Jobs and Careers

Advancement Director, Northeast- Washington, D.C. Area Home Office

Home Office, United States, United Statesfull_timeVerifiedPosted 25 Nov 2025

💰 $165,400/yr($25,000/yr – $165,400/yr)

About the role

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Grade: Professional 312

Pay Range: $106,700.00 - $165,400.00

Job Description

***This Northeast Advancement Director will reside in, and work from a remote home office within a commutable distance from Washington DC***

Job Description Summary

The Regional Director is responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding gifts of $25,000 and above from alumni and other constituents to support WGU and its students. The qualified candidate will manage a portfolio of approximately 100-150 donor prospects and will conduct a minimum of 12-15 personal visits a month, entailing local and regional travel. This position must work independently and collaboratively with the advancement team and other stakeholders such as senior administration, dean’s, chancellors and others. The MGO candidate will be an individual who has demonstrated and progressive development experience in major gifts. The selected candidate will develop long-term relationships with various constituencies and help develop a pipeline of prospective donors. The purpose of this position is to secure funds for WGU by managing a group of identified, qualified donors assuring as many as possible are retained as continuing donors to WGU and are upgraded in their giving and involvement. The Major Gift Officer will assist donors by helping them fulfill their passions and interests through giving to WGU to further support the students we serve.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

The Advancement Director is responsible for identification and progression of major gift prospects through the gift cycle: (identification, research, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship) as well as documenting all prospects interactions, outcomes, strategies and rationales in WGU’s donor tracking system.

Engages prospective donors and builds strong relationships. Develops proposals based on WGU’s fundraising priorities and donor investment interests; ensures all proposals are internally approved before presenting to prospects.

Works collaboratively with the WGU Advancement team, the Chief Academic Officer, and other internal constituents to develop both broad reach and targeted engagement opportunities.

Assists in the development of annual fundraising goals using past giving history and anticipated new funding opportunities.

Creates personal stewardship plans for each donor in the director’s portfolio.

Works collaboratively across the university so that all proposals/reports are well prepared and properly vetted so that WGU is represented in a professional and thoughtful way.