Responsibilities:

The Assistant Director of Development as part of the national fundraising campaign, SMU Unbridled, The Second Century Campaign, is a fundraising, portfolio-driven position with prospect management responsibilities, including identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of prospective and current donors to the Dedman School of Law in Dallas and other areas in Texas and major U.S. markets where there is a concentration of Law School graduate alumni. 

Primary responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Work with the Law School Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Affairs, Dean, faculty, and senior staff, as well as with SMU Development and External Affairs (DEA) leadership and staff, to develop cultivation and proposal strategies for major gift prospects (capacity of $25k - $100k+) as well as prospective donors to the annual giving priorities for the Law School;

• Responsible for management of a major gift prospect portfolio for the Law School that will include cultivation, solicitation and stewardship activities including donor research, personal visits, correspondence, proposal preparation, grant writing, volunteer management, strategy and next steps, oversight and tracking, special event involvements, and regular reporting on activity;

• Participate in overall development related activities for the Law School including working with Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Affairs to determine establishing fundraising priorities for the School and integrating them into the DEA priorities and working with staff of the Law School and DEA teams to reach objectives set for major and annual giving, planned giving, and corporate and foundation relations programs;

• Work with Integrated Marketing, Alumni Giving and Relations, National Major Giving and other DEA and Law School teams to incorporate school programming with SMU alumni programs and activities; coordinate marketing and solicitation materials that highlight the priorities of the School; incorporate school-related functions for donor stewardship and cultivation; etc.
  

Qualifications:

A Bachelor's degree is required, and a minimum of three years' professional work experience, preferably in fundraising/development in a nonprofit or academic environment.

Familiarity with the Dallas community and legal community is a plus.

Candidate must demonstrate strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills with the ability to be an insightful, articulate, accomplished and persuasive communicator who is committed to the support of the Dedman School of Law.  Must also demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively in writing.  A strong customer service orientation is essential.

Candidate must possess strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize duties. A strong focus on attention to detail is essential.

Candidate must possess strong problem-solving skills with the ability think collaboratively, strategically and creatively. Some travel is required.

Knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel) is required. MS Outlook and experience with relational database software, such as Blackbaud or Raiser’s Edge, is strongly preferred. The ability to learn new applications quickly is desired.

Some travel required.

For full consideration, candidates must provide cover letter, writing samples and, if available, details of fundraising successes in previous positions.