Calgary French & International School (CFIS) is a full French language immersion co-educational independent school, serving nearly 730 students from preschool through to Grade 12. For over 50 years, families have chosen CFIS because of our immersive French language learning environment that inspires children’s unique curiosity and exploration of the world around them. Our dedicated faculty, staff and administration team partner with CFIS families to provide an extraordinary learning experience. Our students benefit from innovative teaching and learning approaches to address global challenges, and are empowered to take responsibility as open-minded, curious citizens who are prepared for the ever-changing world around them.
The CFIS Advancement team leads fundraising, alumni relations, enrolment, communications and marketing efforts to advance the mission and vision of CFIS. We are currently looking for an experienced fundraising and community relations professional to join our high performing team.
Purpose of Position
The Associate Director, Development and Alumni Relations is a key member of the CFIS team that is dedicated to fundraising and engagement activities for the school. This position reports to the Director of Advancement and is supported by the Advancement Services Associate. The ideal candidate will be familiar with independent schools and have a strong desire and ability to proactively and positively engage with parents, alumni, staff and donors to encourage affinity towards the school. They will be responsible for developing, implementing and stewarding volunteer and alumni relations programming with CFIS parents and alumni.
The successful candidate will be a collaborative, dynamic and engaging professional, who will work with the Director of Advancement to develop and execute a comprehensive and robust development program, including donations to the annual fund, endowment, and other fundraising initiatives including community engagement events. Applicants should be skilled at managing relationships with major donors, identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding
current and prospective supporters through the philanthropy cycle.
Areas of Responsibility
- In partnership with CFIS Board members, senior leadership team and Advancement colleagues, create an inspiring culture of philanthropy that provides parents, alumni, staff Job Posting– Associate Director, Development and Alumni Relations and friends of the school with different ways to give and participate in our school community
- Demonstrated ability to identify and implement annual giving, fundraising events, and major gift strategic planning and solicitation strategies
- Develop a strategic development plan, which may include but is not limited to an annual fund, a capital campaign, special events budgets and revenue and alumni relations
Experience managing volunteers and alumni engagement initiatives - Proven skills to develop and maintain effective working relationships with internal stakeholders at all levels
- Work with the Advancement Committee of the CFIS Society Board to engage Board members, observers, and other volunteers and alumni, in fundraising and friend-raising activities
- Work closely with the Advancement Services Associate to ensure donor management throughout the donor cycle and maintenance of an accurate database of essential information
Qualifications
- Successful completion of a post-secondary degree in a related field and three to five years’ experience in progressively responsible fundraising and development management experience, preferably in an educational environment.
- Understanding of, and sensitivity to, principles of equity, diversity and inclusion
- Strong organizational and analytical skills and creativity and imagination
- Exceptional interpersonal/social interaction skills
- Effective verbal and written communication skills, especially in the area of proposal writing and interaction with stakeholders
- An astute listener and strategist; comfortable receiving input from many sources, and able to analyze and formulate disparate information into a sound, well-organized plan
The successful candidate will need to provide an updated Police Information Check with Vulnerable Sector Screening and proof of full COVID-19 vaccination (two shots approved by Health Canada) prior to commencing work.
Application Process:
If this position sounds like the perfect fit for you, please submit your cover letter and resume to Apply Now. Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At CFIS we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description,
we encourage you to apply anyway with a cover letter and resume describing why you are a great fit and to help us learn more about you. You may be just the right candidate!
We thank all applicants in advance for their submission.
