UNIVERSITY THE OPPORTUNITY
McMaster University is seeking a highly strategic and diplomatic Director, Development supporting the Faculty of Science in their advancement priorities. The new Director will intentionally build relationships, leverage innovative approaches and drive revenue development in the Faculty.
Reporting to Executive Advisor, Development within University Advancement and with a dotted line to the Dean in the Faculty, the new Director will work collaboratively with leaders within the Faculty of Science and University Advancement to formulate strategies, develop programs, and execute campaigns and initiatives to raise private revenue in support of the Faculty’s priorities. The Director is a key senior development leader within the broader, integrated University Advancement team, and our new Director will espouse our shared values that help us to achieve University Advancement’s vision and mission; Quality, Respect, Service, Strategy and Teamwork.
The Director, Development will be charged with leading, advancing and enhancing the relationships and resources of McMaster and the Faculty through relationship building and revenue generation. This includes leading and managing a wide-ranging Development portfolio. The new incumbent will proactively champion partnerships and opportunities for new revenue in support of McMaster’s research and educational goals. This includes attaining the ambitious private donor revenue goals for the Faculty Science on an annual basis, with a focus on gifts in the range of $250K+. Consistent with our team approach to development strategy, the Director will also work with University Advancement senior leadership on gifts of $1M+, which have a mid-to-high degree of complexity and involve several internal and external partners.
The salary range for this position is $104,462 - $135,000 plus performance pay bonus eligibility of up to 10% of base salary, along with an excellent benefits package. McMaster offers a number of alternative workplace arrangements to adapt to the individual work-life needs of our employees. This role is hybrid in nature with 3 days in person per week, inclusive of donor activity.
This is an exciting time to join McMaster as a key advancement leader as we move towards an ambitious campaign for the University’s highest priorities. Working collaboratively with advancement and academic leadership, you will support development of multi-year campaign strategies that frame the Faculty’s unique strengths and opportunities, align with University-wide campaign structures and practices, integrate alumni and development strategies, maximize support, and rally the Faculty community around a compelling vision for the Faculty of Science’s longer-term aspirations and goals.
ABOUT MCMASTER UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1887, McMaster University is a medical-doctoral, research-intensive public university. McMaster is dedicated to advancing human and societal health and well-being. McMaster is ranked in the world's Top 80 by the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.
With a total student population of more than 33,000, McMaster welcomes students from 120 countries as well as Canada. Home to more than 70 research centres and institutes, McMaster University is comprised of the Arts & Science Program and six Faculties: Health Science, the DeGroote School of Business, and the Faculties of Engineering, Humanities, Science, and Social Science.
McMaster's 30-acre main campus, located in the Westdale neighbourhood of Hamilton, Ontario, is comprised of 300 acres of scenic property at the western end of Lake Ontario, between Toronto and Niagara Falls. McMaster University also has four regional campuses: downtown Hamilton, Burlington, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Niagara.
WORKING AT MCMASTER
Here at McMaster, you will find a community of talented individuals who are inspired by the University’s Mission and the sense of purpose this mission brings. It is through these talented individuals, their creativity and drive for results that McMaster University has earned its reputation as being Canada’s “most innovative” university.
Our leaders in The Management Group (TMG) are vital contributors to McMaster’s renowned culture of creativity, innovation and excellence. We demonstrate the value we place on our leaders with a highly competitive total rewards package featuring compensation, well-being, growth and inclusion provisions.
McMaster University strives to embody the values of integrity, quality, inclusiveness and teamwork, and has a strong commitment to employment equity. Building an inclusive community with a shared purpose is something that McMaster University prioritizes. We believe it is important for our workforce to reflect the diversity of our students and community. The diversity of our workforce is at the core of our innovation and creativity and is a key area that strengthens our research capabilities and teaching excellence.
To learn more about total rewards available to you as part of the The Management Group at McMaster, please access our interactive guide with a summary of the compensation, benefits, retirement income, work life, development and career opportunities, and performance and recognition provisions offered at McMaster. To further explore the extensive total rewards program, detailed information can be accessed through the links throughout the guide.
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
With 8 departments, and 5 research Institutes and Centres, our pioneering education advances and our excellence in world-class research have consistently placed McMaster among the top 50 universities in the world for health and medicine.
The Faculty of Science is one of the largest among Canadian universities, with more than 9,200 undergraduate and graduate students. More than 1,820 undergraduate and graduate degrees are granted each year, with graduates joining more than 47,500 Science alumni who live and work around the world.
Science has the largest undergraduate enrolment of McMaster’s six Faculties and Schools and faculty deliver foundational courses to thousands of other students from across the university. More than 200 full-time faculty provide educational and research opportunities to students and conduct pioneering research in the life Science, physical Science and mathematical and computational science. At 99 per cent, Science has the highest percentage of faculty with PhDs among McMaster’s six Faculties and Schools.
Established as a stand-alone Faculty in 1967, Science has grown to eight departments and schools including: Biology, Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Geography & Earth Science, Interdisciplinary Science, Kinesiology, Mathematics & Statistics, Physics & Astronomy, Psychology, Neuroscience & Behavior.
The Faculty of Science is an active partner with McMaster’s Faculties of Health Science and Engineering in four interdisciplinary graduate programs.
Diversity leads to better science. Women represent more than 60 per cent of undergraduate students and the Faculty of Science welcomes more than 1400 international students annually.
Leading employers throughout North America are key partners with the Faculty of Science, providing more than 560 co-operative education work terms to students. All undergraduate students have the opportunity to participate in research, both in the lab and out in the field. Every year, more than 500 students choose to work on a senior thesis research project under the supervision of faculty and graduate students.
The Faculty of Science is a research powerhouse at McMaster, with 19 Canada Research Chairs, and five endowed research chairs. Researchers in the Faculty of Science secure over $25 million in funding annually and collaborate with researchers from more than 30 countries on six continents. The Faculty of Science has five research-intensive institutes and centres that advance scientific discovery and knowledge in biointerfaces, climate change, physical activity and, the origins of life and music and the mind.
Students, faculty and staff promote scientific literacy and understanding through dozens of outreach initiatives that bring science into the community and welcome the public onto campus.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- McMaster University
- McMaster University's Mission and Vision
- Institutional Priorities & Strategic Framework 2021 - 2024
- 2020-2025 Strategic Mandate Agreement
- Board of Governors
- McMaster Alumni Association
- Faculty of Science
- Science Strategic Priorities & Goals
ADVANCEMENT @ MCMASTER
McMaster’s vibrant student experience, world-class research, and community engagement are empowered by the support of thousands of alumni and donors who also believe strongly in McMaster. Together, our donors and alumni help make the university what it is today and help nurture the next generation of leaders in our world.
University Advancement at McMaster University is comprised of four teams: Development, Alumni Engagement, Stewardship, and Advancement Services & Operations. The heads of each of these departments report to the Vice-President (University Advancement). Collectively, the Advancement leadership team provides overall strategic leadership and direction in the areas of fundraising; developing and building partnerships; and engaging with donors, alumni and stakeholders.
The Advancement team also plays a critically important role in advancing the university’s strategy, in support of McMaster’s ambitious vision, in partnership with the academic and administrative leaders across the University. The Advancement team has a centralized/decentralized structure, with strategies established and coordinated centrally, along with some programs and services (e.g. Annual Giving, Estate Giving & Legacy Planning, Stewardship, overarching Alumni programs, Research & Prospect Analytics, and Gift Processing services), whereas other programs and services are delivered ‘locally’ through decentralized, dedicated Development and Alumni staff embedded in Faculties and units.
McMaster University has ambitious goals related to private donor revenue, with $97.8 million raised in 2020, growing to $117.4 million in 2021. This is achieved by many people across the institution working together, including academic and administrative leaders, faculty and staff, and volunteers. University Advancement plays the role of coordinating and supporting these collective efforts. As well, the University Advancement team supports the engagement of over nearly 230,000 alumni from across the university, in collaboration with our Faculty and unit-based partners.
We also coordinate with colleagues to manage and steward the University’s endowment fund comprised of philanthropic gifts given to support McMaster in perpetuity. The capital of the endowment remains untouched and the income from the endowment is used to support a variety of activities and programs. McMaster has approximately 1,830 individually named trust funds restricted for certain purposes such as scholarships, bursaries and faculty chairs or professorships. In addition, McMaster has a general endowment to which undesignated bequests are directed. McMaster’s endowment is currently valued at over $850 million, one of the largest in Canada.
ADVANCEMENT IN THE FACULTY OF SCIENCE
The Advancement team for the Faculty Science consists of the Director, Development role along with 2 Managers of Development, a Senior Development Officer, all focused on fundraising, Manager, Stewardship and Engagement, a Manager of Advancement Strategic Communications to support proposal writing and donor/alumni communication, and an Advancement Coordinator.
The 2023-24 Faculty of Science Development Plan will serve to advance human & societal health and well-being and to support the mission and vision of the Faculty of Science by seeking financial support for the key priorities of the Faculty of Science Strategic Plan 2020-2025.
This team collaborates closely with colleagues from Development, and University and Faculty leadership, to engage the Faculty of Science faculty, alumni and donors, to build relationships and resources for the Faculty. The Director, Development also supports all revenue-generating campaigns undertaken by the University Advancement team and is accountable for aligning and integrating the campaign strategy, case for support and a revenue goal as related to the Faculty.
The Faculty of Science achieves these private revenue targets by developing a pipeline of donors, supporters, and other funders to serve as a source of significant revenue for the Faculty’s priorities, as identified through McMaster’s senior academic leadership and functioning as an integrated part of the University Advancement team. The primary means of raising funds for both current and future gifts are through strategies that involve face-to-face and in-person meetings and visits, often involving significant Canadian and international leaders, as well as University leadership, key volunteers and researchers. Members of the advancement team drive the identification, cultivation, and development of a customized ask and recognition/stewardship plan for some of the Faculty of Science and McMaster's most significant donors.
As a trusted advisor who provides counsel to senior academic leadership on the largest gifts to the Faculty, the Director is directly involved in efforts to secure and grow its Faculty’s base of major and principal gift-level supporters, and to steward these supporters in a manner so as to inspire them to establish, grow, and sustain meaningful relationships with the University. Consequently, the Director and the entire Advancement team work hard to create and maintain positive, productive relationships with colleagues in the Faculty and across the University.
KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
- Model a culture of collaboration, integration and service to support the University’s core research and academic missions.
- Employ a leadership approach that demonstrates a commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and indigeneity, and encourages inclusive behaviour and practice.
- Provide leadership and direction within the Faculty of Science to support the implementation of fundraising plans, pipeline development, campaigns, strategies and practices to foster growth in revenue generation across the Faculty.
- Accountable for the development, monitoring, evaluation and measurement of the Faculty of Science strategic plans to ensure clear priorities and adequate resources to achieve goals that are aligned with University Advancement’s goals.
- Work with senior leadership of the Faculty to develop advancement plans aligned with academic priorities, fostering a compelling vision and case for support that enables the pursuit of significant major gifts.
- Build a high-performance team that is committed to fulfilling the vision, goals and priorities necessary to achieve the short and long-term goals of the Faculty.
- Work in conjunction with University Advancement’s senior leaders to establish goals and objectives including annual professional development plans for team members to support a culture of continuous improvement and readiness for change.
- Engage with, and support volunteer leadership within the Faculty of Science.
Operational Leadership within the Faculty of Science
- A commitment to meeting University Advancement’s and the Development team’s overall annual fundraising goals as well as the revenue goal for the Faculty of Science fundraising program.
- Support the development of plans with clear short- and longer-term priorities and implement all aspects of university revenue-generating campaigns and initiatives within the Faculty of Science.
- Support University Advancement’s senior leaders with the engagement of the President, Vice Presidents and senior university leadership, as well as volunteers as required, in the cultivation and solicitation of principal gift supporters, including ensuring they are appropriately briefed, and relevant follow-up action is taken.
- May be involved as part of the Faculty of Science senior administration/operational leaders group as required, and provide expertise and guidance on achieving their goals and objectives.
- Responsible for the allocation of budget within the Faculty and accountable to ensure resources are allocated and prioritized to meet university objectives and short and long-term outcomes.
- Work in partnership with the Executive Advisor to develop and implement plans and strategies to enhance the University’s major giving program and to generate consistent and significant increases in new revenue to the University and lead the development and implementation of those strategies specific to their Faculty.
- Play the lead role in executing campaign strategies for the Faculty by designing, implementing, and managing development activities related to the campaign.
- Further the culture of philanthropy at the University within the Faculty of Science.
- Provide leadership by monitoring campaign and initiative progress for the Faculty recommending changes to plans as appropriate, reviewing solicitation strategies and regularly reviewing the progress of strategies.
- Develop and maintain a significant depth of knowledge of the Faculty’s activities, needs and priorities in both research and teaching and apply this knowledge in matching the interests and needs of potential supporters.
- Assume responsibility for identifying, cultivating and soliciting support from a portfolio of supporters, both individually and in collaboration with senior academic leaders to the Faculty, senior development leadership and key volunteers for the Faculty, resulting in increased engagement and financial investment in the University.
- Work in collaboration with stewardship to support the creation and delivery of major gift announcements and events and accompanying stewardship in collaboration with the appropriate advancement staff.
- Represent the Faculty of Science and University, with the team, at all relevant community and University events, nationally and internationally.
- Work closely with other areas of University Advancement to support the success of the operation’s annual financial goals as well as Advancement’s mission and strategic goals.
Team Leadership
- Oversee human resources activity for direct reports including recruiting and onboarding, goal setting, performance management, development, and engagement initiatives.
- Manage, provide clear direction, motivate and mentor a team of development professionals; and offer support across-the-board to development colleagues.
- Attend University Advancement meetings to provide an update on individual and team activities and results, and to keep informed of all development activities.
- Participate in strategic planning meetings for Development initiatives.
Relationship Development
- Work closely with McMaster’s Vice-Presidents, Deans and advancement and volunteer leadership across the Faculty of Science to identify and qualify new major gift supporters and develop custom strategies to engage these individuals.
- Liaise with Vice-President, University Advancement, academic leadership and other front-line development leaders for opportunities for development initiatives including joint solicitation strategies or shared gifts.
- Engage strategically with McMaster’s top donors, supporters, alumni and volunteers of the Faculty of Science to support goals.
- Collaborate with volunteers and competing organizations on joint solicitation strategies or shared gifts.
- Liaise with legal and financial institutions on complex gift agreements and/or future gifts to resolve complex donor issues by acting as lead and intermediary for all concerned parties.
Administrative
- Ensure compliance with relevant policies and procedures for fundraising and revenue generation.
- Management of budget ($400K-600K annual operating budget).
- Timely updating and reporting of activity on relational donor database (currently Ellucian Advance Web).
- Development of donor documents (proposals, gift agreements, financial models).
- Participate on advancement boards and/or committees.
- Financial reporting and attestations on trust and endowment statements, etc.
QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES
- Proven track record of success in securing and contributing to the closing of $1M+ and other complex donations and partnerships.
- Demonstrated experience and success in major giving fundraising, preferably within the post-secondary system or other complex organizational environments.
- A proven commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and indigeneity, with the ability to apply this lens to fundraising leadership, strategy and tactics.
- Experience leading and managing high-performing, donor-centred development professionals.
- Superior skills and knowledge in attracting and maintaining relationships with donors and supporters.
- Donor-centred and goal-oriented with a reputation for integrity and transparency.
- High level of comfort and credibility working with senior academic leaders, as well as donors and volunteers.
- Competencies to understanding Canadian tax legislation and philanthropic landscape.
- Ability to work at the highest strategic levels of the Faculty of Science, to gain and maintain the trust of senior academic leadership and supporters and also take strategy and move it through to tactics and action.
- Experience staffing, supporting, and partnering with senior leaders on fundraising visits.
- Superior skills in critical analysis, judgement, decision-making and building effective relationships.
- Vision and the ability to think strategically and use a creative and entrepreneurial mindset to meet goals.
- High level of initiative, tact and diplomacy.
- Ability to navigate and be effective within a complex organization that values collaboration in addition to individuality and creativity.
- The ability to quickly develop a deep understanding of the mission of a research-intensive university.
- Superior communication and interpersonal skills; writing winning proposals and associated development materials and correspondence.
- Superior administrative skills in human resources, volunteer and budget management, with strong financial acumen and comfort with data analytics.
- Strong skills with computers and relational donor databases (Advance).
