Director of Advancement

**Classification & Regular Hours**: Hours per Week: 35 Salary Grade: 17 **About Western**: Since 1878, Western University has been committed to serving our communities through the pursuit of academic excellence and by providing students, faculty, and community members with life-long opportunities for intellectual, social, and cultural growth. We seek excellent students, faculty, and staff to join us in what has become known as the "Western Experience" - an opportunity to contribute to a better world through the development of new knowledge, new abilities, new connections, and new ways to make a difference. **About Us**: University Advancement is responsible for Western’s alumni relations and development activities which enhance Western’s reputation as both an international academic leader and a good citizen in local, provincial, national and international constituencies. Comprised of three functional areas - Advancement Operations, Alumni Relations and Development - and with both centralized and decentralized teams, University Advancement works with faculties and divisions across campus to strengthen and protect Western’s reputation for excellence in teaching, research and scholarship; support the best student experience; generate resources in support of institutional priorities; and engage alumni to strengthen the alumni network and build on their contributions to Western. **Responsibilities**: Western University’s Advancement portfolio is dedicated to engaging and building long-term relationships with alumni and donors and raising funds to support institutional priorities. The Director of Advancement will drive strategy and increase the capacity of the President and Vice-President (VP) to engage alumni and donors. The role will ensure a high level of planning, coordination, preparation and execution of advancement activities involving the President and VP. The Director will lead and participate in raising engagement and philanthropic support, ensuring efforts are focused and coordinated to make the most effective and strategic use of President’s and VP’s time. The role will ensure long-term plans are in place for the President’s and VP’s advancement priorities, and that logistics for events and activities are coordinated at the highest level. **Qualifications**: **Education**: - Undergraduate Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Communications, Public Relations or other related discipline **Experience**: - 8 years experience in advancement roles, with experience supporting the activities of senior leaders - Experience leading and managing staff and projects is preferred - Experience in a University or other complex non-profit environment preferred Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: - Familiarity with best practices in building a strong collaborative team and leading people - In-depth knowledge of techniques for planning, documenting, managing and coordinating multiple projects, with competing priorities that involve a variety of stakeholders - Ability to drive change and improvement, while continually searching out opportunities for efficiencies - Knowledge of common project obstacles and necessary controls and contingency plans that will help address them - Ability to collaborate across internal and external boundaries to meet common objectives, improve outcomes and support work beyond one's own unit - Influential interpersonal skills that build positive and strong relationships at all levels of the organization - Ability to establish effective routines for excellent communication with all members of the team to maximize productivity - Oral and written communication skills with an emphasis on proposal development and delivering presentations - Competency to maintain confidentiality and treat sensitive information with discretion - Critical thinking and analytical skills to assess complex higher education issues of concern to stakeholders - Ability to make decisions and recommendations that are clearly linked to the organization's strategy and goals - A desire to grow and advance skills, which is demonstrated by attending conferences, workshops and other professional developmental opportunities to enhance performance - Ability to remain highly motivated, resilient, innovative, and collaborative when faced with challenges - Ability to work within a flexible schedule to accommodate the University’s events and activities - Advanced computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite - Leadership skills with the ability to inspire employees and develop a shared vision to lead a team to excellence **Western Values Diversity**: Accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you require accommodations for interviews or other meetings, please contact Human Resources or phone 519-661-2194. **Please Note**: We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those chosen for an interview will be contacted.