Assistant Vice President for Development

The Assistant Vice President (AVP) for Development provides strategic leadership for individual giving at Hobart and William Smith, including major and principal gifts, planned giving, parent programs, and donor relations. Reporting to the Vice President for Advancement, the AVP leads frontline fundraising efforts, overseeing portfolio strategy, fundraising performance, and campaign execution to advance institutional priorities.

The AVP directs and supports major gift officers and related staff, ensuring disciplined portfolio management, effective donor progression, and strong fundraising results. In partnership with Advancement Services, the AVP oversees portfolio optimization, pipeline development, and prospect strategy to align assignments with donor capacity, affinity, and philanthropic potential.

The AVP also provides strategic oversight of donor relations and stewardship, ensuring that recognition, impact reporting, and engagement efforts are integrated with cultivation and solicitation strategies to strengthen donor retention and support fundraising goals.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic leadership for individual philanthropy programs, including major gifts, principal gifts, planned giving, and parent programs, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and campaign goals.

• Lead and manage a team of frontline fundraising professionals, including the executive director of major gifts (and team of major gift officers), leadership giving staff, and the director of parent programs, setting clear expectations for performance, activity, and outcomes.

• Oversee the identification, assignment, and management of principal gift prospects, including distribution of prospects across major gift officers in coordination with Advancement Services and retention of select high-level relationships in partnership with the Vice President for Advancement.

• Conduct regular one-on-one coaching and portfolio review meetings with gift officers to strengthen cultivation strategy, solicitation readiness, donor progression, and visit sequencing.

• Oversee portfolio strategy and pipeline development in partnership with Advancement Services, including ongoing portfolio balancing and optimization based on donor capacity, affinity, and institutional priorities.

• Ensure disciplined management of donor portfolios, including accountability for prospect movement through cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship stages.

• Establish performance standards and metrics for fundraising activity, pipeline development, and revenue outcomes across individual giving programs.

• Provide strategic guidance on major and principal gift strategies, ensuring high-capacity prospects are effectively identified, cultivated, and solicited.

• Partner with the Vice President for Advancement, President, trustees, and senior leadership to support cultivation and solicitation of transformational philanthropic investments.

• Collaborate closely with Communications [possible communications liaison in Advancement] to ensure timely and effective development of fundraising strategies, proposals, and donor-facing materials.

• Provide strategic direction to Donor Relations staff to ensure stewardship strategies are fully aligned with donor engagement, cultivation, and solicitation plans across all individual giving programs.

• Contribute to the development and execution of campaign strategies and long-term fundraising priorities.

• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and high performance within the development team.

• Participate in senior leadership discussions related to advancement strategy, campaign planning, and institutional fundraising priorities.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

Other Information:

This is a full-time, 12-month, benefits-eligible position that requires working from HWS Advancement headquarters on the Campus of Hobart and William Smith (i.e., this is not a remote position). Some travel will be necessary. Work hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the academic year with a possible shortened workweek during the scheduled summer hours period. This position description is not all-inclusive as other tasks or responsibilities may be assigned. Salary range: $110,000 - $130,000

About HWS

A liberal arts and sciences institution, Hobart and William Smith is known for consistent success in preparing students for meaningful lives and fulfilling careers through an outcomes-based focus on their futures. Our nationally ranked faculty are accessible teachers and scholars known for the impact of their research and distinguished by the depth of their mentorship. World challenges are studied in the classroom where critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills are honed. In the field, knowledge turns into discovery. In office hours, plans are carefully crafted to tie interests and talents to an academic path that motivates beyond graduation.

Our location in the heart of the Finger Lakes allows faculty, staff and students to live and work collaboratively on the banks of a resource-rich lake. Student-athletes play for 30 varsity teams boasting 24 national titles, including the 2023 and 2024 NCAA DIII Men’s Ice Hockey Championships. With three graduate programs, students can build on their undergraduate degree with a Master of Arts in Higher Education Leadership, Master of Arts in Teaching, or a Master of Science in Management. Together, the experiences and mentorship at HWS prepare students to lead lives of consequence.

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.

• Minimum of 10 years of progressive development experience with demonstrated success in major and/or principal gift fundraising.

• Proven track record of securing significant philanthropic commitments and managing high-value donor relationships.

• Experience leading and developing frontline fundraising teams, preferably in higher education.

• Demonstrated expertise in portfolio management, pipeline development, and donor cultivation strategy.

• Strong coaching and staff development skills, with the ability to improve performance through structured feedback and accountability.

• Experience working with advancement services, data systems, and portfolio management tools preferred.

• Strong strategic thinking, organizational, and analytical skills with the ability to manage complex fundraising environments.

• Exceptional interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to work effectively with senior institutional leadership, including presidents, trustees, and volunteers.

• High level of professionalism, integrity, initiative, and commitment to philanthropic excellence.

The Colleges are an equal employment opportunity employer and prohibit discrimination and harassment in their programs and activities against employees or applicants based on race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, citizenship, genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status, familial status, domestic violence victim status, caregiver status, military status, including past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services, social class, or any other category or characteristic protected by applicable law.