Vice Dean for Development and Alumni Relations, GSE - University of Pennsylvania

University Overview


The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.




Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.




The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.








Posted Job Title

Vice Dean for Development and Alumni Relations, GSE





Job Profile Title

Senior Director, School/Center Development





Job Description Summary

School Overview:


Penn GSE is consistently ranked among the nation’s top graduate schools of education and is distinguished for its exceptional scholarship, innovative teaching, and deep, community-centered partnerships. The School is led by Dean Katharine O. Strunk, a nationally recognized economist of education known for her partner-driven research and leadership. Since joining Penn GSE in 2023, Dean Strunk has led the school in the development of Together for Good: A Vision for Transformational Impact, an ambitious blueprint that positions the School to lead transformative change throughout education locally, nationally, and globally. With 40 tenured and tenure-track faculty and 1,600 students, Penn GSE is the fifth largest school at Penn and the second largest graduate school with remarkable scholarly productivity and influence. The School’s 39 degree programs and many nondegree professional development offerings span every part of the educational ecosystem. With nearly 20,000 alumni leading education change in over 90 countries, Penn GSE’s impact extends far beyond Penn’s campus.


Building upon a 110-year legacy of leadership in graduate education, Penn GSE embraces the belief that education is the foundation for a just and thriving society. The School prepares educators, leaders, researchers, and changemakers to address education’s most complex challenges. By bridging research and practice and through close partnerships with schools, policymakers, industry leaders, and communities, Penn GSE is co-creating a bold future for education—one that uplifts every learner and reinforces the bedrock of democracy. Together for Good spans four strategic priorities, which guide the School’s work. The School is:

• Preparing and sustaining a highly skilled education workforce to meet urgent needs from preschool through postsecondary education.

• Collaborating with communities locally, nationally, and globally on research and programs that advance education for the public good.

• Driving innovation that bridges theory and practice to tackle society’s most urgent challenges, from educational inequities to technological advances.

• Elevating education’s role in democracy, fostering critical thinking, dialogue, and civic participation across learning environment


To support the vision, which launched in November 2024, over $150 million of philanthropic opportunities have been articulated, including making Penn GSE’s teacher education programs free for all, forever. Vision-aligned fundraising initiatives aim to expand the global reach and raise the profile of the school.


In the most recent campaign, Extraordinary Impact, nearly $100 million was raised in support of the school’s key priorities. Particular successes included meaningful strides in increasing student financial aid, advancing research and programmatic priorities, including the school’s innovative Catalyst center, significantly expanding the school’s endowment, and securing the funding for a powerful re-envisioning of their physical space.


Position Summary:


With a dynamic new dean and a bold plan for the future, this is an exciting moment for Penn GSE. The Vice Dean will play a significant role in promoting and funding the Vision. The successful candidate will embrace and embody a deep and abiding commitment to the mission and vision of the school, share the dean’s aspirations, approach their work with urgency, and be meticulous in their planning and execution of a multifaceted development program. There is tremendous need and tremendous opportunity to meet and make the moment at Penn GSE. The successful candidate will substantively shape the future of the School and have a bona fide impact on education writ large.


Reporting jointly to the Dean of the Graduate School of Education and the Associate Vice President for University Development, Penn GSE’s Vice Dean is responsible for the overall conceptualization, planning, and execution of a coordinated program of development and alumni relations for the Graduate School of Education.


As the chief fundraiser for the School, the Vice Dean should possess a genuine love for engaging with philanthropists, as well as the systems and processes that support a robust philanthropic environment. The Vice Dean is responsible for cultivating and stewarding a broad network of prospects, donors, and volunteer leaders on the School’s behalf. To achieve these goals within Penn’s decentralized fundraising environment requires creativity, an entrepreneurial spirit, and the ability to build strong relationships.


The Vice Dean serves as an integral member of the Dean's senior leadership team and will contribute effort and expertise to schoolwide strategy formation, planning, goalsetting, policy development, and progress monitoring. The Vice Dean will partner closely with the School’s Vice Dean of Finance and Administration and Vice Dean of Marketing and Communications and maintain strong working relationships with senior leadership, faculty program directors, and other colleagues in areas such as admissions and Catalyst, Penn GSE’s innovation hub.


The Vice Dean will work closely with the Board of Advisors, other advisory boards, volunteer groups, alumni and students, promoting their active involvement in the fundraising and alumni relations programs, and orchestrating the use of their time and talent to advance GSE’s quest for gift and grant support, as well as further alumni engagement and public awareness.


As member of the University of Pennsylvania’s decentralized DAR structure, the Vice Dean is responsible for cultivating and sustaining deeply collaborative relationships with Central DAR programs and colleagues to fully activate the additional capacity of the University’s centralized functions.


Supporting the Vice Dean is a team of five FTEs who lead the alumni relations, annual giving, board relations, stewardship, events, and DAR communications for the School. The Vice Dean will possess superior team management skills and will engage their staff in achieving the highest level of professional excellence.





Job Description


Job Responsibilities:


Lead a comprehensive fundraising and alumni relations program which includes:



+ setting and achieving ambitious fundraising goals in support of the School’s top priorities;


+ developing and executing multi-year strategic planning with a focus on program health, growth, and sustainability;


+ analyzing and utilizing constituent data to inform strategic planning;


+ creating compelling cases for support of school priorities and writing impactful narratives for multiple audiences;


+ building meaningful volunteer and alumni engagement opportunities;


+ overseeing a multi-faceted, annual giving program focused on the growth of leadership annual giving and modeling to determine upward trajectory;


+ organizing events in partnership with board members, donors and alumni, to identify new prospects and grow pipeline;


+ planning and executing comprehensive campaigns, as needed;


+ managing team finances and budget





Manage and co-manage a targeted portfolio of prospects with the capacity to make six-, seven- and eight-figure gifts for Penn GSE priorities. Develop and execute robust and sophisticated strategies to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors and prospective donors.




Engage the Dean, faculty, staff, board and volunteers in executing the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship activities to advance the School’s quest for gift and grant support, as well as bolstering public awareness.




Expand and strengthen the school’s fundraising pool and pipeline of potential new donors through sophisticated methods of prospecting, including data analysis, internal prospect research, collaboration with the Central DAR teams, and sourcing leads through board members and volunteers.




With the Dean and in collaboration with Central DAR and the Office of the University Secretary, establish a plan to manage, engage, and expand the School’s Board of Advisors, its premier volunteer organization.




Lead and manage a team to achieve optimum results by:



+ Communicating financial and key performance indicators and results to direct reports


+ Setting clear performance expectations for each staff member and holding staff accountable for outcomes through frequent feedback and coaching;


+ Managing staffing needs and identifying areas for organizational development updates or changes;


+ Guiding the professional development needs, processes and outcomes


+ Ensuring open communication among staff, engaging in team-building efforts and holding regular staff meetings


+ Inspiring and motivating staff to achieve optimum results





Serve as a member of the Dean’s senior leadership team and participate in key school-wide initiatives where Development and Alumni Relations is a meaningful partner. Collaborate with other senior Penn GSE leaders on schoolwide priorities.




Collaborate with colleagues and partners throughout the University’s Central Development and Alumni Relations department as well as other schools and centers across Penn to communicate school priorities, collaborate around key strategies and solicitations, provide data, coordinate external activities, and otherwise maximize the University’s DAR capacity in support of the school’s development and alumni relations efforts.




Qualifications:



+ BA/BS degree required. Master’s degree preferred.


+ A minimum of seven to ten years of successful fund-raising experience, including a proven record of success in securing six- and seven-figure gifts with increasingly more responsible fund-raising duties, preferably at a major research university comparable to Penn or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.


+ Familiarity and appreciation of the role and mission of the Graduate School of Education and its relationship to the University, as well as understanding the importance of education; capacity to articulate that role and interact comfortably with those individuals and constituency groups crucial to the advancement of Penn GSE.


+ Demonstrated track record in the identification, cultivation and stewardship of leadership and major gifts ($100,000+).


+ Strong management and program administration skills and the ability to establish objectives, set performance standards, and organize and motivate staff, faculty and volunteers to achieve fund-raising goals.


+ Demonstrated experience in establishing effective relationships with volunteers.


+ Strong written and oral communication skills.


+ Adaptability, flexibility and diplomacy.


+ High motivation and a capacity for hard work within the context of a goal-driven environment.


+ A demonstrated ability to analyze funding sources and relate their potential to the School's long range goals; more particularly, to organize practical strategies to bring closure to gift and grant opportunities is required.


+ Ability to function well independently, yet relate comfortably to a decentralized framework for fundraising, participating in and contributing to a collaborative team effort.


+ Travel and evening work required.











Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania





Department / School

Development and Alumni Relations





Pay Range

$90,860.00 - $235,000.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, as well as internal and market factors and


the pay range assigned to the job profile.




Equal Opportunity Statement


The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics) , citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state or local law .




Special Requirements Background checks may be required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.




University Benefits

+ Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts : Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

+ Tuition : Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits . You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.

+ Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

+ Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.

+ Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.

+ Wellness and Work-life Resources : Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.

+ Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.

+ University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.

+ Discounts and Special Services : From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.

+ Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.

+ Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.

+ Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.




​


To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay



The University of Pennsylvania’s special character is reflected in the wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of the Penn community. We seek talented faculty and staff who will constitute a vibrant community and help create an educational and working environment that best supports the University’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship. The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any class protected under applicable federal, state or local law.