Associate Director, Major Gifts

🔍Graduate School of Business, Stanford, California, United States📁Development📅Nov 13, 2025 Post Date📅107728 Requisition # Stanford Graduate School of Business

Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB) has built a global reputation based on its immersive and innovative management programs. We provide students a transformative leadership experience, pushing the boundaries of knowledge with faculty research, and offering a portfolio of entrepreneurial and non-degree programs that deliver global impact. We invite you to be part of our mission of developing innovative, principled, and insightful leaders who change lives, change organizations, and change the world.

The Stanford Graduate School of Business is seeking an Associate Director of Major Gifts. Reporting to the Regional Director of Development, the Associate Director of Major Gifts is a frontline fundraiser with a focus on raising gifts in key markets, including the San Francisco Bay Area. (Other potential areas to be discussed.) Primary responsibilities include identifying, cultivating, and soliciting individuals able to make gifts in the $100,000-$5,000,000 range.

The school’s priorities are focused on the core MBA, PhD, and MSx programs, GSB faculty support and growth, the global reach of the school, and strong collaboration with broader Stanford University.

As part of a high-performing team, a successful Associate Director is able to skillfully build relationships with alumni and internal stakeholders while displaying enthusiasm for the school’s mission. This position requires exceptional professionalism, intellectual dexterity, and the ability to think strategically and operate independently. The Major Gifts team values professional entrepreneurship and a willingness to go above and beyond for our community.

This is a full-time 100% FTE hybrid position with the expectation to be on-site at the Stanford campus a minimum of 2 days a week.

Your primary responsibilities:

• Develop solicitation goals and strategies for specific donor populations or geographic regions. Gain familiarity with assigned regions, and travel to those areas regularly.
• Develop relationships leading to gifts in the $100,000 - $5,000,000 range.
• Manage an active portfolio and work with assigned prospects to cultivate, solicit, and steward their support.
• Establish ongoing relationships with individual alumni through personal visits, virtual visits, phone calls, and meaningful contacts.
• Take responsibility for a wide range of fundraising activities, including identifying new prospective donors and alumni volunteers.
• Prioritize prospects, prepare background information, make volunteer assignments as appropriate, and collaborate with volunteers on assigned solicitations.
• Provide staff support for the GSB Dean, senior leaders, faculty, and high level volunteers locally and in assigned regions.
• Work closely with colleagues in GSB External Relations, faculty and other colleagues to align program goals with the overall fundraising goals of the school.
• Engage as an active contributor to the team culture of the major gift group and the broader External Relations team.
• Coordinate and collaborate with development colleagues in the Stanford Office of Development and with other schools and units.
• Stay informed on current GSB initiatives and activities, and engage in the life of the school.

To Be Successful In This Position, You Will Bring

• Demonstrated effectiveness in prospect identification, relationship building, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Demonstrated experience working with volunteers, faculty, and staff.
• Ability and willingness to travel frequently, with possible 10-12 trips per year, and a donor visit goal of approximately 12-15 visits per month.
• Superior written and oral communication skills, with exceptional attention to detail and the ability to translate complex concepts into compelling development proposals.
• Ability to work collaboratively with development colleagues throughout the university to achieve strategic fundraising results.
• Appreciation for the mission of a leading business school that’s housed within a major research university, and the ability…