Career Center

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
Looking ahead, the priorities, opportunities and challenges for the Director of Development include: 

Completing the $25 Million Capital Campaign
The school has embarked on a $25 million capital campaign to support the funding of a three-story, 39,000 square foot building scheduled to open in the Fall of 2023. To date, the school has raised  over $16 million in gifts and pledges, and they officially broke ground this Spring. They hope to commence their public phase by the end of the calendar year. The school is partnering with outside campaign counsel, and the new Director of Development will be expected to play a prominent part in bringing the campaign to a successful conclusion.

Continuing to Grow the Annual Fund
The school is currently raising $1.2 million in unrestricted support of current operations for The Puma Fund, its annual giving program. Current parent participation has reached 87%. Their annual gala nets another $700,000, targeted each year for financial aid. The new building will allow the school to increase enrollment from its current size of 612 students to approximately 730 students. Making sure the Puma Fund grows accordingly in the years ahead will be a high priority. The school is straightforward in its appeal to constituents for voluntary support and the Puma Fund just recently created giving levels to inspire stretch gifts. As a consequence, the culture of philanthropy is becoming imbedded in all that the school does and says to its families and alumni. As a relatively young school, UPrep possesses tremendous growth opportunities for its alumni giving program.

Mentoring a Young but Capable Staff
In addition to the Director of Development, the Development Office has four members, three of whom have been at University Prep for less than one year. The fourth has been at the school for just three years. The staff include an Development Engagement and Alumni Manager; an Annual Giving Manager; an Development & Events Associate; and an Development Database Manager (the school uses Veracross for all databases). The staff members work collaboratively, are active and enthusiastic members of the school community, and are encouraged to seek out professional development opportunities. The new Director of Development will need to possess the depth of experience to bring best practices into all areas of the development function and continue to build institutional capacity by being a knowledgeable and persistent mentor to staff who are eager to grow. 

Working Successfully with and for the Head of School and Board of Trustees
The new Director of Development must become a trusted and reliable partner to Head of School Ronnie Codrington-Cazeau and University Prep’s Board of Trustees. Ronnie is a capable and fearless fundraiser, but she, Board members and other volunteers charged with fundraising will need someone who understands the importance of identifying new prospects, conducting prospect research, and embarking on a Moves Management approach that takes a donor from identification to solicitation and stewardship. The school currently has both a Campaign Committee and an Development Committee, making clarity of purpose and focus important to managing both. 

Working Closely with Admissions, Communications, and the Business Office
Any successful development program relies on close working relationships with these three allied offices. The school says that relationships with Communications and the Business Office are currently healthy The school has just hired a new Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management, so both the new Director of Development and the new leader of admission will have opportunity for healthy and meaningful partnership.

• Five- to ten-years’ experience in development in a non-profit organization; school experience
  preferable but not essential.
• Campaign experience in a sophisticated shop.
• Deep grounding in all aspects of development work, from annual giving to major gifts, prospect
  research to stewardship, constituent events to information services – soup to nuts.
• An understanding of the importance in mentoring staff and relishing the role.
• Ability to cultivate and build strong and organic relationships with a broad array of constituents with nuanced views on issues reflective of Seattle’s changing demographics.
• A desire and ability to build community in an inclusive way and have some fun while doing it.
• Outstanding communication skills and a comfort with speaking publicly.
• A love for children and working for an educational institution.

TO APPLY
Interested and qualified candidates should submit electronically in one email and as separate documents (preferably PDFs) the following materials:

• A cover letter expressing interest in this particular position;
• A current résumé;
• A list of five professional references with name, phone number, and email address of each (references will not be contacted without the candidate’s permission) to:

Sara Shulman
Search Consultant
sara.shulman@carneysandoe.com

John G. Clark
Senior Search Consultant
john.clark@carneysandoe.com