Atlanta, GA 30303

Vice President of Development & Alumni Affairs, Georgia State University

The Organization

Georgia State University (GSU), a public research university in Atlanta, seeks a vice president for development and alumni affairs to lead the department’s operations to unprecedented levels of success and productivity.

Position Overview

The vice president will lead a large and complex fundraising and alumni affairs operation for GSU, the most comprehensive public institution in the Atlanta metropolitan area and largest in the state. GSU offers more than 250 undergraduate and graduate degree programs spread across 10 academic colleges with around 3,500 faculty members. The institution has an economic impact on the Atlanta economy of more than $2.5 billion annually. The vice president will inherit an operation that has made significant progress by finishing a $328 million comprehensive campaign on December 30, 2018.

Reporting to and working closely with President Mark Becker, the vice president will join an energized and ambitious leadership team. He or she will have the opportunity to play a principal role in advancing a university deeply committed to and engaged with the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia. This is a university eager to continue moving ahead into a new era of excellence and prosperity. Accomplishing these ambitions will require a leader steeped in best practices and experienced at change management. The vice president will build and sustain strong and sincere interpersonal relationships both internally and externally. This person will demonstrate a track record of major and principal gift fundraising success, and will possess the leadership and managerial acumen necessary to galvanize a large and complex institution.

The vice president will have a collaborative approach to leadership as a hands-on leader in a development program of similar or greater complexity and scope. He or she will resonate with the particular mission and history of GSU, and demonstrate significant intellectual curiosity characterized by the ability to translate the work of the faculty and the college’s programs. It will be important for the new VP to have experience working directly with and managing the activities of the foundation board. The VP will have a superior strategic ability at the prospect, departmental and institutional level. He or she will have comfort with the capacity to leverage technology to support a robust and contemporary approach to outreach, and communication will be a particular advantage.

GSU seeks a vice president who will assess and mentor the team, raise it to a new level of quality and effectiveness, and continue to enhance its strong culture of collaboration and collegiality. Strong leadership skills are imperative as this organization responds to increasing expectations for philanthropy. Integration of best practices is expected to improve both results and performance within all areas of development on the GSU campus. The new vice president will have broad authority to shape and build a development program in the annual fund, corporate and foundation relations, major gifts and gift planning programs, endowment, capital campaigns, alumni and constituent relations efforts, stewardship and advancement services. The vice president will take leadership in preparing the institution for and carrying out the next comprehensive campaign. Additional information, including a Leadership Profile, can be found at www.wittkieffer.com.

How To Apply

Inquiries, nominations and applications are invited. Confidential review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Nominations, expressions of interest, and applications (including a statement of application and a resume) should be submitted via email to GSUVPDAA@wittkieffer.com. Confidential inquiries and questions may be directed to the WittKieffer consultants supporting this search: Mercedes C. Vance and Kim Brettschneider at 630-575-6993.

Sign up