Senior Development Officer of Major Gifts – Utah State Athletics

Overview

The Senior Development Officer of Major Gifts for Utah State Athletics provides strategic leadership for the Athletics Major Gifts Program. Overseeing the day-to-day operations of the major gift team and driving philanthropic support. This position is responsible for leading the Blue A Society, expanding it into a comprehensive major giving society that inspires long-term donor engagement and investment. This role will be responsible for strategies to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major gift prospects. This individual will strategically develop proposals and secure major gifts to meet annual fundraising and cash revenue goals.

 

Working collaboratively across the university, the Senior Development Officer partners with athletics leadership, coaches, central advancement, and university administrators to advance fundraising initiatives and strengthen donor relationships. Qualified candidates will have a minimum of 5 years of experience in fundraising, advancement, development, or related sales, with a demonstrated record of securing major gifts, managing donor portfolios, and achieving fundraising goals. Experience in collegiate athletics fundraising is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Leadership

• Oversee day-to-day operations of the major gift team
• Oversee all aspects within the Blue A Society
• Build Blue A Society into a more comprehensive philanthropic major giving society.
• Responsible for Major Gift Team to reach annual fundraising goals including, closed gifts and cash received.

Major Gift Fundraising

• Develop and execute strategies to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major gift prospects.
• Personally solicit leadership and major gifts in support of athletics priorities.
• Meet annual fundraising and revenue goals.
• Serve on the principal gift team.

Collaboration

• Partner with athletics leadership, coaches, advancement staff, and university leadership.
• Serve on Advancement’s leadership team.
• Work closely with central advancement offices.
• Have a firm understanding of USU’s gift accepting and crediting policies and procedures and USU’s naming policy.

Travel and External Engagement

• Attend athletic competitions, donor events, and alumni gatherings.
• Represent the athletic department at fundraising and stewardship events.
• Work evenings and weekends as needed for games and special events.

Data and Performance Management

• Maintain accurate donor records.
• Track visits, proposals, solicitations, and fundraising metrics.
• Prepare reports on fundraising progress.

Reporting

• Will report to Matt White, Vice President of Advancement, and be assigned operationally to Carter Young, Deputy Athletic Director & Chief Revenue Officer for Utah State Athletics.

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field plus five years of fundraising, development, advancement, or related sales experience OR an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated success securing major gifts or high-level philanthropic investments.
• Experience managing donor and prospect portfolios.

Preferred Requirement

• Collegiate athletics fundraising experience.

Required Documents

Along with the online application, please attach:

Resume to be uploaded at the beginning of your application in the Candidate Profile under “Resume/CV”

Cover letter to be typed/pasted at the end of your application

 

**Document size may not exceed 10 MB.**

Advertised Salary

Commensurate with experience, plus excellent benefits

ADA

Employees work indoors and are protected from weather and/or contaminants, but not, necessarily, occasional temperature changes.  The employee is regularly required to sit and often uses repetitive hand motions.

University Highlights

Founded in 1888, Utah State University is Utah’s premier land-grant, public service university. As an R1 research institution, Utah State is dedicated to advancing knowledge and serving the public good through innovative research and scholarly activities that are grounded in reciprocal engagement with local, regional, and global communities. USU prepares students to be active, civically engaged leaders who are prepared to address critical societal challenges. Dedicated to providing a high-quality and affordable education, USU remains a leader in research, discovery, and public impact.

 

USU enrolls over 29,800 students, both online and in