Posted on October 12, 2012

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Vice President for Development

Sierra Nevada College (SNC) in Incline Village, Nevada, is located in the stunning and pristine environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin, renowned for its quality of life and superlative year-round outdoor recreational opportunities. Founded in 1969, SNC is a private, liberal arts college offering undergraduate and graduate degrees. We offer 37 undergraduate majors and concentrations, a long-standing graduate program in Teacher Education (M.Ed. and M.A.T.) and a recently launched low-residency graduate program in Creative Writing (M.F.A.) led by a nationally recognized faculty of practicing writers.

The College’s residential campus is located in Incline Village, with satellite locations in Reno, Henderson/Las Vegas, and on-line. With 536 undergraduate students and over 500 graduate students, our strategic vision includes continued growth of undergraduate and graduate enrollment and full-build-out of the campus master plan. Accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), the College recently completed its reaccreditation process, receiving five commendations, including specific mention of the campus-wide commitment to our mission and four core themes.

Our core themes of entrepreneurial thinking and sustainability pervade College culture and practice at every level of campus life. As an institution, SNC possesses the size, habits of mind, and organizational structure that permits nimbleness and prompt execution; we are able to seize opportunities or to change stride when warranted. Our faculty is integral to this value and fosters an environment that engages students through active and experiential learning, including opportunities for student research, a campus-wide business plan competition, internships, service learning, and outdoor leadership – all within the context of the traditional hallmarks of a liberal arts education.

The College is fiscally sound and operating revenue exceeds operating expenses, thereby allowing for a fundraising strategy that focuses on engaging donors around new initiatives and programmatic expansion. SNC has long-enjoyed a dedicated base of exceptional donors. With a newly expanded Board of thirty community-based individuals, we are poised to meet the challenge of expanding our donor pool beyond its traditional size and reach. With highly acclaimed programs in entrepreneurship, ski business and resort management, psychology, environmental science, and the arts – we are well positioned to capitalize on our unique attributes of program and place to attract a new generation of mission-driven contributors. Incline Village itself boasts an extraordinary cadre of full-time residents and second home owners who have migrated here from prestigious careers in Silicon Valley, San Francisco and on the east coast. Many are engaged as Board members, student mentors, and/o r as donors – but given the lure of the region there is regular opportunity to welcome and engage new individuals.

The ideal candidate for this position will thrive in an environment that honors creative vision, entrepreneurial spirit, personal drive, and relentless attention to execution. As a member of the President’s Cabinet the incumbent will be a part of the senior decision-making team and will benefit from exposure to the functional and strategic elements of growing the College to the next level. If you have a “do what it takes” personality and relish the challenge and opportunity of being part of an institution that is building educational value on a daily basis, we are open to both traditional and non-traditional candidates for this position.

Position Summary:

Reporting to the President of the College, the Vice President for Development is responsible for securing leadership and major gifts for a wide array of capital and programmatic purposes and for developing a comprehensive planned giving strategy. The Vice President will also be responsible for diversifying the College’s donor base and expanding its reach by identifying and cultivating individual donors and corporate and foundation support. The incumbent will serve as a member of the President’s Cabinet and as a key member of the College’s leadership team will participate in strategic planning and decision-making for the institution as a whole.

Core Responsibilities:

• Create a comprehensive program to expand efforts to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individuals for leadership and major gifts for capital and programmatic purposes.
• Develop and implement a planned giving program.
• Develop and implement strategies for expanding the College’s donor base, including outreach strategies for individual donors, and corporations and foundations, in Reno, Las Vegas, throughout California, and as appropriate, nationally.

Qualifications Preferred:

• Highly accomplished professional with a demonstrated record of success in fundraising or with significant applicable experience in other fields.
• Specific, progressive experience in securing leadership and major gifts and/or in planned giving a decided plus.
• B.A. /B.S. degree preferred, with Master’s degree a plus.
• Strong intellectual curiosity and a commitment to the value of a liberal arts education.
• Demonstrated capacity to think and execute in a highly creative and entrepreneurial manner consistent with the College’s culture and core themes.

Salary Range: $90,000 to $125,000 DOE

Other: Generous Health, Vision, Dental, Retirement, Vacation and Sick Benefits

Application Instructions

Please e-mail a resume with a cover letter that outlines the applicability of your experience to this position and provides a recent salary history to jobs@sierranevada.edu.

Sierra Nevada College is an Equal Opportunity Employer