Director of Institutional Advancement

Leadership Responsibilities and Opportunities

Reporting directly to the Head of School and working closely with the Board of Directors and Advancement Committee, the Director of Institutional Advancement will hold responsibility for the following areas of leadership:

Strategic Advancement Leadership

• Develop, refine, and execute a multi-year advancement strategy aligned with the school’s mission, values, and strategic priorities.
• Lead annual, major, capital, planned, and legacy giving efforts, ensuring clarity of goals, messaging, and timelines.
• Guide the school toward a focused, achievable fundraising portfolio—currently centered on the Annual Fund, Big Night, and a nearly completed playground capital campaign—while laying groundwork for future initiatives such as endowment.
• Translate strategy into actionable plans with clear benchmarks and accountability.

Donor Cultivation, Solicitation, and Stewardship

• Personally cultivate, solicit, and steward major donors while expanding and diversifying the donor base.
• Strengthen relationships across families, alumni, grandparents, staff, and community partners through thoughtful, personalized engagement.
• Partner closely with the Head of School and Board in donor strategy, preparation, and visits.

Team Leadership and Development

• Lead, mentor, and support a small professional advancement team, fostering a collaborative, mission-driven, and high-performing culture. The team will include the Director of the Near North Fund, Director of Donor and Alumni Relationships, Data Manager, and Communications Manager.
• Clarify roles, expectations, and goals, and support ongoing professional growth and retention.
• Assess team strengths and gaps and make adjustments as needed to ensure sufficient internal capacity.

Operational Excellence and Systems Building

• Build and manage a coherent, data-informed advancement operation, including donor analytics, reporting, and pipeline management.
• Ensure the advancement function is fluent in data—or builds that fluency quickly through hiring, training, or systems improvement.
• Oversee an advancement operating budget (approximately $150,000+), aligning staffing, systems, and fundraising investments with realistic return and capacity.
• Partner closely with Finance to ensure strong integration, transparency, and accountability.

Community Engagement and Storytelling

• Strengthen Near North’s case for support by clearly articulating the school’s impact, values, and aspirations.
• Shape messaging that fosters belonging, gratitude, and shared responsibility.
• Lead advancement communications with clarity and purpose, helping families and donors understand why philanthropy is essential to the school’s mission, access, and sustainability.

Qualifications

Skills, Experience, and Leadership Attributes

Near North Montessori seeks a Director of Institutional Advancement who brings both technical expertise and relational leadership. The ideal candidate will demonstrate many of the following:

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred
• At least five years of successful nonprofit fundraising experience, with a demonstrated record of personally soliciting and closing major gifts
• Experience working in independent schools or mission-driven organizations with sophisticated donors
• Demonstrated ability to establish productive boundaries with boards and volunteers while maintaining strong relationships
• Experience supervising and developing professional staff
• Strategic and analytical thinking, with the ability to use data to inform decisions
• Exceptional interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
• High emotional intelligence, discretion, and integrity
• A collaborative, inclusive leadership style and comfort partnering across departments
• Familiarity with fundraising CRMs (Blackbaud preferred) and related tools, or the ability to learn quickly
• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends as required in school advancement work

Above all, the successful candidate will be energized by Near North Montessori’s mission and community, and motivated by the opportunity to help the school thrive for generations to come.

A complete, detailed job description is available to candidates upon their application for this position.

Additional Information

How to Apply

Applications will be reviewed when they are received.

Candidates interested in this position are asked to submit the following materials in a single merged PDF document, in the order listed:

• EC Candidate Summary Sheet (you’ll be asked to make a copy upon opening)
• Letter of interest, addressed to the Head of School
• Current résumé
• A list of five or more references with contact information (including phone numbers and email addresses)
• Disclosure Form (you’ll be asked to make a copy upon opening)

Please send applications and address inquiries to:

George Sanderson, Partner, Educators Collaborative gsanderson@educatorscollaborative.com

Carol Santos, Partner, Educators Collaborative csantos@educatorscollaborative.com

Near North Montessori believes that each individual is entitled to equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, ancestry, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or local anti-discrimination laws. The School’s equal employment opportunity practices extend to recruitment, hiring, selection, compensation, benefits, transfer, conditions, and privileges of employment.