Chief Advancement Officer

Reporting directly to the Head of School and serving as a key member of the leadership team, the Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) serves as a visionary leader responsible for designing, executing, and overseeing a comprehensive institutional advancement strategy for St. Augustine Preparatory School. The CAO will cultivate a culture of philanthropy and gratitude across all constituencies and drive philanthropic growth to meet the school’s strategic financial objectives.

The CAO provides strategic oversight across all advancement functions, including major and planned giving, annual funds, corporate and foundation relations, alumni and community engagement, stewardship, and data operations. Concurrently, the CAO serves as Campaign Manager for the historic $15 million Now, More Than Ever comprehensive campaign, while systematically scaling annual fundraising from $1.8 million to $3 million. The CAO manages a team of four and works closely with the Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees.

Strategic Leadership & Campaign Management

• Executive Strategy: Provide overarching vision, leadership, and management for the Advancement Office and its team of dedicated professionals.
• Development Plan: Develop and implement a strategic advancement plan aligned with school goals and the Augustinian mission.
• Campaign Direction: Serve as Campaign Manager for the $15 million Now, More Than Ever comprehensive campaign, ensuring milestone achievement and successful execution.
• Board Collaboration: Serve as the primary staff liaison and resource for the Board of Trustees Advancement Committee.
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Partner with Academic Leadership to align advancement efforts with school initiatives, including the Experiential Learning, Innovative Teaching, and Entrepreneurship initiative.

Fundraising & Portfolio Management

• Major Gift Cultivation: Actively manage a personal portfolio of 50+ high-profile prospects; cultivate, solicit, and steward major, planned, and leadership annual gifts.
• Fundraising Support: Work closely with the Head of School, Trustees, and volunteers, supporting them in all their fundraising responsibilities and accompanying them on donor visits when appropriate.
• Annual Giving Growth: Strengthen the annual giving infrastructure by executing data-driven direct response campaigns, including mailed appeals and e-philanthropy.
• Stewardship: Build and sustain a robust, multi-tiered donor stewardship program, including the management of donor recognition societies.

Constituent Engagement

• Alumni Relations: Elevate alumni engagement and giving strategies to achieve a target alumni participation rate of 14% by 2027.
• Community & Parent Engagement: Design and scale engagement programs tailored to current parents, past parents, and families.
• Events Strategy: Oversee the execution of signature annual fundraising events (e.g., Gala, Golf Tournament, Athletic Hall of Fame, Mendel Dinner) alongside donor cultivation and community events.

Operations, Compliance, & Metrics

• Database Management: Utilize Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge to ensure meticulous tracking of advancement activity, pipeline health, and donor records.
• Performance Metrics: Establish, track, and report on annual and long-term performance metrics to measure programmatic success.
• Governance: Adhere to industry best practices (NAIS, NJAIS, CASE, AFP) to guarantee the highest level of compliance, ethical governance, and donor rights protection.

Staff Management

• Staff Management: Manage and mentor direct reports including Director of Major Gifts, Director of Donor Relations and Advancement Events, Director of Advancement Services, and Associate Director of the Annual Fund and Marketing.
• Team KPIs: Implement key performance indicators positively managing the team to meet goals and achieve effective outcomes.
• Professional Development: Provide professional development opportunities and ongoing training for staff.

The Chief Advancement Officer must have an understanding of and passion for the goals and mission of St. Augustine Preparatory School and a commitment to the traditions of an all-boys Catholic secondary school based on the Augustinian charism. The ideal candidate will be an experienced fundraising strategist and relationship builder with a history of innovation in fundraising and donor development to support the strategic direction of the school. The ability to effectively articulate specific fundraising goals and motivate and manage a team to achieve those goals will be essential to the success of the incoming Chief Advancement Officer.

• Minimum of 10 years of progressive fundraising or advancement experience, preferably within an independent school landscape or higher education.
• Visionary and strategic planning capabilities to be applied toward the development of an innovative fundraising program and the leadership necessary to ensure its successful implementation.
• Proven success in annual giving strategy, capital campaigns, and scholarship/endowment fundraising.
• Direct experience and proven success in building relationships and soliciting and closing major gifts; designing and implementing cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies, individually and as part of a team.
• Strong management skills, both strategic and operational, and a demonstrated ability to build, manage, mentor, and motivate an effective team.
• Strong capability to analyze donor data, extract actionable insights, and implement data-informed strategic decisions.
• Ability to serve as a trusted advisor to the Head of School and the Board of Trustees on matters related to development.
• Willingness to be part of a collaborative environment and to work closely with colleagues, board members, alumni, and parents.
• Strong interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to build, foster, and maintain positive relationships with both internal and external constituencies including administrators, faculty, trustees, volunteers, students, donors, and prospects.
• Superior communication skills to express, orally and in writing, St. Augustine Prep’s mission, vision, and goals with clarity, passion, and persuasion.
• Excellent public speaking skills complemented by a demonstrated ability to interact in a social setting with ease and grace among individuals from a variety of diverse backgrounds and professions.
• Highly proficient in modern workplace technology; advanced experience with Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge (or similar CRM) is strongly preferred.
• Ability and willingness to travel and work evenings and weekends as required by the advancement calendar.
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.

St. Augustine Preparatory School (locally referred to as “The Prep”) is an independent, all male, Roman Catholic, Augustinian, college preparatory school sponsored by the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova. With an enrollment of 625 students, The Prep serves young men in eighth through twelfth grades from across southern New Jersey. Set amidst 118 acres of serene countryside, St. Augustine Prep’s collegiate-style campus provides the space and the spirit for students to grow intellectually, socially, and spiritually. Rooted in Augustinian values and guided by a deep sense of brotherhood, this environment of quiet focus shapes young men of character, faith, and purpose.

The school was founded in 1959 by the Augustinians, the Order of St. Augustine, a religious community of priests and brothers in the Roman Catholic Church that traces its roots to St. Augustine of Hippo, the great fifth-century Bishop of North Africa and Doctor of the Church. Today, the Augustinians serve the Catholic Church throughout the world in a variety of ministries and operate schools on six continents.

Through the Catholic Tradition and in the spirit of St. Augustine, The Prep aspires to achieve academic excellence with integrity, create a compassionate lifelong Brotherhood of Christian Gentlemen with a nurturing community, and see the face of God in ALL people through loving and inclusive service to their neighbor and all creation. Additionally, St. Augustine Preparatory School has the following core values: Veritas (Truth), Unitas (Unity), Caritas (Love). Those core values play a central role in the life of the school as they help the young men entrusted to their care discover themselves, understand others, and make an impact in the world by “Setting Hearts On Fire.”

For additional information about St. Augustine Preparatory School, visit https://www.hermits.com/.