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Reporting to the University President, the Vice President for Advancement (VPA) at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) serves as the Chief Advancement Officer, providing visionary leadership and direction to a successful university advancement strategy that advances EMU’s visibility, influence, and philanthropic reach. The VP will recruit, develop, and empower a talented team to significantly enhance constituent engagement and fundraising outcomes, translating internal alignment into meaningful, relationship-driven external engagement, in alignment with EMU’s mission and strategic priorities. The advancement function includes responsibility for annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, endowments, capital campaigns, corporate and foundation relations, alumni and constituent engagement efforts, church relations, stewardship, and advancement services.

The position requires an energetic, highly engaged, collaborative, and forward-thinking leader with a demonstrated ability to develop and lead high-performing teams, cultivate a campus-wide culture of generosity, and build durable relationships with alumni, donors, internal constituents, faith communities, and local business partners in support of EMU’s mission and strategic priorities. The VPA will bring a deep appreciation for EMU’s faith tradition and commitment to academic excellence, peace and justice, and active faith. This individual will engage donors across generations, cultures, and giving capacities, cultivating authentic relationships that expand philanthropic participation, strengthen long-term engagement, and ensure exemplary stewardship across all platforms. The VPA will leverage data-informed strategies, fundraising technologies, and advancement systems to drive decision-making, donor experience, and sustainable growth. The role combines high-level strategic leadership and visible, relational external engagement with hands-on oversight of advancement operations. Core responsibilities include shaping fundraising priorities, guiding comprehensive campaigns, cultivating partnerships, strengthening advancement infrastructure, and ensuring excellence in donor stewardship, communications, and advancement services in support of EMU’s long-term sustainability and mission.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Develops and maintains a properly coordinated program of university advancement by setting the Advancement strategy and organizing the various departments of University Advancement in a logical, non-duplicative, and efficient manner. Builds and develops a cohesive leadership team, monitors workloads across the division, prioritizes staffing and professional development needs accordingly, and assumes ultimate responsibility for the units and functions included in University Advancement.
• Ensures divisional support of the institutional mission of the University by reviewing and approving unit plans, goals, and objectives; designing systems of effective controls and assessment; utilizing data, technology, and advancement metrics to guide work toward expected outcomes; and evaluating progress toward their accomplishment.
• Facilitates the University’s achievement of its comprehensive fund development goals and objectives by serving as the chief fundraising officer for the University. Directs a development strategy that includes annual fund campaigns, planned giving programs, capital campaigns, and special project campaigns. Advances a culture of generosity across the University and its constituencies, ensuring meaningful engagement and stewardship for donors at all levels. Strengthens relationships with alumni, donors, and external partners by leading proposal development, strategic solicitation efforts, and recognition opportunities that reflect EMU’s values and mission.
• Cultivates a divisional culture that allows the whole division to thrive and do their best work. Leads with clarity, accountability, and care, promoting a work environment characterized by high expectations, trust, collaboration, and psychological safety, and investing intentionally in leadership growth and staff development.
• Assumes responsibility for a robust portfolio of major donors and prospects in seeking major gifts, campaign leadership gifts, and major planned Leads by example in encouraging and modeling—for Advancement staff and the broader University community—professional, ethical, and relational fundraising practices, including the patient and persistent work required to build trust and secure philanthropic resources essential to advancing the University’s mission and vision.
• Assists and involves the President in engaging with the Board of Trustees and other selected top-level donors and prospects in articulating the University’s vision and strategic priorities. Partners closely with the President to support donor engagement across generations and constituencies and to secure major and leadership gifts for University campaigns.
• Advises the President, senior University administrative officers, and members of the Board of Trustees on issues relating to university development and advancement by making presentations at Board meetings and preparing reports, recommendations, findings, and other correspondence as required. Serves as staff liaison to the Board, in collaboration with the President, on Advancement matters, including strengthening the Board’s philanthropic leadership capacity and influencing nominations of new Trustees who bring both commitment to EMU’s mission and fundraising engagement.
• Promotes a positive image and strong external relationships for the University by communicating and interacting with business, community, and faith leaders, alumni, and other stakeholders in matters related to University Advancement and in the promotion of the University’s mission, vision, and impact.
• Encourages high morale and the delivery of quality service by each employee within the Division of University Advancement through a leadership style that is relational, empowering, and performance-oriented, inspiring employees to strive enthusiastically toward shared goals and objectives.
• Enables employees in the division to perform assigned tasks by assuming budgetary responsibility for various units of University Advancement, coordinating the development of the annual budget, aligning resources with strategic priorities, and retaining executive authority over all departmental budgets within the Division of University Advancement.
• Ensures that miscellaneous assignments related to University Advancement are completed in a timely, effective, and mission-aligned manner.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Deep understanding of charitable estate planning, tax laws which affect giving, and a wide range of gift vehicles like IRA giving, charitable trusts, and beneficiary designations and other planned giving instruments with demonstrated ability to align such gifts with institutional priorities and long-term endowment growth.
• Team-player with an attitude that encourages and fosters innovation, collaboration, and a results-oriented approach.
• Tenacious work ethic and bias toward
• Ability to make data-informed decisions collaboratively with institutional
• Experience in forecasting, goal setting, and revenue generation, with a thorough understanding of systems and using and manipulating data.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including demonstrated ability to build relationships with external and internal constituents at the most senior level.
• Well-developed fiscal and budget management
• Ability to articulate the breadth and values of the private, liberal arts
• Impeccable integrity, maturity, emotional stability, and flexibility, exercising discretion and good judgment in handling confidential information.
• Ability to work evening and weekend hours in addition to regularly scheduled hours
• Ability to comprehend complex information to create queries, prepare reports, correspondence, and coordinate information both manually and on the
• Ability to organize and maintain manual and computerized filing
• Attention to detail for accurately preparing and maintaining accurate
• Good memory skills for recalling dates, people, events, and records to retrieve information for reports and files.
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and verbally with a wide variety of

Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s degree along with significant, progressive senior-level experience in fundraising. Minimum of 10 years of demonstrated fundraising success in major gifts and planned giving in higher education and/or non-profit sector; proven success in leading capital campaigns and in corporate and foundation relations. Demonstrated effectiveness in leadership/supervision/strategic visioning.

Physical Requirements:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and/or hear. The employee is frequently required to sit and use their hands and fingers to handle or feel. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, and climb or balance. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision. The employee must occasionally travel to off-campus meetings and conferences, which may include overnight travel.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

The Vice President for Advancement supervises 5-8 direct reports, including professional and support personnel. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; and addressing complaints and resolving problems.

Application and Nomination Process:

Eastern Mennonite University has enlisted the support of Academic Search in this search. Those who are considering applying are encouraged to schedule a confidential conversation with the senior consultant for this search, Kate Nolde, through her Bookings calendar.

Application materials, nominations, and expressions of interest should be submitted to EMUVPA@academicsearch.org. Nominations should include the nominee’s full name, position, institution/organization, and email address.

Applications should consist of the following, to be submitted electronically in PDF format, as three individual documents:

• Detailed letter of interest addressing the leadership agenda and qualifications as outlined in this profile.
• Full resume with relevant administrative responsibilities and
• List of five professional references, including names, phone numbers, and email addresses, noting the candidate’s relationship for each References will not be contacted until later in the search process and only with the candidate’s permission.

Although applications will be reviewed until the position is filled, to ensure full consideration by the Search Committee, application materials should be received by March 12, 2026.

EMU is an equal opportunity employer, committed to enhancing diversity across the institution. Eastern Mennonite University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity in administration of its employment and educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic or other school-administered programs.