MacEwan University is seeking a Director of Philanthropy for a full-time continuing opportunity
with the Advancement Department. This newly created role reports to the Associate Vice-
President, Advancement and provides strategic and operational leadership across development,
annual giving, donor relations, stewardship, prospect research, fundraising operations, and related
alumni engagement functions to strengthen fundraising effectiveness, donor engagement,
stewardship practices, and long-term philanthropic growth.
The Director leads the university's comprehensive fundraising strategy, campaign planning and
execution, donor engagement framework, and philanthropy operations while fostering an
integrated donor experience across all stages of the donor lifecycle.
Working collaboratively with the AVP, Director of Development, and university leadership, the
Director establishes clear accountabilities, stewardship standards, performance measures, and
operating practices that support coordinated execution across MacEwan’s philanthropic programs.
The Director represents the university with donors, volunteers, community leaders, corporations,
foundations, and institutional partners, while advising senior leaders on philanthropic strategy and cultivating a culture of philanthropy across the institution.
Key responsibilities include:
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Providing unified leadership across philanthropy-related functions, including development, annual giving, donor relations, stewardship, prospect research and data support;
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Developing a long-range fundraising strategy aligned with university priorities, mission and strategic goals in partnership with the Associate Vice-President and university leadership;
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Establishing clear accountability frameworks including goals, priorities, benchmarks, and timelines to support coordinated execution across the donor lifecycle;
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Aligning portfolio ownership and donor experience ownership to support donor progression from engagement through cultivation, solicitation, stewardship and continued relationship development;
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Leading comprehensive fundraising campaigns and institution-wide fundraising initiatives that advance university priorities;
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Fostering a culture of philanthropy by engaging senior leaders, academic and administrative leaders, University Relations colleagues, volunteers and key stakeholders;
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Building strategic relationships with community leaders, donors, volunteers, organizations and external partners to expand philanthropic opportunities;
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Collaborating with Advancement, Alumni Relations, university leadership, Board members, the President’s Office and internal partners to coordinate fundraising priorities and alumni-to-donor pathways;
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Overseeing innovation and change management strategies and plans that support institutional initiatives and proactively address areas of resistance, concern, and best practice;
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Establishing fundraising performance indicators, including donor retention, pipeline health, stewardship completion, proposal activity and campaign progress;
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Providing strategic leadership and advice to campaign cabinets, advisory commitees, fundraising volunteers, Deans and senior leaders;
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Identifying and mitigating operational, financial, compliance and reputational risks related to philanthropy and fundraising activities;
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Serving as a member of the Advancement leadership team and contributing to an efficient departmental structure aligned with advancement best practices and continuous improvement;
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Leading, supervising, coaching and developing Philanthropy team staff while promoting a high-performing, collaborative and accountable team culture;
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Managing staffing resources, workloads, schedules, time approvals, performance management, labour relations, succession planning and professional development;
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Planning, forecasting and managing departmental budgets and resources in consultation
with the AVP while ensuring compliance with legislation, policies and procedures; -
Leading broad-based fundraising programs, donor engagement strategies, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, recognition and donor progression activities;
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Representing the university with donors, corporations, foundations, community leaders,
volunteers and external partners at meetings, events, tours and engagement activities; -
Overseeing donor experience, stewardship standards, data discipline, prospect tracking,
donor reporting, fundraising systems and day-to-day philanthropy operations; and -
Ensuring effective administration, tracking, payment and reporting of scholarships and
bursaries, while refining policies, procedures and workflows that support fundraising and
donor relations operations.
The new Director will have:
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The ability to lead high-performing, accountable and collaborative fundraising teams, foster
a culture of excellence, innovation and continuous improvement, and contribute to
organizational design that supports long-term departmental success; -
Strong leadership, coaching, change implementation, collaboration and team-building skills, including the ability to clarify roles, decision-making authority and accountabilities in a complex environment;
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The ability to lead integrated donor lifecycle work across major gibs, annual giving,
stewardship, donor relations, prospect research, data systems and alumni-to-donor
pathways; -
The ability to build authentic relationships with donors, prospects, alumni, volunteers,
senior leaders, colleagues and community partners, and to influence and build consensus
through collaboration and a service driven mindset; -
Excellent written, verbal, presentation and public speaking skills, including the ability to
prepare cases for support, donor correspondence, proposals and fundraising
communications; -
Sound judgement, diplomacy, discretion, integrity and respect for confidentiality, with
strong risk management skills related to operational, financial, compliance, reputational and fundraising risks; -
Strong planning, organizational, analytical, problem-solving, workflow design and
attention-to-detail skills, with the ability to adapt to shibing priorities, competing demands
and changing organizational needs; -
Creativity, innovation, and a drive for continuous improvement across all program areas;
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Knowledge of fundraising management software and administrative systems, such as
Raiser’s Edge, and the ability to support data-informed fundraising practices; and -
Knowledge of applicable fundraising, charitable, privacy and Canada Revenue Agency requirements.
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A bachelor’s degree in a related field is required.
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An equivalent combination of education, professional development and directly related
fundraising or advancement experience may be considered. -
A minimum of 10 years of significant progressive experience in fundraising, development
and/or advancement, ideally within a university, health, non-profit or similarly complex
institution. -
Experience should include broad-based fundraising, comprehensive campaign leadership,
donor and prospect relationship management, team and volunteer leadership, fundraising
operations, stewardship, performance measurement and data-informed donor progression
practices. -
Experience coordinating across multiple related advancement functions and leading
through organizational change, including clarifying accountabilities and implementing
integrated donor lifecycle practices, would be considered an asset.
This position is on campus only.
When you become part of the MacEwan University team, you will enjoy a competitive salary. Additionally, our total compensation package includes:
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Competitive base pay
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Generous vacation time
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Secure pension plan
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Flexible benefits package
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Continuous learning culture
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Opportunities for career growth
