Live Oak School, a K-8 independent school in the heart of urban San Francisco, believes that the best learning happens when students are actively engaged in the process — thinking deeply, exploring ideas, and trying on strategies for solving problems. The school’s approach to teaching and learning is deeply rooted in progressive tradition and informed by contemporary research. Live Oak anchors its instructional program around the students as individual learners, determined to prepare them for the opportunities that will define the lives of graduates in the twenty-first century.

Now, Live Oak seeks a director of advancement to oversee a mission-critical department that drives the philanthropic and community outreach initiatives of the school. The current director, who has been at Live Oak since 2008, has led multiple successful fundraising endeavors — including a $5M capital campaign several years ago and a $2M 50th Year Campaign this year to fund operating expenses and grow the school’s Future Fund. The next director will inherit a dedicated and talented team comprising an advancement associate and a director of communications. The school is laying the foundation for another major capital campaign, which the next director will be able to shape from the ground up. The director of advancement will start July 1 and report to the head of school.

Specific Duties: 

Mission-Aligned and Inclusive Philanthropy

• Pursue a full understanding of the impact of a Live Oak education upon the lives of its students in order to promote the value of Live Oak School’s mission and programs and engender cross-constituency support and engagement.
• Center the value of diversity, equity and inclusion in the strategic and tactical work of advancing Live Oak School’s mission through philanthropy, stewardship, communications, marketing, and community engagement.
• Design and execute strategic plans for near-term success and long-term growth of annual fundraising, major gifts, the endowment, capital campaign programs, alumni, social media, and written communications — in support of the sustainability and development of Live Oak School.

Departmental Leadership

• Supervise the advancement team, which currently comprises a director of communications and an advancement associate, as well as external consultants.
• Lead in the development and design of the work of a collaborative advancement team in order to meet the goals of the department by fully leveraging the talents of each professional and facilitating both individual and collective growth.
• Ensure that administrative systems and processes function smoothly, including data management, reporting, donor recognition, stewardship, and research.
• Serve as an active member of the strategy steering team and administrative team.

Community engagement

• Oversee outreach initiatives, including development publications, communication and promotional plans, social media marketing, and alumni relations.
• Understand and promote the role of fundraising and financial management in the long-term sustainability of Live Oak School as a mission-driven 501(c)(3) to the board of trustees, the administrative team, and the parent and guardian community.
• Establish and execute strategies to build outstanding relationships between Live Oak and its varied constituencies.
• Develop, coach, and mentor colleagues, key volunteers, and trustees to take an active role in building relationships and fundraising.
• Actively participate in the life of the school, and perform other duties as assigned.

Live Oak is Looking for Candidates who can demonstrate: 

Professional Qualifications:

• Multiple years of increasing responsibility in fundraising, preferably in an educational setting
• Comprehensive understanding of advancement best practices
• Proven track record of fundraising success, including an ability to cultivate, solicit, and secure major contributions through excellent relationship management skills
• Experience with capital campaign planning, implementation and management
• Experience with digital media campaigns for fundraising, capital campaigns, alternative giving programs, alumni giving programs, and marketing and event management
• Immersion in diversity and inclusion work — both in training and in implementation — and an ability and commitment to aligning principles of DEI to a school’s advancement strategy
• Demonstrated proficiency with fundraising technology
• Demonstrated success in supporting and supervising the work of colleagues to identify and achieve strategic organizational goals and individual employee goals
• Possession of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, which is a minimum requirement, though preferably possession of a graduate degree

Leadership and Personal Qualities:

• Organized, systematic approach to running a mission-critical department
• Ability to create, analyze, and leverage performance metrics
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Willingness to work collaboratively with other leaders throughout the school community
• Deep appreciation and understanding of Live Oak’s mission and values, and an ability to align the operations of an advancement office to the school’s mission and values
• Extreme discretion, attention to detail and commitment to excellence
• Creative and strategic mindset willing to solve complex problems
• Proclivity for relationship-building across different constituencies, including alumni, trustees, parents and guardians, staff and faculty, and friends of the school