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Senior Associate Director of Advancement

  • Company: Indian Mountain School
  • Location: Hybrid
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About Indian Mountain School

IMS is an independent coeducational junior boarding and day school for children in grades pre-K through 9. Of their approximately 310 students, more than 105 are boarding students, in grades 6 through 9, from across the country and around the world. The school’s two campuses are situated on 600 breathtaking acres in Lakeville, Connecticut. Their curriculum is designed to inspire students to examine the world—and to be the change they wish to see in it. They believe that their students have the power to effect real change, and that it is their job to help their students realize that potential. By bringing real-world issues into play, students grow into active and responsible participants in their own education and become inspired to think beyond themselves.

IMS students take risks, fall down, and get back up again, often with the helping hand of a classmate or teacher. They set the bar high, cheer for the success of others, and above all, are guided by the belief that they are better together in an academically challenging environment for learning. Every student at IMS is known, loved, and inspired to challenge themselves and each other. At Indian Mountain School, students find a vibrant, diverse, and intelligent community of learners and teachers who are deeply committed to fostering a high sense of belonging and the joyful spirit of childhood.

IMS faculty provide equal measures of challenge and support by grounding their pedagogy in IMS’s mission, values, and current educational research. IMS believes that academic rigor, intellectual engagement, and fun are mutually supportive. They teach their students to navigate the issues they face in an increasingly complex world. They encourage them to embrace difficult topics, and they always do so from a place of honesty, compassion, and respect – the school’s core values.

IMS also teaches their students to embrace the Courage to Climb Higher — and to share this work together as a community. This goal is inspired by the Mountain, which offers a unique learning environment for day and boarding students alike. They recognize it takes courage to wander from an expected path, see something new, and consider different perspectives. This is what they see each day from their students as they work with IMS’ exceptional teachers.

To learn more about IMS, please visit www.indianmountain.org.

The Role of Senior Associate Director of Advancement

Reporting to an engaged and collaborative leader, Sarah Smith, the Senior Associate Director of Advancement will join a talented team working to expand philanthropic support from parents, alumni, and friends for IMS’s educational programs, facilities, and endowment. The successful candidate will benefit from a well-established and strong culture of philanthropy, as well as have opportunities for professional development and to grow as a fundraising professional.

The Senior Associate Director of Advancement will:

  • Develop and manage a strategy to grow the Annual Fund that meaningfully articulates the importance of philanthropic support to the school using multi-channel outreach to engage each of the school’s discreet audiences;
  • Track donor performance, manage audience segmentation and targeting, and explore new and innovative strategies to maximize revenue;
  • Increase leadership giving prospects by cultivating and stewarding gifts, identifying and prioritizing prospects for annual gift donors;
  • Work in partnership with the advancement staff to develop and manage programs to engage parents and alumni with a particular focus on next-generation donor cultivation;
  • Use a data-driven approach to assigning prospect pools across the department;
  • Work closely with the Director of Advancement to assess and strengthen all aspects of the advancement operation, including prospect tracking, productivity metrics, and staff management; and
  • Educate and inform donors on ways to support the school that are aligned with their philanthropic goals.

The most successful candidates will:

  • Possess a high level of creativity, initiative, motivation, and tenacity;  
  • Demonstrate a consistent record of building robust relationships, and soliciting and closing gifts;
  • Lead, inspire, and support colleagues while effectively managing their own prospect pool;
  • Demonstrate highly refined relationship management skills and an ability to craft messages that resonate with sophisticated donors;
  • Possess active listening and communication skills with the ability to establish rapport and communicate effectively with a wide range of constituencies (alumni, donors, trustees, parents, faculty, and community) across various platforms;
  • Possess a high degree of professional discretion, integrity, good judgment, and high standards of professional conduct;
  • Possess a body of professional knowledge, commitment, and experience around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging; and
  • Thrive in a close-knit, student-focused community and possess a genuine interest in engaging actively in the life of the institution.
Contact Information

This is a full-time position that will be performed on site in Connecticut, however, hybrid work arrangements will be considered. Salary commensurate with experience with a generous benefits package.

Evaluation of candidate materials will begin immediately and continue until a new Senior Associate Director of Advancement is named. Inquiries, nominations, and letters of interest with a résumé may be sent in confidence to [email protected]

 Indian Mountain School is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its employment policies, educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid and loan programs, and other school-administered programs.