Associate Director of Gift Planning, Alumni Engagement & Development (AED)

Occupational Summary

Work closely with alumni and friends of Duke University to explore planned giving in creative and tax-efficient ways to support Duke while accomplishing other financial and personal goals. Advise development officers within Duke Alumni Engagement & Development and in the university’s schools, units and programs on matters concerning deferred and complex gifts by prospects and donors. Collaborate with colleagues on initiatives designed to promote gift planning.  The Associate Director of Gift Planning will report to the Senior Assistant Vice President of Gift Planning.

Work Performed

Engagement with Duke Alumni/Parents/Friends

Develop and maintain a portfolio of gift planning prospects and donors, serving as a philanthropic planning advisor to help them explore current and deferred gifts to benefit the university. Work with attorneys, accountants and financial advisors to help them assist their clients in considering complex charitable giving strategies. Draft and review related documents, illustrations, proposals, endowment agreements and other materials as needed by prospects, donors and their professional advisors with a focus on clarity and attention to detail.

Collaboration with Campus Partners

Collaborate with colleagues including peers in Duke’s individual schools, colleges and programs (including a portfolio of assigned school and unit “internal clients”). Develop an understanding of their programs, funding priorities and the broad scope of their activities and provide excellent customer service.  Pro-actively assist these colleagues in identifying gift planning prospects and promoting planned gift strategies. Provide development assistance including: gift planning expertise, endowment and gift agreement advice, and educational presentations for staff members, boards and prospects. Promote innovation in their approach to gift planning fundraising.  In addition, partner with annual fund colleagues on comprehensive reunion efforts.

Team strategy and projects

Assist with planning and conducting stewardship events and producing gift planning publications. Help insure compliance with applicable regulations and university policies. Serve as a team-oriented colleague to all other members of the Gift Planning Office, providing ideas and support and pro-actively seeking ways to accomplish the overall goals of the Office.

Candidates should possess the personal skills and professional expertise necessary to work with individual charitable gift prospects and donors, development and alumni engagement colleagues, attorneys, accountants, trust officers and other tax, insurance and financial professionals. This position requires travel locally, regionally and nationally, and participation in occasional evening and weekend activities.

Skills/Qualifications

• Flexibility: The ability to adapt to and work effectively within a variety of situations, and with various individuals or groups. Flexibility entails understanding and appreciating different and opposing perspectives on an issue, adapting one's approach as the requirements of a situation change, and changing or easily accepting changes in one's own organization or job requirements.
• Planning, prioritizing and multitasking: The ability to plan, organize, and prioritize work; effectively manages multiple tasks or projects simultaneously.
• Continuous learning: Show a commitment to continuous learning and improvement of self, others, and Duke practices.
• Collaborating with others: The willingness and ability to work with others to achieve shared success. It includes formal and informal collaborative efforts within one's work group and across the organization.
• Encourages drive and productivity: Establishes good interpersonal relationships by helping people feel valued, appreciated, and included in discussions (enhances self-esteem, empathizes, involves, discloses, supports). Involves others in solutions with a goal of improving processes so that they can solve future problems independently. Focuses on desired results.
• Promotes innovation and creativity: Improves organizational performance through the application of original thinking to existing and emerging methods, processes, products and services. Identifies issues and takes a proactive approach to dealing with them. Seeks ways to provide added value. Formulates distinctive strategies emphasizing high levels of creative thinking. Can demonstrate recognition and development of new ideas and market opportunities. Employs sound judgment in determining how innovations will be deployed to add value to the organization.
• Models integrity and ethics: Acts in an honest and trustworthy manner based on personal accountability and a moral conviction to do the right thing. Behaves in an honest, fair, and ethical manner. Shows consistency in words and actions. Models high standards of ethics. Earns the trust, respect, and confidence through consistent honesty, forthrightness and professionalism in all interactions.
• Expressing ideas orally and in writing:  The ability to communicate ideas, thoughts, and facts orally and in writing.  Speaking using correct grammar, appropriate body language, proper tone and inflection, recognizing non-verbal cues, and respecting the audience to effectively communicate ideas. Using proper spelling, sentence and document structure, accepted document formatting, and special literary techniques to communicate a message in writing.

Minimum Qualifications

Education

Work requires communications, analytical and organizational skills generally acquired through completion of a bachelors degree program. Prefer JD, Certified Financial Planner, CPA or advanced degree in business, finance, or related field.

Experience

Work requires seven years experience in the legal or accounting field, OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE alumni affairs, public relations, fund raising, sales and promotions, marketing or related field in order to acquire skills necessary to develop and coordinate charitable gift plans to promote planned gifts to University by alumni, faculty and friends.

Duke is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essentialjob functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.

Minimum Qualifications

Education

Work requires communications, analytical and organizational skills generally acquired through completion of a bachelors degree program. Prefer JD, Certified Financial Planner, CPA or advanced degree in business, finance, or related field.

Experience

Work requires seven years experience in the legal or accounting field, OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE alumni affairs, public relations, fund raising, sales and promotions, marketing or related field in order to acquire skills necessary to develop and coordinate charitable gift plans to promote planned gifts to University by alumni, faculty and friends.