Development Officer, College of Nursing

Job Responsibility:

Development Officer, College of Nursing

Primary Purpose:

To significantly increase and diversify revenue by obtaining philanthropic support from donors and prospects. The incumbent will plan, develop, solicit, and manage a portfolio of donors, including regular giving and major gifts to maximize financial support for strategic projects, student support, and university-level campaign goals.

In support of the College of Nursing's strategic planning initiatives, the Development Officer will proactively engage with internal and external stakeholders when planning, developing, implementing, and managing comprehensive advancement programs. In collaboration with the dean, the Development Officer will provide leadership in reaffirming existing donor relations and establishing new relationships that extend the college broadly within the university community and externally with donor stewardship and alumni engagement.

Nature of the work:

The Development Officer reports to the Dean of Nursing, with strong connections to the University Relations office. The incumbent provides strategic guidance and counsel to the College of Nursing executive team. The Development Officer builds strategic relationships with alumni, donors, students, and partners to support the College of Nursing's priorities. Working closely with college leadership and University Relations, the role fosters engagement in key initiatives, communicates the impact of giving, and supports major and principal gift efforts. A strong understanding of the college's goals, community, and student experience is essential to advancing philanthropic and engagement outcomes.

A successful Development Officer requires a proactive approach in a complex environment and the ability to communicate effectively with diverse audiences by a variety of methods and communication mediums. Establishing and maintaining positive relationships and modeling best practices are essential to success. This position makes discretionary decisions and uses excellent judgment to determine appropriate procedures in alignment with legislative requirements and institutional policies. Accuracy and attention to detail are essential to ensure that the information provided to others is correct. The environment is dynamic and fast paced.

The College of Nursing is the largest non-departmentalized college at the University of Saskatchewan and among the most distributed, including two campuses and eight distributive sites across the province. It is crucial that college relations are inclusive of the provincial nature of the college. The Development Officer builds collaborative internal relationships with senior leadership, colleagues in University Relations, faculty, staff, students, and alumni, as well as external relationships with donors, government and health authorities, distributed nursing site partners, professional associations, and nursing academic bodies. The work requires a proactive and strategic approach in a complex environment, and maintaining positive relationships is essential to success and maintaining a positive reputation of the College of Nursing.

The position is located within the College of Nursing on the Saskatoon campus. Occasional travel to our campus in Prince Albert and distributive sites is required. Some evening and weekend work may be required.

Accountabilities:

• Work collaboratively with the Dean and senior leadership to design a comprehensive fundraising plan and establish clear guidelines for its effective implementation.
• Identify, develop and manage innovative strategies and future initiatives that will support the development, implementation, and management of effective donor relations (stewardship and recognition) to strengthen long-term relationships with the college's current alumni and prospective donors by ensuring they are recognized in ways that are meaningful to them and in alignment with institutional recognition guidelines
• Envisions and creates a plan to implement, and manage, for a comprehensive donor recognition and stewardship program in parallel with the university's donor recognition program to ensure appropriate recognition and stewardship of the college's donors
• Provide strategic fundraising expertise and leadership in collaboration with the College of Nursing executive team to ensure rigorous and supportive alumni engagement in initiatives, academic programming, scholarships, and student support
• Build, foster and manage collaborative professional relationships with faculty, staff, alumni, prospects/donors, students, volunteers, campus advancement professionals, and other stakeholders
• Collaborate with marketing and communications staff on production and coordination of donor stewardship and alumni materials, including written proposals and informational materials for individuals and corporations to secure gifts
• Represent and advocate for the college with major gift proposals and partnerships
• Ensure alignment with university fundraising policies and procedures and Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) guidelines and Association of Fundraising professionals (AFP) ethical principles and standards
• Serve as a conduit for community organizations and individuals to connect with alumni and donors across all college campuses and sites
• Develop, implement, and manage activities to establish positive collaborative partnerships with the business community, government, alumni association, students, parents and other family members of students and friends of the college
• Envision and develop communication plan strategies and implementation pertaining to the college's alumni and donor engagement and development goals
• Provide and apply strategic fundraising expertise in working with the Nursing Unit for Research and Scholarship Excellence (NURSE) to identify opportunities for funding, including grants and foundations, and ensure submissions are strategically aligned with the goals of the college and faculty programs of research
• Work with student groups and associations to coordinate engagement activities to foster a positive affinity with the College of Nursing as students transition from student to alumni and foster a culture of philanthropy
• Attends and supports college alumni and reunion events
• Ensures contacts with stakeholders are recorded in the alumni and donor databases in a timely and accurate manner and compiles reports to support metrics
• Participate in university advancement training, meetings, team planning, and other activities that contribute to achieving university-wide goals in development and alumni relations
• Create, implement, and manage donor stewardship and acknowledgment programs.
• Work closely with the Director of Operations and Strategic Planning and college finance team to organize, create, and execute donor funding reports, student awards, and endowment reporting for all donor funds within the College of Nursing.

Qualifications

Education: A relevant undergraduate degree and appropriate training and experience in a related field. Completion of or working towards the Certified Fund-Raising Executive credential will be an asset. An equivalent level of education and experience may be considered.

Experience : Five to 10 years of directly related experience with a demonstrated progression in level of responsibility. Knowledge of the University of Saskatchewan, the academic environment and/or the discipline of nursing or health sciences would be an asset. Previous experience working in community investment and collaborating with Indigenous communities or environments are also assets.

Skills:

• Goal driven with a high level of energy, demonstrated integrity, professional maturity, discretion, judgment, and decisiveness to inspire confidence among internal and external stakeholders;
• Results driven with proven ability to take initiative;
• Superior facilitation and creativity in negotiating win-win agreements to motivate volunteers and to inspire confidence working with donors and/or their professional advisors;
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as an effective team member;
• Thorough understanding of alumni and donor engagement principles and strategies, and proven experience in applying them and achieving results in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment
• Highly effective interpersonal communications, with the capacity to build consensus and maintain positive relationships with a wide range of stakeholders while exercising diplomacy, judgment, and tact, and acting ethically and confidentially and with cultural sensitivity and integrity
• Demonstrated strong leadership, analytical, and organizational skills, including the effective planning and management of multiple projects, and the ability to adjust to changing priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Willingness to challenge the status quo, be forward looking, think out of the box, problem-solve, and act strategically and creatively
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively
• Demonstrated self-motivation and reliability

Department: College of Nursing Status: Term 2 years with the possibility of extension or becoming permanent Employment Group: ASPA Shift: Mon-Fri, 8:30-4:30 Full Time Equivalent (FTE): 1 FTE Salary: The salary range, based on 1.0 FTE, is $87,266.00 - 145,353.00 per annum. The starting salary will be commensurate with education and experience. Salary Family (if applicable): Specialist Professional Salary Phase/Band: Salary Band 3 Posted Date: 6/5/2025 Closing Date: 6/11/2025 at 6:00 pm CST Number of Openings: 1 Work Location: May be eligible for hybrid work under the terms of USask's Alternative Workspace Guidelines

The University is committed to employment equity, diversity, and inclusion, and are proud to support career opportunities for Indigenous peoples to reflect the community we serve. We are dedicated to recruiting individuals who will enrich our work and learning environments. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, in accordance with Canadian immigration requirements, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority. We are committed to providing accommodations to those with a disability or medical necessity. If you require an accommodation to participate in the recruitment process, please notify us and we will work together on the accommodation request. We continue to grow our partnerships with Indigenous communities across the province, nationally, and internationally and value the unique perspective that Indigenous employees provide to strengthen these relationships. Verification of Indigenous Membership/Citizenship at the University of Saskatchewan is led and determined by the deybwewin | taapwaywin | tapwewin: Indigenous Truth policy and Standing Committee in accordance with the processes developed to enact the policy. Successful candidates that assert Indigenous membership/citizenship will be asked to complete the verification process of Indigenous membership/citizenship with documentation. The University of Saskatchewan's main campus is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respects to the First Nations and Métis ancestors of this place and reaffirm our relationship with one another. Together, we are uplifting Indigenization to a place of prominence at the University of Saskatchewan.