Vice President of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas seeks a strong leader with savvy fundraising, alumni relations, and advancement experience to serve as its next vice president for philanthropy and alumni engagement (VP).

Since its founding in 1957, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) has undergone an amazing transformation — from a dusty outpost on the south edge of town to a thriving urban research institution. Along the way, thanks to its innovative frontier spirit, UNLV has kept pace with one of the country's fastest-growing and most enterprising cities. During the course of its evolution, UNLV has grown to over 30,000 students with a budget exceeding $660 million. In 2018, UNLV was recognized as R1 “very high research activity” status by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education and has created one of the most affirmative and dynamic academic environments in the country. UNLV continues to rise in U.S. News & World Report’s annual listing of the nation’s most diverse universities for undergraduates. It has erected more than 100 buildings, developed dozens of graduate programs, created strong partnerships with the local community, and fielded nationally ranked sports teams.

In the fall of 2016, the UNLV Foundation and the UNLV Alumni Association merged to establish the Division of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement. UNLV's alumni association includes over 121,000 total graduates and the UNLV Foundation raised over $74 million in new gifts and pledges during fiscal year 2019 from 12,294 donors. The partnership established by the two divisions has helped the institution strengthen and build new relationships, raise awareness and ultimately increase private support. In addition, in the fall of 2018, UNLV Career Services joined the division’s organizational structure to serve current students, early-career graduates, and mid-career professionals.

The incoming vice president for philanthropy and alumni engagement has a responsibility to partner with the university's president, the UNLV Foundation, and the UNLV Alumni Association in the strategic planning and execution of the institution's fundraising and alumni engagement programs. The VP will lead and manage a team of close to 100 across the development and alumni engagement teams. The VP will oversee an upcoming campaign, anticipated to be in the $1 billion range, while implementing a new strategic plan currently under development by the UNLV Foundation.

The ideal candidate will be a leader who commands trust from the university's leadership, community, and major gift donors and alumni. She or he should possess demonstrated success in leading a campus-wide team of development and alumni engagement professionals and a strong track record of fundraising and organizational success in the context of a comprehensive campaign. The incoming VP will have experience partnering with administrative and academic leadership to create best practice fundraising and alumni engagement strategies, and to build and support a campus-wide culture of philanthropy.

Experience within higher education is highly preferred. The incoming VP should be a strong communicator with superb management skills and possess a collaborative, open, positive, and supportive leadership style. A bachelor's degree is required with 10 to 12 years of directly related administrative experience in progressively responsible senior-level positions. For more information, please visit www.wittkieffer.com.

Inquiries, nominations and applications are invited. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. For fullest consideration, applicant materials should be received by December 6, 2019. Candidates should provide, as three separate documents, a curriculum vitae, a letter of application that addresses the responsibilities and requirements described in the Leadership Profile and the names and contact information of five references. References will not be contacted without prior knowledge and approval of candidates. These materials should be sent via email to the University of Las Vegas consultants, Zachary A. Smith, Ph.D. and Kim Brettschneider at UNLV-VicePresident@wittkieffer.com.

For more information about the University of Las Vegas, visit www.unlv.edu.

 

UNLV is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action educator and employer committed to achieving excellence through diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, among other things, race, color, religion, sex, age, creed, national origin, veteran status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, or any other factor protected by anti-discrimination laws. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas employs only United States citizens and non-citizens lawfully authorized to work in the United States. Women, under-represented groups, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.