Major Gift Officer

The Rivers School — a 6-12 co-ed independent day school in Weston, MA, just outside Boston — seeks professionals who are looking to join a dynamic, innovative, and welcoming school community.

Position Purpose:

The Rivers School is seeking a full-time Major Gift Officer, who will be responsible for developing strategies to identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward long-term relationships with key donor prospects. Through face-to-face solicitations, the frontline fundraiser will be responsible for generating revenue in the form of annual, major, and planned gifts. This position will be pivotal in Rivers' upcoming comprehensive capital campaign to support the newly developed strategic plan. These efforts will aim to enhance the overall experience of Rivers' students, parents and caregivers, and the professional community.

Essential Job Functions:

• Manage an assigned portfolio of approximately 80 prospects, who have the capacity to give $100,000 or more through identifying, qualifying, cultivating, and soliciting prospects for annual, major, and planned gifts, as well as meet departmental metrics, including 120 annual meetings with prospects.
• Participate in the development of overall fundraising strategies, as well as prepare written and oral presentations and proposals.
• Participate and manage all aspects of building donor relations and solicitation of gifts.
• Assist the Director of Development in managing the planned giving program with annual goals for growing the number of members in The Nonesuch Society.
• Collaborate with the Director of Annual Giving to solicit top annual fund gifts.
• Ensure donors are appropriately thanked and stewarded by the office.
• Establish and build relationships with the professional community to better represent the school.
• Other duties as assigned with night and weekend work on occasion.

Qualifications:

Qualified candidates will hold a Bachelor's degree and have at least three to five years of fundraising or transferable experience, preferably in an educational setting. An understanding and appreciation of independent schools is preferred.

Required Skills:

• Must have exceptional writing and communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and presentation skills.
• High level of fluency with Raiser’s Edge NXT, Google Suite, and Microsoft Office.
• Ability to organize and prioritize work, multi-task, and work with many people on different projects—from administrators, professional community members, volunteers, parents/caregivers, and alumni.
• Maintain a high level of confidentiality and professionalism.
• Must be a collegial, flexible, and collaborative team player.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Rivers encourages interest from candidates who will enrich the diversity of identity, experience, and perspectives among our professional and school community. Rivers offers BIPOC affinity, LGBTQ+ affinity, and white allyship spaces for professionals, as well as institutional professional development to support and enrich our work around equity and access.

Research shows that people belonging to structurally marginalized groups often only apply to jobs if they meet 100% of the qualifications. As no one ever meets 100% of the qualifications, we encourage you to apply if you feel that most of the above qualifications reflect your experience and expertise.