Director of Advancement Services Girls Preparatory School Chattanooga, Tennessee

Melanie Northcutt

ABOUT GIRLS PREPARATORY SCHOOL Girls Preparatory School (GPS) was founded in 1906 to provide girls with the necessary courses to pursue a college education. GPS has proudly graduated almost 6,000 young women since then. Currently, 131 faculty and staff serve about 550 girls in grades 6-12 with a college preparatory curriculum that includes a full complement of humanities, arts, and STEM courses and co-curricular programs of leadership development, athletics, performing arts, and community engagement. General Description The Director of Advancement Services reports to the Chief Development Officer and directs the activities needed to support the moves management process for all donors. This position provides the analysis needed to identify prospective donors, segment them based on their giving potential and inclination, support fundraisers in nurturing prospects, and track the progress of donors through the pipeline. S/He conducts prospect research, maintains the endowment stewardship program, and supports stewardship activities, annual and special campaigns, and other major gifts fundraising efforts. S/He also has oversight of Raiser’s Edge database, ensuring data integrity; the processing of pledges, gifts, and acknowledgments; and generation of data queries and dashboards/reports for the Development team, Business Office, Board of Trustees, and Head of School. Essential Duties and Responsibilities • Lead prospect research, moves management, and support of frontline fundraisers. • Drive strategic reporting and analysis, reporting, and queries. • Oversee donor stewardship, including for endowed funds and student awards. • Manage Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge fundraising database integrity, updates, and best practices. • Propose and test new opportunities to maximize Raiser’s Edge support for new fundraising channels, including online donations. • Train and provide ongoing support to staff on Raiser’s Edge usage and SOPs. • Oversee gift and data policies and processes. • Partner with the business office to ensure compliance, accuracy, and reconciliation. • Coordinate annual audit of gift records, including reporting of outstanding pledges and gift entry. • Coordinate with the Chief Development Officer in the direction of administrative staff involved in the gift entry and acknowledgment process. 2 General Skill & Experience Requirements • Bachelor’s degree in related field required. • Two to three years’ experience managing fundraising campaigns and large-scale fundraising events required. • Proven experience managing and leveraging Raiser’s Edge to support fundraising goals. • Knowledge of nonprofit and donor-centric fundraising, preferably in a complex environment within an independent school or higher education organization. • Strong financial acumen and experience in gift accounting and reporting, IRS regulations, FASB/GASB, and CASE Management and Reporting Standards. • Self-starter, ability to identify problems and propose solutions. • Ability to work effectively with a variety of constituents, volunteers, and co-workers in all departments of the School in a deadline-driven environment. • Extensive attention to detail. • High levels of flexibility, patience, and humor are necessary to address the practicalities of maintaining a large donor database and facilitating the extraction of data for broad organizational use. • Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office products and Google Suite. • Knowledge and experience within a Mac environment also preferred. Competencies • Alignment with GPS Mission and Values. • Commitment to professional development and self-improvement. Physical Requirements and Work Environment: • Generally works in standard office conditions and climate. • Ability to work at a desk and computer for extended periods of time. It is the School’s policy to provide equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, genetic information, veteran status, or disability or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or local anti-discrimination laws. It is the intent and resolve of the School to comply with the letter and the spirit of the law in the implementation of all facets of equal opportunity. The School’s equal employment opportunity practices extend to recruitment, hiring, selection, compensation, benefits, transfer, promotion, training, discipline, and all other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. All employees are responsible for complying with the School’s equal employment opportunity policy. To Apply click here