Senior Specialist, Executive Development

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Posting Reason:

Replacement of a regular position

Job Type:

Employee

Anticipated Duration in Months (for contracts and temporary assignments):

N/A

Job Family:

Advancement and Alumni Relations

# of Open Positions:

2

Faculty/Service - Department:

Development

Campus:

Main Campus

Union Affiliation:

SSUO

Date Posted (YYYY/MM/DD):

2026/08/13

Applications must be received BEFORE (YYYY/MM/DD):

2026/08/24

Hours per week:

35

Salary Grade:

SSUO Grade 11

Salary Range:

$95,594.00 - $120,750.00

About the Telfer School of Management

The Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa is located in the heart of Ottawa and is the proud academic home of some 4,300 students,200 faculty members, over 100 staff members, and over 30,000 alumni.

At Telfer, everything we do from teaching to research, to policy advice is firmly aligned with helping Canada reach its potential. We believe that better business practice means a better Canada and that a better Canada means a better world.

Position Purpose

The Senior Specialist, Executive Development plays an important role in building philanthropic relationships and managing a portfolio of donors and prospects for the Telfer School of Management. The incumbent is responsible for generating fundraising revenue, identifying potential sources of funding, developing and executing cultivation and solicitation strategies and driving the acquisition of Major Gifts in the $25,000 – $1 million range. Works closely with the Executive Director and the Director of Philanthropy, to discuss prospective donor strategy and shared management of the School’s and University’s top potential and existing donors.

In this role, your responsibilities will include: 

• Strategic Planning:  With the primary purpose to maximize revenue generation for the Telfer School of Management and uOttawa in general, the Manager, Faculty Developmentdevelops, implements and manages short and long-term action plans for identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of major gift prospects and donors. In collaboration with senior management, establishes measurable goals to meet the School’s objectives and priorities.

• Account Development:  Personally manages a portfolio of up to 120 prospective and existing donors in the major gift range of $25,000 to $1 million through the cultivation, proposal, solicitation and stewardship phases. Meets expected revenue and activity targets annually. During all phases of the fundraising cycle, uses a person-centered approach with a view to foster meaningful lifetime relationships with prospects and existing donors.

• Relationship Management: Develops and maintains collaborative working relationships with a wide variety of University faculty, alumni, prospects, donors, staff, and students to effectively implement a Major Gifts program, prepare appropriate communication materials, identify and nurture relationships with support strategies, and coordinate fundraising activities. Plays a key role in the identification, recruitment and management of volunteers; ensures systematic contact and follow-up with key volunteers and coordinates solicitation meetings and volunteer recognition activities.

• Operations Planning: Creates and manages a rigorous schedule of meetings and other fundraising related activities, ensuring to use the Executive Director, the Dean and other key partners’ time in the most strategic way. Develops high quality proposals for prospective donors and monitors all administrative aspects related to the receipt and use of donations. Maintains a sound working knowledge of the School’s main priorities in teaching, research, and other activities.

• Communications Support: Manages the development of communication materials to support the Major Gifts program and enhance the relationships between the School and its external stakeholders. Works in conjunction with the Communications team to ensure that impactful and cohesive messages are conveyed to existing and prospective donors, including through social media.

• Networking: Actively networks at stakeholder and community events toward building the presence and reputation of the School and creating mutually beneficial relationships. Acts as a key representative in University-wide initiatives and external community events, on a regional, national and international level.

• Performance Evaluation and Reporting: Prepares and submits monthly updates/reports to the Executive Director and the Director of Philanthropy outlining pipeline activity and funds raised for School priorities. Maintains detailed records of solicitation activities in the University philanthropic database for prospect tracking needs.

What you will bring:

• University degree

• Strong working knowledge of fundraising processes, best practices and current industry trends

• Minimum of five (5) years of professional fundraising experience preferably in a business school, university, research or educational setting

• Strong donor focus and understanding of how to effectively manage ongoing donor relationships

• Self-motivated, goal oriented, and strategic thinker

• Strong interpersonal, organizational and analytical skills

• Ability to manage tight deadlines and changing priorities on multiple projects

• Ability to use persuasion, negotiation and influencing skills to develop relationships with stakeholders

• Team player, excels at working collaboratively as well as independently

• Exceptional oral and written communication skills, including public speaking, and solid relationship management skills at all levels in an organization

• Tact, diplomacy and confidentiality required at all times

• Strong computer skills including above average competency on Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Proficiency in Raiser’s Edge is an asset.

• Familiarity with and experience in the use of social media

• Ability to work flexible hours including evenings and weekends, and frequent travel.

• Valid driver’s license and passport required

• Bilingualism (French-English)

#Li-SA1

Key Competencies at uOttawa:
Here are the required competencies for all or our employees at uOttawa: 

Planning: Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.
Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.
Client Service Orientation: Help or serve others to meet their needs. This implies anticipating and identifying the needs of internal and external clients and finding solutions on how to meet them.
Teamwork and Cooperation: Cooperate and work well with other members of the team to reach common goal(s). Accept and give constructive feedback. Able to adjust own behaviour to reach the goals of the team.

The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel our quest for research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply, we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women and LGBTQIA2S+ persons. The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible, barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment, assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact [email protected] to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Note: if this is a union position: The hiring process will be governed by the current collective agreement related to the union affiliation noted above; you can click here to find out more.

If this is a front-line position with responsibilities to interact with students, selected candidates must be rated at the Low Advanced proficiency level or higher for both oral comprehension and reading comprehension in their second official language. The rating is determined by a proficiency test designed by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute.

Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as defined in Policy 129 – Covid-19 Vaccination. This policy was suspended effective May 1, 2022 but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.