Job Description

Job Location: The Northwest School - Seattle, WA 98122

Position Type: Full Time Administrative Faculty

Salary Range: $95,000.00 - $105,000.00 Salary/year

Job Category: Business DevelopmentAssociate Director of Annual Giving and Engagement

Reports to: Director of Advancement

FLSA: Exempt

Salary Range: $95,000–$105,000, commensurate with experience

Position Summary

The Associate Director of Annual Giving & Engagement is a key member of the Advancement team responsible for leading the school’s annual giving program and advancing donor engagement strategies that generate philanthropic support and strengthen long-term relationships with the school.

Working in close partnership with the Director of Advancement, the Associate Director develops and executes comprehensive annual fundraising strategies, manages a portfolio of donors and prospects, conducts direct solicitations, and builds a strong pipeline of current and future supporters. The position has significant responsibility for achieving annual revenue and participation goals and uses data, donor relationships, events, communications, and volunteer engagement to drive fundraising results.

The Associate Director also plays a leadership role in strengthening the school’s culture of philanthropy among families, alumni, employees, and other members of the community and serves as a strategic partner to the Director of Advancement on broader fundraising and engagement priorities.

Core Responsibilities

1. Annual Giving Strategy & Revenue Generation

• Lead the strategy, planning, implementation, and evaluation of the school’s Annual Fund program, with accountability for achieving established revenue and participation goals.
• Develop annual fundraising plans, calendars, goals, projections, and performance measures in partnership with the Director of Advancement.
• Design and execute comprehensive multi-channel solicitation strategies, including direct mail, email, digital giving, personal outreach, peer-to-peer solicitation, and targeted campaigns.
• Develop donor segmentation and solicitation strategies based on giving history, capacity, engagement, and philanthropic interests.
• Personally cultivate, solicit, and steward donors and prospects through meetings, calls, written proposals, and other individualized outreach.
• Identify opportunities to increase donor retention, acquisition, upgrades, recurring giving, and leadership-level annual gifts.
• Regularly analyze fundraising results and donor trends and adjust strategies to maximize revenue and participation.
• Partner with the Director of Advancement on leadership annual giving and other priority fundraising initiatives.

1. Donor Portfolio & Pipeline Management

• Manage an assigned portfolio of donors and prospects, with responsibility for developing and advancing individualized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies.
• Build and maintain a robust pipeline of prospective donors through qualification, research, engagement, and relationship development.
• Establish meaningful donor contacts and solicitation activity throughout the year and maintain consistent movement of prospects through the fundraising cycle.
• Identify donors with increased giving potential and develop strategies to deepen their philanthropic engagement with the school.
• Prepare donor briefings, solicitation strategies, proposals, and other materials for meetings involving school leadership, volunteers, and Advancement staff.
• Partner with the Director of Advancement to identify prospects for major, planned, campaign, or other significant gifts and ensure appropriate transition and coordination.
• Maintain timely and accurate documentation of donor interactions, next steps, proposals, and pipeline activity in the Advancement database.

1. Fundraising Events & Donor Engagement

• Develop and execute fundraising and donor engagement events that advance cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and revenue goals.
• Lead planning and execution of the school’s primary fundraising event, including fundraising strategy, sponsorships, donor engagement, volunteer leadership, and coordination of event logistics.
• Ensure fundraising events are intentionally integrated into broader donor cultivation and solicitation strategies rather than operating solely as community events.
• Identify opportunities to engage donors and prospects before, during, and following events to deepen relationships and increase philanthropic support.
• Evaluate event performance, including revenue, expenses, donor participation, and engagement outcomes, and recommend improvements.

1. Volunteer Fundraising Leadership

• Recruit, train, support, and manage fundraising volunteers, including parents, alumni, and other community volunteers.
• Develop volunteer structures and tools that enable effective peer-to-peer cultivation and solicitation.
• Partner with volunteer leaders to establish goals, identify prospects, coordinate outreach, and monitor progress.
• Provide volunteers with appropriate donor information, talking points, training, and follow-up support.
• Develop meaningful recognition and stewardship practices that strengthen long-term volunteer engagement.

1. Fundraising Analytics, Forecasting & Advancement Operations

• Monitor Annual Fund revenue, donor participation, retention, acquisition, upgrades, and other key performance indicators.
• Maintain accurate fundraising forecasts and provide regular updates on progress toward annual goals.
• Use donor data and fundraising analytics to identify trends, opportunities, risks, and areas requiring additional attention.
• Partner with Advancement colleagues to ensure accurate donor and prospect records, gift documentation, acknowledgement, and reporting.
• Develop dashboards, reports, and other materials to communicate fundraising progress to the Director of Advancement, school leadership, and Board as appropriate.
• Ensure fundraising activities and donor information are documented consistently and in accordance with Advancement practices and confidentiality expectations.
• Recommend improvements to fundraising systems, processes, and workflows that strengthen efficiency, donor experience, and results.

1. Community Engagement & Advancement Leadership

• Collaborate on parent, alumni, and community engagement strategies that strengthen relationships and create pathways to deeper philanthropic involvement.
• Build productive relationships across the school community and serve as an effective ambassador for the school and its philanthropic priorities.
• Partner with school leadership, faculty, staff, and volunteers to identify compelling stories and opportunities for donor engagement.
• Represent the Advancement Office at school and community events as appropriate.
• Serve as a strategic thought partner to the Director of Advancement and contribute to annual planning, goal setting, and broader Advancement priorities.
• Provide leadership on special fundraising initiatives and projects as assigned.
• Support other Advancement and school-wide priorities as needed.

QualificationsQualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
• Minimum of 6 years of progressively responsible experience in fundraising, development, advancement, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing successful annual giving or other fundraising strategies.
• Demonstrated experience personally cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors.
• Experience managing a donor or prospect portfolio and moving relationships through the fundraising cycle.
• Demonstrated ability to work toward and achieve measurable fundraising and revenue goals.
• Strong understanding of donor engagement, stewardship, and relationship-based fundraising.
• Experience developing multi-channel fundraising campaigns and targeted donor communications.
• Strong analytical skills and demonstrated ability to use fundraising data to inform strategy and decision-making.
• Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and presentation skills.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and stakeholders.
• Experience working with fundraising databases/CRMs and maintaining accurate donor and prospect information.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and collaborate effectively with colleagues, volunteers, donors, and organizational leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in an independent school, higher education, or other mission-driven organization.
• Experience managing a significant Annual Fund or comparable annual giving program.
• Experience soliciting leadership-level annual gifts.
• Experience with fundraising events, sponsorships, and volunteer-led fundraising.
• Familiarity with prospect management, moves management, donor research, and fundraising analytics.
• Experience partnering with senior organizational leadership and/or governing boards on fundraising initiatives.

Core Competencies

• Fundraising strategy and execution
• Donor cultivation and solicitation
• Revenue and results orientation
• Relationship and portfolio management
• Strategic thinking and judgment
• Data-informed decision-making
• Project and priority management
• Persuasive communication and storytelling
• Collaboration and influence
• Initiative, accountability, and follow-through

Compensation & Benefits

The salary range is $95,000 to $105,000 per annum, based on education, relevant experience, and demonstrated expertise. This is a 1.0 FTE exempt, benefits-eligible position.

The Northwest School offers an excellent benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, short- and long-term disability, and life and accident insurance coverage, fully paid for employee only coverage. A retirement program currently matches up to 6% of an employee's salary after one year of service in a 403(b) plan. An intentional, mission focused school culture, generous time off, lunch, access to the on-site fitness facility, an exceptional commitment to professional development, and a unique urban location are also benefits of working at the Northwest School.

Work Schedule

The typical schedule is typically 40 hours per week and will generally be established in collaboration with the Director of Advancement. Additional hours may be required during peak advancement events or other high-volume periods. This is an in-person, on-site position. Based on the needs of the department, remote work is not an option at this time.

Application Process

Please submit a cover letter and résumé online at: https://www.northwestschool.org/about/employment.

**Please note: We are unable to fully consider materials submitted through other avenues such as Indeed.com without a corresponding application through our website.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer that values workplace diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, genetic information, or marital status.