead annual giving events and engagement activities designed to build loyalty, recognize donors, and enhance long-term relationships.
• Manage communications and appeals to effectively engage donors through website, email, social media, print, and other outreach channels.
• Promote the student-athlete experience in all initiatives, ensuring alignment with the mission and values of NJIT Athletics.

Prerequisite Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in fundraising, annual giving, development, or advancement.
• Demonstrated experience planning and executing annual giving campaigns and donor engagement initiatives.
• Experience managing a donor portfolio, including cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding leadership annual donors.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret donor data and identify trends.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing donor appeals and campaign messaging.
• Proven ability to build and maintain effective relationships with donors, alumni, volunteers, staff, and campus partners.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment while managing multiple priorities.
• Availability to work evenings, weekends, and travel as needed.
• At the university's discretion, the education and experience prerequisites may be exempted where the candidate can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the university, an equivalent combination of education and experience specifically preparing the candidate for success in the position.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree.
• Experience in higher education or intercollegiate athletics development.
• Proficiency in CRM or donor management systems (e.g., Banner, Ellucian, Raiser's Edge, Salesforce).
• Experience managing events and engagement activities tied to annual giving or donor recognition.
• Familiarity with digital fundraising platforms, multi-channel outreach strategies, and donor segmentation best practices.

Bargaining Unit:
Non-Aligned

Range/Band:
5

Salary Information:
In compliance with the NJ Pay Transparency Law, the annual salary range for this position is $85,000.00-$100,000.00 (USD). NJIT considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as, market and organizational considerations when extending an offer. This pay range represents base pay only and excludes any additional items such as incentives, bonuses or other items.

To learn more about the comprehensive benefits NJIT offers for this position, please visit our benefits page: https://hr.njit.edu/health-benefits.

FLSA:
Exempt
Full-Time