Director of The Peddie Fund and Leadership Giving

Founded in 1864, The Peddie School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school of 540 students, grades 9 through post-graduate. It is primarily a boarding school, with about 60 percent of students and 90 percent of the faculty living on campus. In addition to its engaged, diverse and accomplished student body, Peddie’s extraordinary resources include the highly professional, collaborative and dedicated faculty, an innovative and rigorous curriculum and an attractive, modern 280-acre campus located midway between New York City and Philadelphia.

Director of The Peddie Fund and Leadership Giving

This is an exciting time at Peddie under the leadership of Head of School Peter Quinn who alongside Assistant Head for Development Karyn Vella recently surpassed the initial goal of $80+ million in the school’s most historic comprehensive One Peddie campaign. Currently in the final few months, the campaign has been focused on elevating the culture of philanthropy and engagement while raising endowed funds for scholarship, faculty and programs, capital funds for arts and athletics, and strengthening The Peddie Fund. This position offers an opportunity for a talented fundraiser to lead a team of staff and volunteers while developing a major gift portfolio. The ideal candidate will enjoy collaborating with others and be energized by the opportunity to implement creative initiatives to illustrate how annual giving and current-use funding provides high impact immediately and inspires innovation at Peddie.

Primary duties include:

Primary responsibilities include: strategic programmatic leadership, management of a full portfolio of donors, volunteer recruitment, collaboration on the creation and execution of segmented, compelling, donor-centered communications; and shared management of personnel.

Fundraising (50%)

• Employ best practices in fundraising with hard work, humility, empathy, and creativity;

• Effectively manage annual giving and major gift donors in a diverse portfolio;

• Develop and inspire a pipeline of fundraising volunteers for Peddie Fund and future campaigns.

Strategic Leadership and Communication (50%)

• Co-lead regular meetings of portfolio managers with Director of Research to maximize portfolio management;

• Provide the strategic direction and manage process for segmented communication that will result in increased participation, increased recurring gifts, and increased gift amounts;

• Prepare Peddie Fund metrics and reports to update colleagues and stakeholders about Peddie Fund progress, statistical trends, and comparative analysis on a regular basis;

• Oversee recruitment, training, retention, and succession planning strategies for all Peddie Fund volunteers;

• Oversee Peddie Fund social giving days and all cultivation and stewardship events;

• Manage a team of 1.5 direct reports responsible for The Peddie Fund with emphasis on empowering others and creating growth opportunities.

The successful candidate will have:

• A Bachelor’s degree;

• Successful track record of fundraising and inspiring donors, volunteers and colleagues;

• Collaborative, team-oriented and inclusive decision-making and leadership styles;

• Enthusiastic, curious, flexible, growth-oriented, and strategic mindset;

• Exceptional ability to organize, manage, multitask and meet deadlines across many projects with varied deadlines;

• Extensive database experience and demonstrated project management experience;

• Demonstrated initiative to work independently and savviness to work across diverse teams on multiple projects with deadlines;

• Demonstrated understanding of and appreciation for culturally responsive professional practices including the ability to value, work with, respect, and incorporate diverse perspectives;

• Outstanding interpersonal, writing and communications skills, characterized by the ability to listen skillfully and act with a strong student-centered and donor-centered mindset;

• The ability to travel and attend evening and weekend functions when necessary;

• Proficiency in Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), Zoom, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Raiser's Edge, and email marketing preferred.

Interested candidates should email a cover letter and resume to Karyn Vella at kvella@peddie.org.