Reporting to the UConn Foundation Board of Directors, the President/CEO of UConn Foundation will provide vision and direction to a full-scale advancement program across fundraising, principal and transformational gifts, annual giving, the current University-wide campaign, alumni affairs, marketing and communications, and donor relations. The President/CEO of UConn Foundation will lead the planning, launch, and implementation of all aspects of the University’s fundraising strategy and be responsible for further building an organization that is well aligned with that strategy, driving quality execution to meet best-in-class expectations. Key to this leader’s success will be the ability to partner effectively with the University President, the Foundation Board of Directors and the University Board of Trustees, and the academic, athletic, and administrative leaders within in the University. Specifically, the President/CEO will:

• Accelerate UConn’s fundraising success by:
  • Expanding and diversifying UConn’s donor base.
  • Enhancing UConn’s ability to identify and cultivate donors capable of making major and transformational gifts.
  • Cultivating emerging opportunities from non-traditional sources.
  • Developing a pipeline of potential donors for the future.
• Recruit, motivate, and mentor a high-performing team and build a healthy organizational culture.
• Lead long-term design, planning, and implementation of institutional campaigns and fundraising initiatives.
• Extend alumni engagement to ensure meaningful connections across a diverse population of alumni, parents, partners, and friends.
• Develop or improve existing processes, systems, and infrastructure necessary to support a comprehensive advancement operation.
• In concert with the University President and her leadership team, cultivate a culture of philanthropy within UConn alumni and parents.

Executive Search Firm, Spencer Stuart, is leading this search. To learn more and apply, contact Jennifer Bol at jbol@spencerstuart.com

IDEAL EXPERIENCE

The successful candidate will be a seasoned, results-oriented leader and manager with a track record of successful and impactful leadership, including change management, within a university development enterprise or an institution of similar complexity. Specifically, they will have:

• Proven success in stewarding and closing major and principal gifts, with a track record of driving fundraising expansion and growth, preferably including leadership within a campaign setting.
• Successfully cultivated a wide range of donors, alumni, and volunteers leading to meaningful engagement.
• A track record of recruiting, retaining, and leading a talented staff of highly functioning and collaborative individuals.
• Experience working productively with boards.
• Experience working across and leading successfully within complex institutions, multiple stakeholders and partners, and diverse agendas.
• Financial fluency.
• Bachelor’s degree or greater.

CRITICAL LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES

Strategic Leadership

The President/CEO will be a strategic thinker who can move fluidly between the big picture and the details. They will formulate a bold vision, see around corners, and provide the creativity required to motivate, inspire, and realize a new level of philanthropic success and alumni engagement by:

• Developing, communicating, and executing a strategic vision in a distributed organizational context, responding to both opportunities and challenges to meeting stated goals.
• Translating UConn Foundation’s fundraising goals and strategy into clear, specific objectives for development of staff, board members, internal partners, and stakeholders.
• Effectively employing data-driven decision making to support strategic aims.
• Making strategic investments in technology to enhance internal operations and processes and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of external outreach and engagement.

Team Leadership

The President/CEO will be a culture-carrier and will create a positive, collaborative environment and culture that fosters a high level of performance and accountability by:

• Leading and growing a talented and motivated staff to develop and execute a strategic plan. Especially important will be an ability to facilitate successful change management to ensure full engagement and alignment across the institution.
• Developing a positive and productive organizational culture characterized by trust, mutual respect, accountability, operational excellence, innovation, optimism, collaboration, velocity, and rigor.
• Translating fundraising and alumni engagement goals into priorities and individual performance measures that are aligned with organizational objectives. Communicating regularly about long-term goals to reinforce the bigger picture.
• Creating an inclusive workplace environment that attracts, retains, and develops underrepresented talent for the organization, encouraging open communication.

Relationship Building

The President/CEO will work closely with many stakeholders and partners across the UConn community and beyond. They will be a relationship builder who will partner cross-functionally and work effectively with various levels of the organization by:

• Building relationships through trust, open communication, shared goals, and devotion to the UConn mission.
• Demonstrating resourcefulness, creativity, and respectful persistence in forging new relationships with University leadership, Foundation staff, stakeholders, prior transformational donors, potential donors, and external partners, including community, corporate, and other industry leaders.
• Inspiring and galvanizing the advancement team, wider staff, leadership, board, and donors around fundraising, and broadening the culture of philanthropy internally and externally.

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS

• Outstanding communicator and connector
• High energy with an exemplary work ethic
• High integrity and values-driven
• Intellectual curiosity
• Creative and entrepreneurial