Director of Stewardship

Director of Stewardship (and Head’s Council Liaison)

The Loomis Chaffee School is currently seeking a Director of Stewardship to join its Alumni/Development Office. The School seeks an experienced development professional to work closely with colleagues from Annual, Major, and Planned Giving to manage a stewardship program that ensures that the school’s donors are appropriately acknowledged and celebrated for their generosity. The school has a vested interest in keeping these donors informed about their investments and excited about the School’s sustained advancement.

The position requires interaction with all of the school’s constituents, including major donors, alumni, parents, faculty, and students, as well as other visitors, guests, and vendors of the school. The position also includes oversight of the school’s Head’s Council (see below).

Primary Responsibilities

• 
  Oversee and manage all aspects of the Stewardship Program within the Alumni/Development Office.
• Write and coordinate Head of School acknowledgments for leadership gifts.
• Oversee fund management for the Development Office. Manage an endowed fund database and write annual updates to donors reporting on the status of endowed funds.
• Coordinate the School’s annual stewardship of named scholarship donors.
• Create annual stewardship program for faculty support funds, facilities, and special fund donors.
• Oversee and coordinate the production of the Annual Report and, when appropriate, Campaign report(s).
• Oversee and coordinate donor recognition events, dedications, and special projects.
• Notify surviving family members of all memorial gifts; notify honoree of tribute gifts. Coordinate condolence and congratulations letters from the Head of School.
• Manage inventory of named spaces on campus to ensure consistency. Oversee design, production, and installation of commemorative plaques on campus. Monitor a campus wide adherence to specific plaque aesthetics and wording.
• Work closely with the Office of Strategic Communication to enhance, create, update, and, when necessary, write content for the development portion of the school’s website and alumni magazine.
• Facilitate contact, including school visits, between donors and beneficiaries of their support including scholarship recipients and faculty receiving professional development and prize funds.
• Proactively inform Development Officers of any professional or personal developments related to prospects/donors or their respective student/faculty/facility beneficiaries on campus.
• Serve as liaison to the Head’s Council, a 50-member advisory council to the Head of School that meets twice per year, once in New York City and once on campus. Responsibilities include:
  • Strategize with Head of School regarding topics for each meeting
  • Oversee the logistical details of each meeting
  • Manage recruitment of new members
  • Steward current members through various communications between meetings
• Perform other duties, as assigned.

Qualifications:

• 
  5-10 years of related professional experience, preferably, but not limited to, work in development at an independent school or in higher education.
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Detail-oriented approach and the ability to multi-task while remaining highly organized.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, as well as excellent customer service skills.
• Proficiency with all Microsoft applications, including Excel and merge applications, as well as experience working with a variety of database systems is required.
• Experience with Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge preferred.
• Positive attitude, a high-level of self-motivation, and a strong, responsible work ethic. Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team, to think ahead and be a problem-solver.
• Demonstrated ability to efficiently manage several work assignments and tasks simultaneously and to prioritize work in a fast-paced environment. Excellent telephone, customer service, and relationship skills.
• Willingness to work occasional evenings/weekends as necessary.

Loomis Chaffee provides a comprehensive benefits package, which includes a variety of health insurance offerings, dental, vision, life, and short and long-term disability offerings, HSA/FSA options, and retirement benefits.

The Loomis Chaffee School is an independent, coeducational boarding/day school of 725 students and 170 faculty members, located in the historic town of Windsor, Connecticut. Chartered in 1874, the school provides an academically challenging curriculum within a supportive community that affirms individual beliefs and differences. Need-based financial aid is currently awarded to 33 percent of the student body.