Assistant Vice President for Development

Wentworth Institute of Technology | Boston, MA | Hybrid

About Wentworth Institute of Technology

Wentworth is a private, STEM and design-focused university in Boston's Fenway neighborhood, founded in 1904, with 45,000+ living alumni. Ninety-one percent of graduates are employed or in graduate school within six months, and every undergraduate completes two paid co-op semesters. Wentworth closed FY25 with more than $40 million in new commitments, well above prior years, including the largest single gift in institutional history.

The Opportunity

The Vice President for University Advancement, Derek Berger, seeks a senior development leader to lead the gift officer team through The Campaign for Wentworth, a comprehensive campaign organized around four priorities: student access and success, next-generation learning, campus spaces, and unrestricted support through the Wentworth Fund. The campaign is currently in its quiet phase, with a public launch planned for 2029 and completion in 2031, and this is the campaign the next AVP will carry to the finish, contributing to the strategy, prospect readiness, and leadership giving that position it to go public, then leading the team toward the close.

The AVP serves as the Vice President's senior partner on fundraising strategy. The team has produced back-to-back record fundraising years; what this role adds is reach. The AVP engages at a level of seniority that generates opportunities the team can develop and close, and converts an untapped industry pipeline built through more than fifty years of co-op relationships in life sciences, technology, construction, and real estate.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the gift officer team, spanning major gifts, leadership gifts, and industry, foundation, and government partnerships
• Carry a personal portfolio of major and principal gift prospects
• Partner with the Vice President and President on the university's most transformational donor relationships
• Hold the team accountable using pipeline data, portfolio metrics, and performance indicators, with a regular cadence of moves-management reviews
• Develop gift officers into Wentworth's next generation of advancement leaders through direct coaching
• Steward gift-acceptance and naming decisions across a 10-year Institutional Master Plan with naming potential at every level of the gift table

Qualifications

• 10+ years of frontline fundraising experience with a demonstrated history of closing major gifts
• Direct participation in a comprehensive campaign at the $50M level or above
• Experience managing a development team during a campaign
• Experience with principal gift strategies at the seven-figure level and above
• Strong working knowledge of moves management, pipeline development, and CRM systems such as Slate
• Ability to analyze fundraising data and use metrics to drive program decisions

Compensation

$165,000 to $185,000, with comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage, retirement plan participation, generous leave, and the full range of university benefits. Based on Wentworth's Fenway campus, hybrid with roughly three days in the office, with regional travel and some national presence.

How to Apply

Catalyst is leading this search on behalf of Wentworth Institute of Technology. Submit a resume and letter of interest addressed to the Search Committee, in confidence, to [email protected].

View the position prospectus here: Wentworth AVP Prospectus