Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Description

President Grace Cotter Regan P’12  and the Board of Trustees of Boston College High School (BC High) seek to hire an experienced advancement professional to lead its high achieving advancement program.  The next Vice President for Institutional Advancement (VPIA) will lead overall advancement efforts, including fundraising, alumni and parent engagement, advancement communications and events by conceiving of and implementing an innovative and ambitious strategic plan. Serving as a thought leader, the VPIA will work collaboratively and creatively with colleagues across the school to ensure the primary goal of stewarding the mission of BC High; to provide a superb education, while forming students in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition. This is a compelling opportunity to partner with a visionary leader and a governing board that is deeply committed to one of the nation’s most valued Jesuit schools to greater prominence. 

About BC High

BC High is a Jesuit, Catholic college preparatory school serving 1375 boys in grades 7-12. We strive to challenge our students to become young men of integrity, educated in faith and for justice, committed to academic excellence and service to others. As a Jesuit, Catholic high school, we reflect the diversity of our church and community. Our mission since 1863 has been to form leaders of competence, conscience and compassion who seek to do all things ad majorem Dei gloriam – for the greater glory of God. 

Jesuit education integrates faith with knowledge, and students are encouraged to apply both to improving the world around them, a premise known in Jesuit circles as “faith that does justice.” The BC High education is designed to resonate beyond the classroom - into the dining hall, onto the playing fields and performance stages and into student organizations and across Greater Boston. Central to the mission of BC High is the concept of developing boys into Men for Others. BC High instills young men with the duty we all share to care for one another. 

Our Mission: We strive to challenge our students to become young men of integrity, educated in faith and for justice, committed to academic excellence and service to others. As a Jesuit, Catholic school, we strive to reflect the diversity of our church and community.  Our mission since 1863 has been to form leaders of competence, conscience, and compassion who seek to do all things ad majorem Dei gloriam – for the greater glory of God.

The Opportunity

In October 2023, BC High’s President and Board of Trustees boldly announced the school’s most ambitious fundraising initiative in its 160-year history, Illuminating Excellence: The Campaign for BC High. BC High designed a campaign with strategic and aspirational plans, and a clear blueprint for achieving them. The campaign’s emphasis, on Inspiring Human Excellence, Improving Access and Affordability and Investing in Our Campus aligns with the strategy to ensure that BC High stays strong for years to come. BC High has raised more than 80% of a $125 million goal and campaign initiatives are being realized.

Reporting to President Grace Cotter Regan, P’12, The VPIA will serve as a trusted partner, leading by example and contributing to an environment of openness, candor, transparency, mutual respect, and cooperation. The VPIA will join senior colleagues as a member of the President’s Cabinet, driving the overall strategy for BC High’s excellence and sustainability. BC High’s next principal fundraiser will lead a team of 10 high achieving fundraising professionals while finalizing the current campaign and continuing to elevate philanthropy at this hallmark institution in the City of Boston. 

Responsibilities for the Vice President for Institutional Advancement

• Lead BC High’s advancement team fostering a culture of achievement, mastery of best practices, accountability, and the implementation of new ideas.  
• Invest in a highly collaborative culture, professional development, and a commitment to exceptional performance, by setting goals and measures to define success.
• Manage and expand a personal portfolio of top supporters, including trustees, and other individuals, and stewarding a select group of principal and transformational gift prospects.
• Establish priorities and objectives for contemporary fundraising, including leadership annual and major gifts, advancement communications, alumni and parent engagement, effective events and department operations.
• Inspire the team to secure new commitments during the timeline of BC High’s campaign, Illuminating Excellence and develop heightened levels of engagement for prospects.
• Refine ongoing campaign strategies advancing all initiatives and galvanizing the community in recognition of philanthropy at BC High. 
• Oversee the management of BC High’s current volunteer councils and committees and develop new opportunities for high-level engagement.
• Continue to elevate and drive philanthropy to BC High’s $100 million endowment.
• Expand BC High’s planned giving program, St. Ignatius of Loyola Society. 
• Devise strategies to enhance philanthropic interest of foundations and corporations.
• Formulate and implement best-in-class engagement programs that utilize the rich and varied resources of BC High’s 16,000+ graduates, parents, and local leaders.
• Report to the Board of Trustees at the invitation of the President.
• Collaborate with BC High President and senior colleagues to achieve the goals of Vision 2026, BC High’s strategic plan. 
• Recognize and reward team achievements, innovation and collaborative productivity.

Requirements

Qualifications and characteristics of the ideal candidate: 

• Minimum of 10 - 15 years of experience working in a collaborative environment where professionalism and mutual respect are valued, building a culture of trust within a high performing team. 
• 8-10 year track record of cultivating, closing and stewarding major donors and commitments of 7-figures and more.
• A leadership practice that includes coaching, mentoring, and motivating fundraising professionals while holding team members accountable. 
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with board members, key stakeholders and leadership colleagues in designing compelling funding opportunities that support and reflect the mission, values, goals, and objectives of an organization.
• Ability to effectively and authentically articulate BC High’s mission of Jesuit education and the compelling impact of BC High graduates in our community and the world.
• Qualified candidates will recognize the strength of the BC High network and the opportunity to utilize its influence to expand fundraising opportunities.
• Familiarity with the Boston philanthropic landscape is preferred.
• Inclination to recognize achievement and celebrate team success. 

Working at BC High

Working at BC High means joining a dynamic community of educators and staff, committed to forming young men into compassionate and caring citizens of the world. Our administrators, faculty, staff, and coaches are deeply invested in our mission, and find being a part of this community rewarding, both professionally and personally.

At BC High, we pride ourselves on our commitment to justice, inclusion, and belonging . We welcome students, faculty, and staff from every race, ethnicity, cultural background, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation. We do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, bullying, or cyberbullying, and we adhere to the Title VI anti-discrimination and harassment code. Moreover, it is the policy of the school, while reserving its lawful rights to take actions designed to sustain its Jesuit, Catholic mission, to provide equal opportunity in employment regardless of a person’s race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, sexual orientation, marital, or veteran status. 

This policy relates to all aspects of employment including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, benefits, training, promotion, transfer, discipline, or termination.

BC High is an award-winning place to work, recognized by the Worksite Wellness Council of MA with the MA Workwell award the past four years as an organization committed to fostering employee wellbeing and promoting a culture of health within their workforce.