Status:                         Staff – Exempt

Full/Part Time:            Full Time

Work Year:                  12 Months

Supervisor:                  Senior Director of Development and Engagement

The Major Gifts Officer is responsible for securing leadership philanthropic support for Walker's in the early phase of an ambitious comprehensive campaign. Joining a department of nine advancement professionals, the Major Gifts Officer will collaborate with each member of the team to achieve optimal results aligned with.

Role and Responsibilities

• Manages a portfolio of 75-125 major gift donors and prospects, with a focus on securing leadership level annual fund gifts and major gifts for school priorities, with agreed upon goals for donor visits, actions and solicitations to be completed annually.
• Through extensive and consistent travel, conducts prospect qualification in the early phase of a campaign, and develops individual donor strategies and executes cultivation, solicitation and stewardship plans for prospective donors, aligning opportunities with a donor’s interests and financial capacity.
• Solicits and closes gifts of $50,000 and greater, working in partnership with school leadership including advancement colleagues, senior administrators, faculty and Board members. With the Director of Annual Giving and Director of Alumnae Relations, collaborates on milestone reunions.
• Serves as a resource for consultation on prospects in fellow fundraisers’ pools.
• Maintains accurate, up-to-date reflection of activity and moves with prospects and donors in RE NXT, including drafting and executing gift agreements with requisite documentation and approvals.
• Stewards donors in major gifts portfolio to inspire long-term relationships with Walker's.
• Maintains confidentiality of alumni records and institutional information.

Required Skills/Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills
• Proficiency in Raiser’s Edge, Google applications, Microsoft Office Suite
• Four or more years of fundraising experience, with preferably in a college or secondary school setting, with proven record of fundraising success securing major gifts in the 6- and 7-figure range
• Commitment to the value of all-girls education
• Knowledge of and interest in financial planning, planned giving and tax advantaged giving strategies
• Experience managing a prospect portfolio of at least 50 major gift prospects
• Ability to travel locally, regionally and nationally 8-10 days each month, must have a valid driver’s license.

Desired Qualities

• Creative, curious relationship builder capable of moving philanthropy conversations forward in a timely manner, leading to a meaningful donor experience
• Effective communicator with compelling communication capacity to articulate Ethel Walker School’s mission
• Build strong relationships with teammates, campus partners, and external community
• Collaborate in an inclusive learning community committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging
• Familiarity with and facility in communicating School priorities and programs to a range of prospective donors
• Works effectively and collaboratively with a range of work styles, talents, and experiences

To apply:

Please submit resume, cover letter, contact list of three (3) professional references in one (1) document to careers@my.ethelwalker.org.

The Ethel Walker School provides a comprehensive benefits package.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply. The Ethel Walker School is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer that provides equal opportunity for all and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status.

About The Ethel Walker School

For more than 100 years, The Ethel Walker School has been preparing young women to make a difference in the world. At Walker’s, we seek to foster and cherish the joyful development of girls into young women so that they may reach their full potential as astute thinkers and doers in the world. Our grounding values of integrity, respect, confidence, courage, conviction, and love of learning provide a solid framework for personal, ethical, and social growth. Our grades 6–12 plus postgraduate education serves not only as preparation for college, but for life itself in this century of constant change. Walker’s graduates, whatever field they pursue, are societal engineers, reworking and rewiring the very mechanisms of our world. Our ethos of warm receptivity to new ideas and people, as well as enduring and deep friendships over time, emerges out of Ethel Walker’s philosophy of education and her desire to provide girls with a foundation for lifelong learning and intellectual curiosity. At Walker’s, girls can be themselves, discover their true passions and purpose, and achieve their best performance in every aspect of life. The Walker's campus is located on 175 expansive acres in ...Simsbury, Connecticut. Recent large-scale projects include a state-of-the-art residence hall designed with a focus on sustainability, featuring solar panels that will provide 50% of the energy for the building. Walker’s boasts a nationally recognized equestrian program operating with over 50 horses on site, a 100+ acre on-campus facility with a nationally renowned head of riding, and superb equestrian trainers. Walker’s facilities include excellent classrooms and science laboratories, as well as outdoor turf and grass fields and tennis courts, and the 70,000 square-foot Centennial Center, a multi-use facility housing impressive athletic facilities including a pool, squash, basketball, and volleyball courts, dance studios, student center, athletic training room, and medical services.

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