Executive Summary

Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world's brightest minds and most innovative ​tools to address fundamental scientific questions and pressing societal challenges. Caltech's extraordinary faculty and students are ​expanding understanding of the universe and inventing the technologies of the future, with research interests from quantum science ​and engineering to bioinformatics and the nature of life itself, from human behavior and economics to energy and sustainability.

Caltech is small but prizes excellence and ambition. The contributions of Caltech's faculty and alumni have earned national and ​international recognition, including 40 Nobel Prizes. The institute manages the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for NASA, sending probes ​to explore the planets of the solar system and quantify changes on Earth; owns and operates large-scale research facilities such as the ​Seismological Laboratory and a global network of astronomical observatories, including the Palomar and W. M. Keck Observatories; ​and cofounded and comanages LIGO, which, in 2016, observed gravitational waves for the first time.

The Opportunity

The purpose of Advancement and Alumni Relations (AAR) is to foster a thriving and engaged community of support for Caltech. By ​connecting the people who share and support Caltech's mission and values, we will ensure the Institute receives the necessary ​resources to achieve Caltech's aspirations and sustain its excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship in perpetuity.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Individual Giving, the Senior Director of Development for Humanities and Social Sciences (SDOD, ​HSS) manages and executes the major and principal gift fundraising for the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) at Caltech. ​As an individual contributor, the SDOD provides leadership in fundraising to advance the mission and goals of the Division and the ​Institute. The SDOD will collaborate broadly with campus and academic leadership, Advancement and Alumni Relations colleagues, ​faculty, and volunteer councils to ensure strategic coordination and integration of Division funding priorities across the Institute. The ​SDOD, HSS will be personally responsible for a portfolio of donors affiliated with the Division, interdisciplinary institutes, and centers ​associated with the Division, as well as Institute wide funding priorities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 7-10 years of progressively responsible development experience.
  
• Proven experience raising major gifts, including raising six figure gifts from individuals.
  
• A working understanding of a research university environment and working with prominent faculty along with the grace and ​enthusiasm necessary to engage high net worth individuals on behalf of Caltech.
  
• Demonstrated success persuading and influencing groups and individuals to support the organization's agenda with respect to ​colleagues, team members, volunteer leadership and other potential stakeholders.
  
• Outstanding demonstrated success building, cultivating, and stewarding new relationships leading to measurable results i.e., ​larger donor base, increase in campaign revenue, increase in volunteer participation and partnership.
  
• Demonstrated success personally soliciting significant principal and major gifts.
  
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and a track record of successfully managing current and prospective ​benefactors at the principal and major gift level along with outstanding social skills, instincts, judgment, and integrity are ​required for success. The ideal candidate will be an ambitious and motivated professional, who values a collaborative working ​environment and who will be able establish strong, interpersonal relationships with academic leaders, donors, and ​development office staff.
  
• Must demonstrate a highly sophisticated understanding of all aspects of the cultivation and solicitation process, whether ​staffing senior administrators such as the Institute's President, members of the Board of Trustees, HSS Division Chair and key ​faculty or making successful solicitations him/herself.
  
• Candidates must be comfortable with a flexible work schedule, including travel for major donor cultivation and some evening ​and weekend work.
  
• Demonstrate the ability to practice and adhere to organizational values..
  

Application Instructions

Caltech has partnered with Higher Talent to assist in this recruitment. Please contact President, Mindy Cohen to share your

resume and cover letter via email at ms@highertalentinc.com.