Corporate Relations Director - Higher Ed. jobs in New Jersey

The Rutgers University Foundation (RUF) seeks an entrepreneurial and creative fundraising professional to serve as its next Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for Rutgers University - Camden. The Director will provide strategic planning and service to the Rutgers-Camden community and act as a strategic partner in realizing full leadership in developing, managing, and sustaining the university's relationships with corporate partners and private foundations. In this role, the Director will work with the Chancellor of the Camden campus, Vice Chancellor for Advancement, deans, faculty, and directors of development in identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding corporate gifts for Rutgers-Camden. They will perform professional work that requires detailed specialized knowledge in writing, editing, and advising on proposals while managing a portfolio of corporate and foundation funders and staff on-campus visits and visits to corporations and foundations. With an increased emphasis on corporate and foundation giving, the Director will prioritize identifying the greatest areas of opportunity for funding that support the Rutgers University mission.

Reporting to the Vice Chancellor for Advancement, Rutgers-Camden, the Director serves as a member of a team of professionals charged with leading Rutgers University – Camden’s advancement program. In this role, the Director works with university leadership and faculty to identify areas of excellence and cross-disciplinary initiatives that align with the interests of corporate and foundation giving prospects. The Director is responsible for building strategies, building cross-disciplinary collaborations, and developing solicitations for a portfolio of 20-30 institutions committed to the critical mission of Rutgers University – Camden.

Essential Functions

• Collaborate with university leadership, deans, directors, key faculty, and administrators to develop solicitation and stewardship strategies for select corporations and foundations.
• Meet with faculty and university leadership regularly to map core institutional capabilities that are of interest to corporations and foundations. Must be able to collaborate with a broad range of university deans, directors, and faculty across all disciplines and campuses.
• Secure, design, and execute visits with corporations and foundations showcasing novel programs and core capabilities. Ability to translate faculty research and academic programs into clear and effective presentations.
• Serve as primary point of contact internally and externally with key corporations and foundations leading the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship processes involving university leadership, faculty, deans, University and Rutgers University Foundation senior administrations, and staff, as needed.

• Proactively work to build consensus on solicitation strategies, including driving decision-making, navigating complex organizational systems to produce positive outcomes, managing existing and identifying new corporate and foundation prospects that reflect the changing landscape of philanthropy.

• Provide leadership and departmental representation on fundraising committees and cross-functional initiatives. Organize and manage information from multiple internal and external sources to prepare rationale and recommendations.
• The individual must keep abreast of the complex and dynamic external environment and be able to adjust priorities and approach accordingly. The individual must master various research, prospect management, and fundraising tools. At professional forums, the individual represents Rutgers University—Camden and the Rutgers University Foundation.

• Provide guidance and insights that contribute to the strategic direction of corporate fundraising; ability to motivate, support, and manage multiple priorities in a positive, collaborative manner. Effectively communicate and translate (in verbal and written terms) complex concepts into layman’s terms;

• Lead other projects as assigned by the Vice Chancellor to advance the goals of the development and alumni engagement team.

Skills and Abilities

Consistency

• Execute, devise and implement an increasingly complex project portfolio
• Meet and exceed the team’s defined roles and responsibilities within the department/project/program
• Successfully execute, devise and implement increasingly complex constituent/stakeholder strategies

Contributions

• Set the operational goals of the department/project/program
• Sustain strong working relationships with internal and external partners
• Advance the mission of the department/Rutgers through innovative ideas
• Demonstrate an ability to create increasingly complex constituent/stakeholder strategies and work collaboratively across the organization
• Recruit and effectively manage volunteers

Competencies

• Demonstrate the ability to operate autonomously
• Demonstrate the ability to manage projects, sub-unit(s) or a team
• Demonstrate the ability to work on projects across the university
• Demonstrate the ability to oversee university leadership directives

Leadership

• Lead a comprehensive strategy for a department/project/program
• Demonstrate the ability to successfully manage and lead a team in a way that maximizes potential of each team member

Education/Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and five years of relevant corporate fundraising experience
• Demonstrated ability to provide leadership and strategic direction and motivate, guide, support, and manage multiple priorities in a positive, collaborative environment.
• An understanding of and appreciation for higher education and a commitment to the values and role of a public research university; ability to translate and create interest in University programs, research, and priorities to external constituencies
• Excellent interpersonal communication and organizational skills
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a team environment
• Excellent grammatical skills: lively, engaging writing style, and demonstrated ability to create correspondence for large groups
• Excellent presentation skills and an understanding of Microsoft Office and experience with non-profit CRMs
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing
• Ability to maintain a positive and professional attitude working across Foundation and university staff
• Ability to work under pressure of deadlines and maintain an extremely high level of attention to detail and professionalism

Mental Demands

Clarity of focus while juggling complex projects or deadlines.

Working Conditions

This position requires little physical effort. Will work evenings, weekends, or odd hours to meet resource-raising commitments. Typical working conditions with an absence of disagreeable elements. This position requires some early mornings and late evenings to accommodate meetings, travel, events, and external constituent’s schedules.

Workplace Arrangements

This is classified as an office-centric hybrid position. Colleagues working under an office-centric hybrid arrangement have a primary workstation in a university or foundation location and are in the office between one and five days a week. The frequency with which they are present in the office depends on their role and function and the interdependency of other functions. As a leadership position, there is a need to be in the office often to facilitate personal interaction – likely 3 or more days per week. 

Benefits

• Office-centric hybrid work schedule
• Comprehensive medical
• Comprehensive no cost dental, and no cost vision insurance for employee and dependents
• 403(b) plan with matching employer contribution
• Accrual of three weeks of annual vacation time, in addition to accrual of five wellness days each year
• Nine holidays, as well as four flex days
• Parental leave
• Significant tuition reductions
• Professional development is highly valued at the Rutgers University Foundation, where employees are encouraged to look across the organization to develop new skills and abilities for professional career progression
• $40 monthly cell phone reimbursement

Rutgers University Foundation

Founded in 1973, Rutgers University Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization whose sole mission is to advance Rutgers’ pursuit of excellence in education, research, and public service. By providing the bridge between donors and the schools and programs, faculty, and students that make up the university, RUF inspires philanthropic support, fosters connections with alumni and friends, and empowers Rutgers to better the world.

Equal Employment Opportunity

It is Foundation policy to provide equal employment opportunity to all its employees and applicants for employment regardless of their race, creed, color, national origin, age, ancestry, nationality, marital or domestic partnership or civil union status, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, disability status, liability for military service, protected veteran status, affectional or sexual orientation, atypical cellular or blood trait, genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing), or any other category protected by law. As an institution, we value diversity of background and opinion, and prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of any legally protected class in the areas of hiring, recruitment, promotion, transfer, demotion, training, compensation, pay, fringe benefits, layoff, termination or any other terms and conditions of employment.