Summary
Description
The Opportunity
Saint Mary’s School, the fourth oldest girls' boarding and day school in the country, seeks an Assistant Head of School for Development and Fundraising (AHDF) to oversee and manage the School’s fundraising, marketing, and constituent engagement endeavors.
Saint Mary’s new fundraising leader will join the School at an exciting time in its history. As he begins his third year as Head of School, Dr. Adam Holden and his team will launch a new strategic plan while overseeing multiple capital projects on campus, including a new academic center and multifunctional arts facility. These dynamic new learning spaces have been made possible through the generosity of the Saint Mary’s community, whose gifts to the Saint Mary’s Forever Campaign now total more than $64 million.
"There are so many things that I love about Saint Mary’s. It’s a place rich with tradition and beautiful historic buildings, but we are also always evolving. It’s important to me that we are an Episcopal school that values the dignity and worth of all, that we are a girls’ school, and that we are experts in educating girls.”
– Saint Mary’s Counselor and Teacher
Reporting to the Head of School, the AHDF will lead the strategic and tactical efforts to nurture and grow a culture of giving within the Saint Mary’s School community. The AHDF position affords a motivated fundraising professional the opportunity to serve as an essential thought partner with the Head of School and Board of Trustees as they conclude the Forever Campaign and envision Saint Mary’s next stage of growth and impact.
The Organization
As history tells it, thirteen girls, “The Original 13” as they would come to be known, arrived at Saint Mary's in May 1842 for the first day of classes. A total of 21 students would eventually enroll for the first session and Saint Mary’s has operated continuously on the same site in Raleigh ever since. Building on this rich historical foundation, Saint Mary’s School today is an innovative, independent, Episcopal, college-preparatory, 9-12th grade boarding and day school serving over 300 young women from 14 states and 6 countries. Saint Mary's is “a community dedicated to academic excellence and personal achievement, prepares young women for college and life.”
To accomplish this mission, Saint Mary’s School:
- Challenges each young woman to embrace the habits of an intellectual life, engages her with the past and the emerging future, and empowers her to serve and shape her world.
- Fosters in each young woman a spirit of connection to others, guides her in developing her spiritual and ethical integrity, and prepares her to take responsibility for herself and her future.
Saint Mary’s cherishes and celebrates its rich heritage and tradition while simultaneously evolving its programs to prepare women for the challenges of a rapidly changing world. The foundation of the Saint Mary’s experience is the relationship between the faculty and students. The School values the transformational growth that takes place when teachers and students engage in the joy of learning together, cultivating a collaborative academic culture which nurtures intellectual courage, curiosity, and creativity.
Saint Mary’s also reflects its Episcopal identity in its programs, school culture, and values. While personal achievement is important, the School teaches the importance of intellectual, physical, and spiritual wholeness. The closeness of the community encourages young women to discover their talents, pursue their passions, and achieve their personal best in mind, body, and spirit. Chapel services, an advisory program, and the honor code place integrity and character at the center of the Saint Mary’s experience. With a high priority placed on relationships, Saint Mary’s aspires to be a nurturing community that respects the dignity of every human being.
Saint Mary’s immerses young women in a dynamic learning environment offering both hands-on classroom learning and opportunities for real-world experiences. Graduates leave Saint Mary’s prepared to flourish in college, continue a path of servant leadership, take on future challenges, and lead with purpose. Saint Mary's inspires students to step outside of their comfort zones, engage their minds, amplify their voices, and discover who they are and who they want to become.
Saint Mary’s School is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS).
The Location
Saint Mary’s beautiful 23-acre campus sits in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina’s capital city. It is a uniquely special location for a boarding school, providing unparalleled cultural, corporate, and educational opportunities for students just blocks away from the campus. The historic core of the Saint Mary’s campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Saint Mary’s Chapel, built in 1856, is a National Historic Site, and five of the School’s 25 buildings are Raleigh Historic Properties. In addition to its historical dignity, the Saint Mary’s campus features state-of-the-art facilities, tranquil gardens, and welcoming residence halls. Together, the campus creates an environment that encourages both personal reflection and social engagement.
The city of Raleigh is home to several colleges and universities, as well as abundant arts, culture, and recreational opportunities. Fueled by an impressive mix of education, ingenuity, and collaboration, Raleigh and the surrounding “Research Triangle” region routinely rank among the nation’s best places to live, work, and play. Home to more than two million people, the Research Triangle Park has attracted hundreds of companies to the region making it the largest research park in the United States. Perfectly positioned midway between the coast and the Appalachian Mountains, the Triangle offers residents a beautiful place to call home. And while the region continues to grow and offer a superior quality of life, the cost of living remains reasonable.
The Position
As the driving force behind fundraising efforts, the Assistant Head of Development and Fundraising plays a key role in ensuring the financial sustainability of the organization and the success of its programs and services. The individual is responsible for the strategy and execution of development efforts, including but not limited to fundraising, constituent relations, alumnae engagement, and marketing.
Saint Mary’s unique history differentiates this development leadership position from other independent school opportunities. While Saint Mary’s is an all-girls, four-year day school; it is also a boarding school that for a majority of its history operated as a junior college and two-year high school. Therefore, its fundraising function operates more like a higher education development office rather than a typical day school operation. For example, alumnae still comprise a majority of the School’s donors. Current parents and parents of alumnae are a growing network of support. The School features a large network of supporters including not just parents and alumnae, but also friends, community partners, employees, and grandparents. Given its long history, Saint Mary’s also has developed a robust legacy gift program – The Heritage Society – and its team has a well-developed understanding of tax-wise giving strategies.
As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the AHDF helps to uphold the mission and vision of the School while steering the institution forward in alignment with the strategic plan. The effective AHDF will do this in part through exceptional team-building skills and an ability to identify and eliminate silos both within the Development team but also among the School’s other departments. Evidence that the candidate will model and teach collaborative problem-solving will be highly valued, as will the emotional intelligence that allows the leader to build healthy professional relationships with school constituents.
Well-developed executive level skills will be essential for strong candidates for this role, as the leader will need to balance external demands while at the same time mentoring, supporting and leading a dedicated and experienced Development team. The eight- member development team at Saint Mary’s is experienced, deeply committed to the School’s mission, and eager to welcome their new leader, whom they hope will inspire them and lead with a sense of humor and empathy. They have recently revisited and refined their departmental mission statement and evaluated and upgraded office systems and processes – including the incorporation of individual and departmental metrics for success. Leading this team, the AHDF will provide direct oversight of alumnae affairs, major gifts, annual giving, planned-giving, alumnae communications, and marketing.
A central priority for the new AHDF will be the conclusion of the Saint Mary’s Forever Campaign, the largest fundraising endeavor in the School’s long history. Launched in 2018, the Forever Campaign has focused on three funding priorities – financial sustainability, growing the endowment, academic integration and innovation. Among the $64.47 million in campaign gifts have been two of the largest gifts received in the 182-year history of Saint Mary’s. A $6 million lead gift has enabled the construction of The Blanche Robertson Bacon Performing Arts Center, which will bolster Saint Mary’s commitment to interdisciplinary interaction as well as excellence in personal artistic exploration and participation. The Center will encompass the School’s largest indoor gathering space as well as house a Black Box Theatre, atrium, and event lobby providing spaces where girls gain confidence and find inspiration from performances, convocations, speakers, and more. Construction on the Blanche Center began in January 2023.
A $7 million gift, the single largest single gift to the School, will help fund the construction of a new academic science building on the historic campus. With a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) studies, the facility will engage girls in hands-on field experience, laboratory/project-based entrepreneurial tasks, and mentorship experiences.
Saint’s Mary’s has built a well-structured development program comprised of several components, including the annual fund, major gifts, special events, planned giving, and the capital campaign. The AHDF will possess the leadership competence, technical know-how, and interpersonal skills to provide oversight and strategic direction for a comprehensive development operation like Saint Mary’s. The ideal candidate will demonstrate a track record of proven success engaging multiple constituents including current parents, grandparents, alumnae parents, faculty/staff, alumnae, and the broader foundation and corporate community. Furthermore, the ideal candidate will have experience overseeing development processes and soliciting and closing five-, six- and seven figure individual, corporate, and foundation gifts. Saint Mary’s AHDF will also need to be proficient in overseeing the maintenance of a robust database system (Veracross) to ensure accurate and up-to-date data and using the system to leverage data to inform institutional development strategies and analyze results.
Finally, this position offers the opportunity to represent Saint Mary's School at various school and community events. The high-performing AHDF will serve willingly as a leader for the school community, participating in the daily life and operations of the School, extending beyond the responsibilities of the development role. Ideal candidates will have the interpersonal skills and mission-centric leadership style that fuel their enthusiasm for and capability to deepen relationships with constituents both on and off campus. The successful AHDF will embrace the history of Saint Mary’s and be able to tell its evocative stories in compelling ways, while at the same time igniting excitement for the School’s future.
Core Responsibilities and Required Qualifications
Saint Mary’s School is a great fit for an experienced and accomplished development professional who embraces Saint Mary’s purpose of “empowering young women to lead, excel, and make a difference in the world.” In order to thrive in Saint Mary’s vibrant, people-centric community, ideal candidates will exhibit strong personal drive and motivation, demonstrate exemplary professional behavior and values, and be resourceful, responsible, and collaborative.
Core Responsibilities
- Lead a high-performing team of fundraising and marketing professionals that is expected to raise over $6,500,000 in gifts annually ($2.6 million in annual giving and $4 million in capital gifts).
- Manage a portfolio of major gifts donors and prospects at the $25K+ level.
- Lead fundraising activities including the launch of the Saint Mary’s Forever Campaign’s public phase, annual giving, major giving, endowment growth, planned-giving, and stewardship programs for sustained revenue growth and campus development.
- Provide leadership direction and support to alumnae affairs, major gifts, annual giving, planned-giving, alumnae communications, and marketing teams.
- Work closely and collaborate with members of the senior leadership team as well as the Board of Trustees to develop fundraising goals, strategies and action steps that align with and support the mission of the School, enhancing the culture of philanthropy throughout the constituencies.
- Develop through the staff, alumnae, and parent network a culture and tradition of philanthropy.
- Lead a team that builds and sustains relationships in the Saint Mary’s School community to foster philanthropic support of the mission and goals of the School. This includes all constituents such as parents, past parents, grandparents, alumnae, trustees, the community, and friends of the School.
- Manage the development team activities according to best practice in areas including annual giving, major giving, planned giving, donor relations and stewardship, alumnae and parent engagement, trustee relations, and campaign planning.
- Create and implement a yearly development operating plan that includes annual fundraising, solicitation of major gifts, donor cultivation, alumnae engagement, stewardship, and a plan to monitor and report on key departmental metrics.
- Provide strategic direction and execution designing engaging fundraising events.
- Represent the School in public appearances, speaking engagements, events, and digital formats and communicate passionately the mission, vision and strategic initiatives.
- Travel domestically and possibly internationally on an annual basis as deemed necessary to cultivate and steward donors.
- Collaborate with the Marketing team in developing a strong fundraising brand that advances the School, implementing a digital and analog fundraising strategy, and engaging the greater community through thoughtful and regular communications.
- Cultivate constituent engagement such as volunteer fundraising, parent engagement and giving, alumnae relations, and trustee relations.
- Stay current of the changing landscape of philanthropy and marketing in independent schools and look for ways to implement new strategies at Saint Mary’s that broaden revenue streams and advance the School’s mission.
- Serve as the primary liaison to the Advancement Committee and Governance Committee of the Board of Trustees, jointly setting agendas, reporting on the fundraising progress of the School, researching prospective and candidate Board members, and developing fundraising readiness for campaigns.
- Represent the School on campus, in the community, and across the country to build a strong network of philanthropic support.
- Work directly and closely with the Head of School to engage him in major gift donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
- Manage the departmental budget.
- Participate in the community as an engaged and involved presence and perform weekend and night responsibilities to support the life of the residential community, as assigned.
- Other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications
The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 10 years of proven fundraising success; cultivating, engaging, and expanding relationships with a wide variety of prospects and donors, generating and diversifying revenue, preferably at a non-profit, independent school, or a higher education institution. While a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Communication, Public Relations, or a related field is expected, an advanced degree and/or professional fundraising certification is preferred. Familiarity with independent school or higher education fundraising is a plus. Additional qualifications include:
- Experience working with and connecting to a large and diverse community of people.
- Demonstrated strengths in interpersonal skills and collaboration.
- Ability to oversee, manage, and motivate people while also acting as a professional mentor to build on the skills and strengths of others.
- Ability to interact and communicate positively and effectively with prospective students and parents.
- Ability to collaborate with other departments and Senior Leadership and Board of Trustees members.
- Ability to collect, analyze, and communicate data.
- Ability to plan, organize, and coordinate multiple tasks and meet goals and deadlines.
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, including ability to speak in front of an audience.
- Energy, integrity, sincerity, commitment to teamwork, and the drive to succeed.
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively to achieve common goals.
- Exceptional ability to operate with discretion and demonstrate good judgement.
- Microsoft Office and database proficiency (Veracross experience preferred, but not required).
Salary/Benefits
Saint Mary’s seeks to attract and retain an extraordinary leader through a comprehensive package that includes a competitive salary in the range of $135,000-$150,000, commensurate with experience. The School would like the Assistant Head of School for Development and Fundraising to live on campus and has a single-family, four-bedroom home available. Residing on campus affords Saint Mary’s staff members access to the School’s dining facility when open. The value of residing on campus for this role is placed at $40,000. Candidates are encouraged but not required to live on campus. If the AHDF chooses to live on campus, he/she will perform required administrator duties (on call one weekend a month and one evening per week) as required.
The School also offers a generous employee benefits package that includes medical, dental and vision; short-term and long-term disability insurance; life insurance; a 403(b) retirement plan with an employer match; professional development; paid holidays; vacation, sick and other benefited leave time; and tuition remission.
To Apply: Please send a cover letter and resume by clicking here. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
Questions: SMSsearch@mossandross.com
Saint Mary’s School
919-424-4000
www.sms.edu
