Posted: Jun 20, 2025
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Director of Parent Giving

The Governor's Academy - Newbury, MA
Full-time
Salary: Annually
Application Deadline: Aug 1, 2025
Education

The Director of Parent Giving is responsible for the design and implementation of parent giving at The Governor’s Academy, including support for The Governor’s Fund and major giving to other Academy priorities. Coordinating closely with key trustees and volunteers, the Head of School, Director of Advancement, Director of Major Gifts, Director of Annual Giving, and Director of Alumni and Parent Engagement, the Director will be the primary coordinator and solicitor of parents at Governor’s.  

The Director’s primary responsibility will be the management of a 150-prospect portfolio of current parents. Additionally, the Director will be the principal coordinator of parent giving, working closely with the Head of School, administrators, or key trustees and volunteers to solicit all major gift parent prospects. 

Building a culture of partnership between the Academy and parents is essential to the Governor’s parent experience. Being a key contributor to the design and implementation of school communications, on-campus events, regional events, and virtual events will be a key contributor to the success of short term strategies as well as the long-term vision for the parent program.   

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Manage a portfolio of 150 +/- prospects.  Responsible for personal solicitations in support of the annual fund and other Academy funding priorities.
  • Partner with Marketing and Communications, Head of School, and Director of Alumni and Parent Engagement to develop and execute a comprehensive, personalized parent communications plan.
  • Design and build a Senior Parent Gift.
  • Manage up to, support, or participate in solicitations with the Director of Advancement and the Head of School.   
  • Determine fundraising targets for annual giving and other funding priorities. 
  • Work with the Director of Annual Giving on participation strategies to consistently reach 80+% parent participation.  
  • Direct and oversee grandparent fundraising, including solicitation of major gift grandparent prospects, grandparent participation strategies, and the design and execution of Grandparents and Grandfriends Day.
  • Develop and manage metrics to measure the effectiveness of strategies, working closely with the Director of Advancement Services to build and analyze donor lists and reports.
  • Oversee and implement major parent fundraising events, such as Govs Giving Day. 
  • Coordinate with the Director of Donor Relations to design and implement donor stewardship strategies for parents. 
  • Provide strategy and oversight for all parent events, including on-campus events, regional events, and virtual events.
  • Partner with parent volunteer leaders to increase engagement among current parents.
  • Must show a demonstrated interest in social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion work and have experience creating equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist spaces in their teaching.

REQUIREMENTS

  • Bachelor’s degree required. 
  • 5-7 years of direct fundraising experience; solicitation of 5- and 6-figure gifts a plus.
  • Demonstrated organizational and communication skills and ability to work with and motivate other development professionals and volunteers. 
  • Ability to work independently and cooperatively within a team environment. 
  • Willingness and ability to travel (up to 25%) and to work nights and weekends, as required.
  • Understanding of database management, gift processing and donor relations.
  • Openness to new ideas and their implementation. Ability to react and adapt to changing situations appropriately.
  • Demonstrated analytical and fundraising skills with the ability to recognize opportunities, identify critical, high value-add activities and prioritize them to attain goals.
  • Ability to establish rapport quickly with donors. 
  • Familiarity with boarding school culture a plus and willingness to be a part of a close-knit community.
  • Alignment with Academy’s focus on community and belonging work.
  • Project management skills, including planning, budgeting, and the ability to balance multiple tasks and projects while delivering quality work on schedule.
  • Trust, accountability, discretion, honesty, and teamwork.
  • Proficient in Microsoft Office suite, Google Workspace or other computing, productivity and collaboration tools.

HOURS 

  • Monday – Friday. Overtime, weekends, and nights are required at times. 
  • Salary/Exempt 

SUPERVISION RECEIVED 

  • This position reports to the Director of Advancement

WORK ENVIRONMENT

  • The successful candidate will be flexible, enthusiastic, hardworking, and responsible and will enjoy a very busy work environment in which they will meet many people on a daily basis.  
  • The Governor's Academy is a non-smoking campus.