Executive Director and Chief Development Officer, College Foundation

at College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois, United States

Job Description

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The Executive Director and Chief Development Officer is the equity-minded, visionary executive leader responsible for advancing the mission of the Foundation and strategic alignment with the mission and vision of the College of Lake County to improve success outcomes for its diverse student body and community. Through operational excellence, consultative partnerships and innovation, the Executive Director leads a high-performing team in resource development through major gifts, corporate gifts/sponsorship, foundation gifts, employee giving, planned giving, events and alumni engagement. The Executive Director is responsible for the implementation of plans, projects, policies, integrated technology and the leadership and development of the Foundation team. The Executive Director is a strategic thought leader for the organization, reporting directly to the Vice President of Community and Workforce Partnerships and monitors the outcomes of the Foundation in collaboration with the CLC Foundation Board.

The Executive Director and Chief Development Officer demonstrates collaborative, values-driven leadership to create a dynamic work environment characterized by collegiality, creativity and communication. The Executive Director ensures inclusive, equitable, personalized, and culturally relevant student and employee experiences within a flexible work environment. The Executive Director leads the development of a giving culture at CLC as a key driver on fundraising initiatives and capital campaigns that support the College’s strategic priorities and enact the vision of the Foundation.

As the Chief Development Officer, this role creates and maintains philanthropic relationships through an engaging and dynamic approach with donors, corporate foundations, family foundations, and key partners in the community. The Executive Director leads strategic communications individually and through their team to ensure the philanthropic community is continuously informed on strategic priorities, campaign progress, and programmatic successes.

Foundation Vision Statement: The College of Lake County Foundation inspires philanthropic giving to support student scholarships, college programs, and capital projects that create life-changing opportunities for Lake County residents.

1. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited higher education institution.

2. A minimum of ten (10) years of resource development work with a portfolio of successful cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of individual, foundation, and corporate donors, including major gift and capital campaigns, resulting from internal and external friend-raising, relationship-valuing and partnership-networking.

3. A minimum of seven (7) years of senior leadership and managerial experience with application of equity, diversity and inclusion efforts to foster employee retention within a high performing team providing exemplary customer service to internal and external stakeholders.

4. Experience in the coordination, leadership and achievement of a productive working relationship with a non-profit board and its associated committees, within the by-laws and the policies of the organization, to achieve strategic outcomes.

5. Demonstrated financial acumen and budget management, including working knowledge of general accounting standards required of non-profit and publicly-funded agencies to meet the highest standards of reporting and audit outcomes.

6. Competency in the integration and use of fundraising technology within business operations and reporting, including customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning systems.

7. Demonstrated experience in data utilization and working knowledge of current literature and trends for evidence-based decision-making in strategy and plan development leading to the implementation of high-impact practices.

8. Proven ability to work inclusively with persons across diverse socioeconomic, ethnic, cultural, and abilities within a diverse community and organization. Demonstrated commitment to the open access mission of community colleges.

9. Exemplary competence in active listening, written and verbal communication skills that inspires and engages others in the visionary work of the Foundation, builds unity and connection with the community, and ensures that conflicts are mediated productively with strengthened relationships and established shared solutions.

10. Demonstrated commitment to individual professional growth, the growth of others through mentoring and coaching, and the creation of intentional skill development and career progression experiences for employees.

11. Experience in leading innovative and transformative projects through change leadership and the use of project management principles to achieve lofty aims.

12. Proven record of a professional demeanor emulating the values of the College through demonstrated emotional intelligence, diplomacy, and ethical practice in service as an ambassador of the organization.

1. Fundraising and leadership experience within postsecondary education or related nonprofit organizations.

2. A master’s degree in nonprofit management, business administration, or related field.

3. Working knowledge of Raiser’s Edge, Financial Edge (FE NXT ), Academic Works and Workday.

4. Leadership and management experience within a flexible work environment structure.

5. Bi-lingual Spanish and English.

+ Work Schedule

Monday through Friday and weekend and evening hours are required.

The College of Lake County is an equal opportunity employer and has a strong commitment to diversity. In that spirit, it seeks a broad spectrum of candidates including minorities, women and people with disabilities.

The Executive Director and Chief Development Officer role supports excellence in student, community and employee success outcomes as follows:

Administrative Functions

1. Ensure the stewardship and management of donor resources in accordance with accounting standards for non-profit agencies, College Board Policies, the Foundation By-Laws, and donor agreements.

2. Manage the Foundation’s operating budget allocation from institutional resources within the Board Policies and College procedures.

3. Use best practice standards in the integration of fundraising technology within business operations and reporting, including customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning systems.

4. Establish and monitor interdepartmental and cross-departmental/unit standard processes, workflow and meeting structures to ensure effective, efficient and high-quality outcomes.

5. Oversee and support the annual audit procedures in partnership with the Foundation accounting team and the CLC Finance division.

6. Ensure monthly, quarterly, annual reports for the College, the Foundation Board, and individual, foundation and corporate donors are completed in accordance with agreements and proce