National Director of Planned Giving

Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) is North America's leading institution of higher Jewish education and the center for professional leadership development of Reform Judaism. A multi-campus academic and spiritual learning community, HUC-JIR builds vibrant progressive Judaism in North America, Israel and around the globe.

HUC-JIR has strong endowment and endowment-related assets that support the mission of the College-Institute and its programs. The National Director of Planned Giving is responsible for enhancing and strengthening efforts to build current and future endowments through bequests and philanthropic gifts. The Director has oversight of all Institutional Advancement functions related to endowments, bequests, and other philanthropic vehicles. Successful candidates will be seasoned fundraisers with experience in complex planned giving, estate planning and trust administration with the ability to foster and maintain relationships with donors and colleagues. We are looking for a change agent who will bring creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit to this leadership role.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design and implement a robust plan to identify and create planned giving strategies and opportunities for donors to make a long-term philanthropic impact
• Cultivate, negotiate, and secure a wide range of planned giving vehicles including bequest intentions, charitable remainder and lead trusts, testamentary trusts, and gifts of life insurance
• Partner and collaborate with Institutional Advancement team to integrate planned giving into overall donor strategies
• Oversee the identification and cultivation of donors and donor prospects with a focus on endowment funding and planned giving
• Provide oversight and leadership for multi-year endowments campaign strategy, as part of overall comprehensive campaign
• Implement strategic and operational goals for endowments, including integration of data, donor stewardship and gift counting within the central Institutional Advancement systems and procedures
• Establish and sustain strong working relationships with key advisors in the financial and legal communities
• Manage a portfolio of top prospects with capacity for planned and outright gifts; develop a comprehensive stewardship strategy for these prospects
• Advise and assist prospective donors and their professional advisors in their charitable and estate planning efforts
• Create long term strategies to increase the number of alumni with planned gifts
• Participate in local and national professional organizations and programs to maintain knowledge of best-practices and ever-changing charitable giving tax law
• Ensure operations of planned giving and endowment endeavors are conducted within stringent requirements of law and fiduciary duty

Qualifications & Skills:

• Bachelors required; a degree in law or a master’s degree in a related field is preferred
• 7+ years of progressive leadership responsibility in planned giving and endowments; expertise in estate planning, trust administration or related highly preferred
• Knowledge of gift planning strategies and tax laws related to charitable planning
• Demonstrated leadership and effectiveness in a complex organization
• Strong presence with outstanding relationship building skills
• Ability to inspire, influence and build credibility with senior level donors, lay leadership and staff
• The ability to impart knowledge, develop skills and mentor staff
• A personal commitment to the Reform Movement and Jewish philanthropy is essential
• Knowledge and understanding of the organized Jewish community preferred

This is a hybrid role (if in NYC area) or fully remote (elsewhere in the U.S.)