Director of the Jax State Athletic Foundation

Jacksonville State University invites applications and nominations for the position of Director of the Jax State Athletic Foundation beginning no later than July 1, 2025.

Under the general direction of the Associate Vice President for Philanthropy and in collaboration with the Vice President of Athletics, the Director of the Jax State Athletic Foundation leads a comprehensive development program to secure major gifts supporting athletic programs. This includes funding for operations, endowments and capital projects.

The Director is responsible for developing and executing a strategic plan to enhance engagement, commitment and philanthropic support from alumni, parents, friends and community partners. The role focuses on increasing annual unrestricted contributions, as well as capital and endowment gifts aligned with Athletics priorities. At least 60% of the position's responsibilities involve direct engagement with qualified prospects and donors for cultivation and solicitation. Employment in this role is contingent upon compliance with university policies, NCAA regulations and conference affiliation guidelines.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develops a detailed program-specific fundraising plan in coordination with the Associate Vice President for Philanthropy, outlining the organizational structure, volunteer duties needed, time schedules and method of operation

•  Manages a caseload of no more than 100 major gift donors and prospects at the $25,000+ level

• Executes strategies for identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewarding of major donors and key volunteers for Athletics and Academics

• Conducts prospect research and identification that will lead to the solicitation of individual major gifts

• Develops and keeps current a database of major gift prospects while executing strategies to ensure that newly identified prospects are contacted in a timely manner

• Prepares and presents major gift proposals

• Cultivates and manages relationships with donors

• Develops support materials, presentations and correspondence for major gift requests

• Communicates progress toward development goals with the Associate Vice President for Philanthropy

• Provides leadership and support for major gift volunteers and solicitation committees

• Provides orientation and guidance to volunteers

• Encourages qualified prospects to consider the benefits of including JSU in their estate plans

• Monitors a timely system of gift acknowledgement, including the mailing of receipts, the advising of appropriate University officials and reporting to donors for memorials and similar projects

• Manages a team of athletic philanthropy officers to include Football, Men's Sports and Women's Sports

• Develops and manages the Jax State Athletic Foundation Advisory Board, which consists of former athletes from each sport

• Provides oversight and direction for the Jax State NIL ER

• Other duties as assigned

REQUIREMENTS

 Knowledge of:

• University policies, rules and regulations

• Division/Department and University policies, procedures, functions and related regulations, as well as organizational relationships, mission, goals and expectations

• Database Management software (i.e. Blackbaud Raiser's Edge)

• Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, and Power Point), Adobe Acrobat, and social media web platform

• NCAA rules as they apply to marketing athletics programs

• Financial management and fundraising, preferably in a higher education setting

• Corporate sponsorship and sales trends

Skills:

• Effective time management skills

• Strong analytical skills

• Aptitude for working with numbers and reconciling activity

• Organized, attentive to detail and customer-focused

• Excellent interpersonal skills

• Monitoring and assessment skills to help ensure necessary enhancements and/or corrective action   is taken

• Active listening skills to help ensure the needs of all parties are considered and represented

• Quick thinking and solutions oriented

Ability to:

• Lead, supervise and evaluate employees

• Work and communicate effectively with diverse populations

• Use diplomacy and discretion when giving out information and referring callers and visitors

• Work independently and maintain confidentiality

• Meet schedules and deadlines related to the role

• Manage budgets

• Determine work priorities, plan and organize a variety of work duties, and delegate effectively to others

• Develop and maintain professional work relationships with administrators, co-workers, faculty, students and the general JSU community

• Make effective presentation to large and small groups

• Communicate orally and in writing, with co-workers, administrators, public officials, employees, national organizations and students from a variety of backgrounds

• Cultivate, develop and maintain sales relationships and partnership

• Gather and analyze information in order to make recommendations

• Work with minimum supervision and as part of a team

• Work successfully under deadlines and goals; manage multiple projects simultaneously and effectively, to exhibit energy and strong interpersonal skills in the accomplishment of goals

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, public relations, communications or a related field

• Minimum five (5) years’ experience in fundraising, sales, marketing and/or promotions

• Prior management experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Two (2) to Four (4) years of management experience, preferably in a fundraising setting

• Master’s Degree

To view the position profile, visit https://www.highereducationleadershipsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/JSU-AthleticFoundationDirector-FEB25-compressed-1.pdf

To apply for this position, visit https://www.highereducationleadershipsearch.com/candidate-portal-form.

To nominate someone for this position, e-mail: nominations@highereducationleadershipsearch.com

Bill Meehan, Ed.D. will be assisting the Jacksonville State University with the search. If you have questions or would like to have a confidential conversation about the position, call 256-239-2305 or e-mail billmeehan@highereducationleadershipsearch.com

Jacksonville State University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and specifically invites applications from women, minorities, veterans and people with disabilities.

Candidates for this position will be considered through March 24, 2025