Vice President for Advancement

Vice President for Advancement

Coe College seeks a dynamic, entrepreneurial and experienced leader to serve as its Vice President for Advancement.

Founded in 1851, Coe is a national, residential liberal arts college offering a broad array of programs in the arts, sciences and professions. The campus encompasses nearly 70 acres in the heart of Iowa’s second largest city, Cedar Rapids, and is adjacent to the MedQuarter Regional Medical District.

A member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM), Coe enrolls 1,400 students and has appropriately 415 full- and part-time employees, including nearly 90 full-time faculty members and 180 full-time staff members. The college offers over 60 areas of study. Coe has enjoyed positive momentum in recent years. Over the last eight years, it has seen the eight largest incoming classes and full-time enrollment in its history. It currently has the most diverse student body and faculty and staff in its history. The college has operated with balanced budgets for the last eight years, and has nurtured surpluses that are projected to help blunt the disruption of the pandemic. The college’s fundraising has increased by 20% over the last five years.

Serving as an executive officer of the college and key member of the President’s senior team, the vice president is responsible for designing and implementing comprehensive institutional advancement programs and recruiting and developing talented team members focused toward the ultimate goal of significantly increasing constituent involvement and fundraising outcomes. This includes responsibility for annual fund, corporate and foundation relations, major gifts and gift planning, endowment, capital campaigns, and alumni and constituent relations efforts, C3: Creativity, Careers, Community, stewardship and advancement services.

The successful candidate will have a deep and robust record of major gift fundraising, both as a gift officer and as a leader of fundraising programs, operations and people. Relevant experience should be in environments of similar complexity to that of a higher educational institution that attends to the considerations of multiple stakeholders. In addition to modeling servient leadership in a student centric community, the next vice president must be committed to advancing institutional diversity, equity and inclusion.

The new vice president takes the helm at a critical time for Coe at the start of David Hayes’ tenure as the 16^th president of the college. Hayes is the immediate past vice president for advancement, having nurtured significantly improved fundraising performance and engagement over the last seven years. He stands as an experienced partner to the vice president for advancement and is committed to supporting fundraising operations and efforts. The vice president will be expected to launch and guide a comprehensive national campaign with specific emphasis on growing Coe’s endowment.

While engagement with the Cedar Rapids community is at an all-time high, there remain abundant opportunities to further connect Coe students, faculty and staff to resources in the surrounding community. This work will expand the Coe experience for students in addition to increasing the financial investments in Coe by area friends and partners. The VP shall coordinate the work of the innovative and nationally recognized C3: Creativity, Careers, Community which provides a front door to Coe and the Cedar Rapids community.

For more information, please contact Human Resources at o-hr@coe.edu.

To apply, please submit a letter of interest and a CV/professional resume that includes at least five (5) references.

Position Description

Essential Job Responsibilities:

• Leads the overall fundraising strategy consistent with budgetary plans, including annual fundraising activities, planned gifts activities, and capital campaigns as set forth by the college’s strategic plan.
• Leads and develops a highly effective team of people who make successful and lasting contributions to the college’s mission and strategic plan.
• Actively engages with and manages a portfolio of prospects, including personal cultivation, solicitation, closing of gifts, and stewardship.
• Supports the President in the President’s advancement activities, managing engagement of prospects for major college priorities, providing research, and conferring on strategies.
• Supports Board members and other leading volunteers in advancement activities, managing engagement of prospects for major college priorities, providing research, and conferring on strategies.
• Serves as an active member of Coe’s senior leadership team and maintains close working relationships with members of the Board of Trustees, representing the college as a whole in the important deliberations of these two groups as they advise the President. Coordinates and directs the Trusteeship and Advancement committees of the Board of Trustees.
• Maintains strong and collaborative relationships with a diverse group of vice presidents and faculty/staff leadership.
• Oversees the programs of alumni relations and parent giving to engage alumni and parents effectively in the life of the college.
• Ensures the efficient planning and execution of such college events as Homecoming, and other advancement activities, both on and off campus.
• Establishes policies with regard to effective and appropriate management of the college’s advancement database.
• Devises and implements multichannel internal and external messaging and methods of advancement communication.
• Oversee C3: Creativity, Careers, Community center to ensure high impact programming and advance strategies for engaging alumni and community members with our students and the college overall.
• Serves as an advocate for Coe in the community, with local leaders, business and corporate partners, and other leaders to build relationships that closely link the community to Coe.
• Provide leadership of Advancement Services, ensuring CRM and college systems procure relevant and accurate data.

Qualifications:

• Baccalaureate degree required, with a master’s or professional degree preferred.
• 10 years of demonstrated success leading advancement operation, preferably in the higher  education arena or comparable experience.
• Successful completion of a background check in accordance with Coe College policy.

Knowledge, Skills and Competencies:

Position Specific:

• Excellent communication skills; the ability to collaborate with colleagues on campus and a diverse array of stakeholders off campus; a sound understanding of liberal arts colleges, particularly residential.
• Demonstrated leadership qualities and the ability to work collaboratively and effectively with faculty, staff, and administration.
• Knowledge of and commitment to the mission of a residential, liberal arts college with an understanding of trends and issues in the field of higher education.
• Exemplary interpersonal skills are essential as is the ability to affect favorable sophisticated volunteers and donors.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, including the ability to advance college culture and fundraising connected to these priorities.

Coe Competencies:

• Dedication to the educational mission of a private, residential liberal arts college.
• Ability to maintain positive relationships in a collaborative and diverse team atmosphere.
• Commitment to excellent customer and/or student service.
• Demonstrated ethical and responsible decision making.
• Consistent attendance and accountability necessary to meet position objectives.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:

• Office environment on campus.
• Extensive travel domestically with occasional travel abroad.