Advancement Officer - Student Initiatives

The anticipated hiring range for this position is $60,000 to $69,000.  Hiring offers will be determined based on the final candidate’s qualifications and experience.  The recruiter can share more information about what the anticipated hiring salary would be based upon your specific qualifications during the selection process. 

The CIA offers a substantial benefits package that includes medical coverage available at no cost to qualifying employees, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, short and long term disability insurance, retirement savings plan with high employer contributions, a generous paid time off program, and more!

As the benefits package at the CIA results in a significant value above the base hiring salary for this position, we encourage you to apply so that our recruiters can share more information with you about the benefits of working for the CIA.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Advancement Officer – Student Initiatives is an integral part of the Culinary Institute of America’s (CIA’s) Advancement Corporate Relations (CR) team.  As a member of a dynamic team of dedicated, goal-oriented fundraising professionals, the Advancement Officer manages a highly integrated approach to the strategic and financial goals of the Institute. The Officer is responsible for managing the fundraising program for the college’s Annual Student Activities Program (ASAP), Student Cook-Off Events, Student & Campus Living activities, and select partnerships.  In addition, the Officer will be responsible for the identification, cultivation, and solicitation of flagship fundraiser events, special-purpose gifts, and management of a growing portfolio. The Officer will also develop, coordinate and manage Corporate Relations accounting tools. The Officer will work cross-functionally with CIA’s branch campuses, and work to secure a revenue target of $750,000 or more.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Fundraising

• Category lead for ASAP, Student Cook-Off Events, Student and Campus Living activities which result in a minimum of $600K in annual support.
• Responsible for identification, cultivation, development, management, and solicitation of annual support with an additional portfolio goal of $150K generating gifts for various Advancement initiatives.
• Maintain master pipeline targets for all budgeted program categories and event initiatives. Lead in identifying donors for the various areas.
• Cultivate donors by hosting campus visits and tours, business meetings and other experiences that facilitate prospects towards giving and donors to increase funding activity.
• Develop and manage a portfolio of up to 250 donors, meeting and exceeding institutional performance metrics while monitoring progress towards achieving revenue goals.
• Coordinate Corporate Relation’s updates to Advancement’s Master Revenue Tracker (Forecast) and ensure corporate records in Advancement’s and the Corporate Relations Manager’s (CRM’s) donor databases are up to date.
• Review and verify the daily and weekly contributions batch as it relates to corporate constituents. Ensure appropriate prospect managers are assigned to Managers portfolio.
• Create, send and follow up on Corporate Relations solicitations and communication vehicles as needed. Effectively communicate with a vast audience of industry leaders representing the following: C-Suite, Marketing, Business Development, Sales and Culinary teams.
• Become familiar with, and stay abreast of, analogous corporate engagement programs in higher education and nonprofits to contribute to the development of new strategies and identify new prospect communities.

Management

• Manage overall operations of the ASAP, a select group of 28 corporate supporters, delivering multi-year brand activations to New York and California (Greystone) campuses, resulting in execution of over 45 annual events.
• Manage overall operations of Student Cook-Off’s, encompassing five signature events across all branch campuses, New York, California and Texas.
• Manage overall operations of Student and Campus Life initiatives, including CIA’s Student Charity Dinner events resulting in 6 fundraisers per year. In addition, overseeing Week of Welcome Meals, Student Gifts & Raffles, Student Clubs, Faculty & Staff Appreciation events, Student Special Project Days and other campus life events.
• Work collaboratively with Corporate Relations Coordinator to ensure successful event/program execution, and sponsorship fulfillment.
• Act as primary liaison with Student Affairs and work closely with that team to determine donor support and engagement opportunities based on the Student Affairs activity calendar.
• Establish and maintain standard operating procedures (SOP’s) and manage a comprehensive stewardship plan as it relates to these programs, ensuring that appropriate policies and procedures are in place for all initiatives.
• Manage on-going student initiatives across all campuses with a focus on growing and expanding the activities and sponsorship base.
• Provide support to Corporate Relations team, with an emphasis on the student initiatives Gift-in-Kind bookings and reconciliation process to back-up monthly closing procedures.
• Support the development of donor proposals, reports, and presentations including editing and writing of donor correspondence.
• Foster cross-functional collaborative relationships and communications across all CIA campuses utilizing best practices for matching donor interest with institutional priorities.
• Collaborate regularly with CR team to focus on business development for overall student initiatives platforms and to constantly build CR pipeline. Monitor progress towards achieving revenue goals.
• Perform any and all other duties as assigned and required by The Culinary Institute of America.

Stewardship

• Responsible for stewardship of individual’s portfolio and works with CR team as needed for support.
• Collaborate with Advancement Communications Sr. Manager to develop cohesive stewardship strategies for each Student Initiatives program.
• Lead the development of the annual Corporate Relations briefing to send to constituents engaged with ASAP events and post-event stewardship emails following each Cook-Off.
• Lead the development of Student Initiative case studies and various materials needed for the recognition and stewardship of donors.
• Contribute to the Corporate Relations Resource Center on the CIA Advancement website – working though Sr. Manager of Communications.
• Collaborate with CR team on monthly CR Donor Report Cards and provide input to weekly Marketing/Communication meetings.
• Maintain updated corporate contacts and track progress utilizing Millennium, Crystal reports and prospect tracking system.

Events & Outreach

• Support on-campus corporate events as outlined in above responsibilities relating to ASAP, Cook-Off’s, and Student & Campus Living.
• Develop relationships with portfolio constituents who can help advance the CIA’s major events and initiatives within Officer’s scope of responsibility and for key programs, such as, Leadership Awards, Thomas Keller Golf Classic, Alumni events and CIA’s Thought Leadership conferences.
• Participation and support for Advancement-wide events throughout the year (i.e. Leadership Awards, Society for Fellows, Alumni Weekend/”Run For Your Knives” and others as needed).
• Attend industry foodservice conferences throughout the year.
• Any and all other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, Business, Finance or related field.   

Experience:

• Two (2) to three (3) years of progressive experience working in advancement, fund-raising, sales, marketing, business development or a related field with documented success matrix.
• Successful track record to date in previous corporate and organizational roles, producing superior results.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Previous experience or knowledge of Advancement/Development and basic principles and techniques relevant to fundraising.
• Previous experience in foodservice and/or hospitality industry, or higher education strongly preferred.
• Well versed within the foodservice industry and have experience with event planning.
• Previous marketing or business development experience.
• Computer experience to have included use of Millennium, Raiser’s Edge, Sales Force, or other Advancement software and systems (i.e. Crystal Reports).  

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Strong teamwork and interpersonal skills; ability to be adaptable, dependable and handle multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Excellent Customer Service.
• Must display a high level of energy and self-motivation.
• Demonstrated passion for project and event management.
• Exceptional organizational skills.
• Detail oriented and thorough.
• Demonstrate strong facilitation and presentation skills.
• Excellent written, verbal communication, and presentation skills required. Must have demonstrated ability in organizational, time management, problem solving and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to have an approach to problem solving that is highly collegial and positive in outlook and approach.
• Strong teamwork and interpersonal skills, ability to be adaptable, dependable and handle multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Ability to interpret and articulate vision.
• Ability to use sound judgment and discretion in handling sensitive Advancement information with confidentiality and discretion.
• Strong computer experience, which must include abilities to work effectively with e-Learning systems, fund-raising database systems and MS Office suite products, i.e. Word, Excel, Advanced skills in Power Point required.
• Must be able to work in a fast-paced environment with demonstrated ability to juggle multiple competing tasks and demands.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Must be available to work nights and weekends as required due to business needs.
• Regular work requires a great deal of sitting and standing for extended periods.
• Regular work requires the use of a computer, sometimes in excess of eight (8) hours per day.
• Ability to travel due to business needs.