Career Center

King School is a PreK-12 independent, college preparatory day school located in Stamford that serves the diverse families of Fairfield and Westchester counties. King School seeks more than achievement for our students. We open minds and spark courageous thinking. Everyday, our students discover and forge their unique paths to excellence as we teach, guide, and cheer them on. Because when we set better standards for both the experience and outcomes of education, students cultivate the insights and heart to own their future. 

At King, we seek to employ faculty and staff who love working with children, have passion for and expertise in their subject matter, exhibit a growth mindset, embrace the multidimensional roles we each play, and prioritize the learning process for students, staff, and faculty. 

Diversity is foundational to academic and professional excellence, and therefore is a core value at King. We think, learn, and work more deeply due to the many facets of diversity in our community, including but not limited to gender, race, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, age, ability, and learning style. We leverage cultural differences and intellectual diversity to create an inclusive and vibrant learning community, endeavoring for each person to feel seen, heard, valued, and respected.

Job Title: Director of Annual Giving

Division: Development

Reports to: Director of Development

Job Description: The Director of Annual Giving will provide strategic leadership for creating, executing, and evaluating a year-round annual giving program which is expected to achieve yearly growth as a key initiative of King School’s upcoming comprehensive campaign. The Director will also establish and manage both short- and long-term relationships with prospects determined to have the ability to make outright gifts or pledges of $5,000 or more to King School. He or she will also inspire and work collaboratively with all community and team members to champion a robust annual giving program. 

Primary responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• The Director of Annual Giving will oversee the strategic development of a comprehensive fundraising plan and appeal schedule for the King School’s annual giving program: the King Fund. The FY22 public King Fund goal is $2.0M.
• Create and manage a more robust volunteer program including parents and alumni. This includes, but is not limited to, overseeing overall engagement of the King Fund Leadership Committee including leveraging their outreach and running frequent committee meetings. 
• Write compelling pieces for solicitation, cultivation and stewardship that clearly express King’s mission and goals.
• Create and administer the school’s King Fund plan and budget, including generation of department goals and priorities related to the King Fund. 
• Develop and align plans and strategies to fulfill established annual giving fundraising targets, including the senior parent gift program and Champions Scholarship Program through the effective implementation and integration of all available solicitation channels, including direct mail, e-mail, social media, web-based/crowdfunding, phone, and personal appeals.
• Identify and deploy new tools and strategies currently not in use at King to solicit and engender philanthropic support.
• Work strategically with the development team and board to identify, cultivate, solicit and steward prospects/donors who have the ability to execute leadership-level annual fund gifts.
• Execute moves management of 100 to 150 prospects within an individual giving portfolio ($5,000-$49,999) to areas such as the King Fund and other budget-relieving areas such as “current use” scholarships.
• Conduct asks and close solicitations in partnership with Board members, volunteers and School leaders.
• Envision and build a team to execute giving events and other concentrated King Fund strategies such as #GiveKingTuesday and March Madness.
• Liaise with the Marketing and Communications team regarding photos, graphics, design, production, increased marketing opportunities, etc. of all King Fund materials, both physical and electronic. Provide direction and feedback as they interface directly with vendors and mail houses. Provide current and inspiring King Fund content on King’s website when appropriate.
• Cultivate and maintain strong mutually rewarding relationships with parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and other constituents.
• Keep the Development team, King Fund Leadership Committee, and Board informed with accurate and timely information and assignments regarding the King Fund and other activities and progress against established goals.
• Prepare analytical reports, target data, comparisons, goal summaries, etc., on an as-needed basis.
• Provide event support.
• Occasional weekend and evening duties.
• Perform all other duties as assigned by the Director of Development. 

Skills and Requirements:

• Bachelors’ degree required.
• A minimum of 3+ years of experience in annual giving or direct response marketing, preferably in an academic setting.
• Success in leading an annual fund program with demonstrated year-over-year growth.
• Experience creating long-range visioning for an annual fund, including creation of ramp-up campaign strategies.
• Demonstrated background in volunteer management and in reinventing & reinvigorating a volunteer program to include vastly increased participation, visibility, community status, and metrics.
• Accomplished writer and “story-teller” skilled at weaving together compelling appeals and solicitations across multiple media and a wide range of constituents.  
• Experience with Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge and NXT a plus.
• Must be able to work with and communicate effectively, orally and in writing, across a broad range of internal and external constituents including faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents and friends of the School.
• Must possess excellent organizational and planning skills and a superior attentiveness to detail; high integrity and professionalism, respecting the confidential nature of donor information and the School’s business practices.
• Capacity to work in culturally responsive professional practices that incorporate diverse and multiple perspectives from all constituents, including colleagues, trustees, students, families, students and vendors.
• Ability to negotiate and facilitate a shared understanding and common goals across cultural differences in a professional setting.
• Demonstrated capacity to thrive in our diverse community, including but not limited to diversity in race, ethnicity, gender identity, socio-economic status, ability/disability, belief, sexual orientation, and national origin in alignment with King’s Mission, Virtues, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion principles.
• Be able to thrive and be flexible in a dynamic and fast-paced, team-oriented environment.
• Must be available for evening and weekend work as required.
• Must have a positive public presence and a sense of humor.

Classifications:

• Full time, 12- month, exempt position.

To apply, please email employment@kingschoolct.org with a resume and cover letter.

King goes beyond just stating that we are Equal Opportunity Employer. Our goal is to intentionally hire a diverse pool of world-class faculty and staff to enrich the educational experience of students. King seeks candidates committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment where varied identities are valued and respected.