Executive Brief

Senior Managing Director of Annual and Leadership Giving
Bentley University

The Organization: Bentley University

Bentley University, a private, not-for-profit university, is a place for successful leaders who set out to create positive change in our communities, organizations and the world. Bentley believes in doing business and doing good at the same time.

By combining business education with arts and sciences, Bentley provides students with the critical thinking and practical skills to help them collaborate effectively, communicate clearly and lead successful, rewarding careers.

Bentley is more than just one of the nation’s top business schools. They are a community of leaders committed to making an impact that doesn’t just move business forward, but that moves us all forward. Bentley prepares students to be a force - a force for business and a force for good.

The Princeton Review ranks Bentley No. 1 in the nation for career services. For more than a decade, 97 to 99 percent of Bentley's graduates have been employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation. Bentley graduates don’t just land great jobs, they’re engaged in their careers and active contributors to society. It’s a well-rounded approach that delivers a dynamic career and fulfilling life.

Bentley University is committed to providing a transformative educational experience to all students, and is especially proud of its efforts to attract and retain students who are the first in their families to attain a degree in higher education. Bentley has a variety of programs specifically targeted to first-generation college students (which they define as students whose parents or guardians have not attained a bachelor’s degree at any college or university). Bentley knows that first-generation college students are ready to take on business and society’s most pressing challenges, and Bentley will give them the tools they need to succeed.

In 1917, Harry C. Bentley first convened a class of 30 students on Huntington Avenue in Boston, with a goal of educating the next generation of accountants. Since opening its doors over 100 years ago, Bentley University has continuously reinvented business education and grown from those humble beginnings to become one of the top business universities in the U.S. 

As a transformative lifelong-learning community, Bentley University prepares over 5,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students each year to use their business know-how to make a positive difference in the world. With a community of over 65,000 proud Falcon alumni, the impacts of a Bentley education stretch around the globe.

Bentley's Mission Statement:
Bentley University changes the world with a transformative business education, integrated with arts and sciences, that inspires and prepares ethical leaders who will confront the challenges of today and shape the opportunities of tomorrow.

Bentley's Vision:
As a preeminent business university, Bentley will be a knowledge-producing, engagement-based institution that develops learners for an innovation economy and empowers its community and stakeholders to address some of the world's most consequential challenges. We will achieve this by broadening our reach and impact, strengthening our programmatic portfolio, and creating a culture that becomes a beacon for inclusion and equity. 

Valuing diversity is one of Bentley's greatest strengths and is a core value. The Office of Diversity & Inclusion is responsible for fostering an inclusive community by leveraging interactions between offices, educating the entire community and working to increase the diversity at all levels of the University. While the office coordinates university-wide, diversity-related programs and initiatives, many other departments, centers, offices, and organizations at Bentley contribute to improving the diversity climate through varied and persistent efforts.

Diversity is critical to Bentley University’s mission of educating creative, ethical, and socially responsible organizational leaders. Bentley's institutional values are rooted in a belief that appreciating diversity means that they work in an environment that embraces diversity of opinion and that is free from hostility and intolerance. 

Bentley University - Leadership Spotlight

E. LaBrent Chrite, Ph.D.
President

Brent Chrite is the ninth president of Bentley University where he led an ambitious effort to create a strategic plan to ensure the institution’s long-term vitality, health and impact in the disrupted higher education marketplace. Before Bentley, Chrite was the seventh president of Bethune-Cookman University, an iconic HBCU in Daytona Beach, Fla. Chrite and his team led the institution out of the most severe financial crises in its recent history. He also served as the dean of the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business as well as the Feliciano School of Business at Montclair State University.

Chrite also spent a combined 20 years in a variety of academic and senior leadership roles at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management and the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. At Ross, Chrite led the school’s premier research and outreach entity, the William Davidson Institute, focusing on post-central command and transition markets. In that role, he expanded the breadth and impact of the institute’s geographic portfolio to include Latin America, Africa and Central Asia. 

Chrite is an independent director at Gordon Food Service (GFS), an $18 billion enterprise and one of the largest privately held businesses in America. He chairs the board’s risk committee. Chrite is also an independent director at Algafeed Corporation, a revolutionary photobioreactor-technology company. 

Chrite provides energetic and high-integrity leadership, and he is committed to individual and institutional capacity-building efforts to ensure that today’s workforce and their organizations are positioned to compete in the innovation economy. Throughout his career, he has committed himself to preparing students to successfully navigate the on-ramp to a global, connected and entrepreneurial economy. His focus has been on developing students’ adaptive capacities encompassing effective communications, self-reflection, narration and awareness, in addition to the requisite technical and computational fluency required for the 21st century marketplace. 

Chrite has extensive experience developing the private sector in some of the world’s toughest and most opaque economic environments. Most recently, he led a three-year initiative in partnership with the U.S. Department of State to strengthen workforce development efforts across Afghanistan. He has pioneered fresh approaches to poverty alleviation and economic development across Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. In parallel with his higher education work, he has led projects under the auspices of bilateral and multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, U.S. Department of State, Eurasia Foundation and Millennium Promise. 

Chrite is a passionate teacher and thought leader. He has taught strategic management, leadership and international business to graduate business students and executives at the Ross School of Business, the Eller College of Management and in universities around the world. Chrite completed his undergraduate work at Michigan State University, his Master of Science at the University of Missouri-Columbia and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

Sue Ramsey
Associate Vice President for Development

Sue brings over 30 years of experience in development across healthcare and higher education. She joined Bentley University in 2024 as Associate Vice President for Development, overseeing frontline fundraising teams, including annual, leadership, and major gifts, gift planning, parent and family giving, and corporate and foundation philanthropy. Leveraging her experience, she is leading efforts in team building, professional development, and process improvement.

Before Bentley, Sue served as Assistant Vice President of Development at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where she led a team focused on securing gifts of $100K+, organized capital fundraising efforts, and mentored staff on strategies for securing philanthropy for institutional priorities. She played a key role in completing the hospital’s historic $1.7B campaign and later served as Interim Chief of Staff in the Office of the President, onboarding the new president and collaborating with senior leadership and trustees on strategic initiatives.

Sue’s eight-year tenure at Boston College included significant contributions to the successful $1.6B Light the World campaign. As Executive Director of Capital Giving, she oversaw major, principal, and international gifts, gift planning, and annual giving. Earlier, as Director of Gift Planning, she created a campaign that secured over $100M in estate commitments.

Sue began her career in gift planning at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she led the program in the latter half of her 14-year tenure, generating $10-15M annually.

Beyond her professional roles, Sue serves on the development committee of Lifeworks Inc., is a certified 21/64 trainer for intergenerational philanthropy, and is a past president of the Planned Giving Group of New England. A graduate of Boston College and former co-captain of its Women’s Ice Hockey team, Sue lives with her husband and two sons in Metrowest Boston.

The Opportunity: Senior Managing Director of Annual and Leadership Giving

Bentley University - Senior Managing Director of Annual & Leadership Giving - Job Description (PDF Download)

Position Summary

Reporting to the Associate Vice President of Development, the Senior Managing Director of Annual and Leadership Giving (“the SMD”) is responsible for the strategic direction and management of a comprehensive annual giving program – including direct marketing and personalized fundraising efforts – to secure annual current use support for Bentley University’s strategic priorities as well as building the future major gift pipeline. The SMD will manage a small portfolio of individuals to qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward.

The successful SMD is a visionary leader with a proven track record of driving outcomes and exceeding goals. This leader will inspire, mentor and manage the team; create synergies across the department and campus; and build lasting relationships with donors. The SMD’s ability to motivate others and their commitment to the University’s mission will be key to their success in this pivotal role.

  • Plan, execute, and manage a comprehensive annual giving program to grow the base of annual philanthropy working closely with partners in advancement communications, engagement, donor relations, and frontline fundraising.
     
  • Utilize innovative approaches, leverage industry trends, best practices, data analysis, and technology to drive year over year increases in annual gift volume and dollars.
     
  • Manage fundraisers charged with effectively and efficiently qualifying prospects through the giving pipeline with the goal of soliciting and closing annual ($1k+) and leadership gifts ($10k+).
     
  • Define, meet, and exceed team and personal goals for gift revenue, meetings, qualification, solicitation, and other key performances indicators as defined.
     
  • Working closely with prospect management, create and refresh portfolios using data analytics to maximize productivity especially in qualification and solicitation.
     
  • Develop innovative strategies for increasing giving in the $5k - $100k gift bands.
     
  • Set expectations for timely and accurate database entry of information including contact reports, demographic updates, and moves management activity.
     
  • Partner with other frontline teams, including Major Giving, Gift Planning, Corporate and Foundation Relations, to create comprehensive solicitation strategies that support mutually shared goals.
     
  • Collaborate with the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement and the Pulsifer Career Development Center to maximize resources and create opportunities to engage prospects and donors through events and other activities.
     
  • Develop and articulate a deep knowledge of the culture at Bentley University including fundraising priorities, mission, and strategic positioning; academic, extra-curricular and athletic programs; and its faculty, students, and administration.
     
  • Understand and meet departmental standards, policies, and procedures with respect to all aspects of the position.
  • Participate in and organize, as appropriate, the planning of targeted cultivation events locally and out of state.
     
  • Attend and staff events which may require travel, evening, and weekend responsibilities.

Qualifications and Expectations

  • Bachelor’s degree with 10+ years advancement experience including annual giving, frontline fundraising, and management preferably in an institution of higher education or other complex organization.
     
  • A minimum of 5 years’ experience managing staff.
     
  • Positive, collaborative professional with excellent listening and critical thinking skills and a strategic mindset.
     
  • Excellent written and verbal communications skills.
     
  • Experience with and proficiency in CRM donor database usage and an intermediate command of the Microsoft 365 Suite.
     
  • Ability to organize and complete multiple tasks simultaneously with close attention to detail and prioritization to meet deadlines.
     
  • Demonstration of a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in a value-driven organization.
     
  • Interact professionally and maintain confidentiality.
     
  • Must hold and maintain a valid, unrestricted US driver’s license, with an insurable driving history as determined by Bentley’s insurance carrier.
  • Hybrid work environment with virtual and in person meetings required in addition to computer and phone work.
     
  • Must be able to travel by car, plane and public transportation as position will require 10-20% overnight and day travel.
     
  • Some weekend and evening duties are required.

Applications & Nominations

Bentley University has partnered with Boyden Executive Search. For more information about this opportunity or to submit a cover letter and resume, please email:

Lisa Vuona
Managing Partner, Boston
lvuona@boyden.com
LinkedIn

Lisa Vuona has decades of experience in executive search and human resource management, primarily in the non-profit, healthcare and education sectors. She is distinguished by her track record and network, and by her approach, which combines the strategic power of data with a finely tuned ability to understand the client’s organization and identify high-caliber leaders who fit the culture.

Beth Parsons
Principal, Boston
bparsons@boyden.com
LinkedIn

Beth Parsons specializes in the education and non-profit sectors, having held fundraising and leadership roles in prominent educational and social impact organizations for nearly 20 years. She partners with clients to develop search strategies on the basis of organizational needs and core values. Her extensive advancement network serves as a source of high-impact talent.

Don’t check off all the boxes or meet every single requirement? We have learned that potential candidates hesitate when applying for a job unless they meet every single requirement. Boyden Boston is dedicated to inclusivity and valuing diversity and equity in the workplace. If this opportunity excites you, but your background may not be a perfect match, we still encourage you to apply.

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