Job Opening: Killington Mountain School is on the Hunt for a Director of Development

Job Title: Director of Development

Supervisor: Head of School

Job Type: Full-Time, year-round, exempt

About Killington Mountain School 

At Killington Mountain School, student-athletes explore their full potential in academics, athletics, and ultimately, life after college. Anchored by a close-knit community of driven peers and supportive faculty and coaches, Killington Mountain School helps student-athletes reach the top—at their world-class training venue, Killington Resort, as well as in their personal lives. Dedicated faculty and coaches deliver a personalized education that allows balancing top-tier athletics and stellar academics without compromise. 

The KMS Experience offers a college preparatory and NEASC accredited education within a US Ski and Snowboard certified Gold Club and High-Performance Center. Serving grades 6-12 and Post-Graduate students across 6 athletic disciplines with year-round programming, our Full-Term, Winter-Term, and Boost Programs provide world-class academic and athletic opportunities for motivated student-athletes. Our curriculum emphasizes critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity, helping students forge connections between their learning and the “big picture.” Students benefit from small student-teacher ratios and a blended-learning model that enhances their ability to remain connected and engaged in academics, wherever learning opportunities may exist. For younger and aspiring athletes, we offer a robust Development Program, providing the best possible foundation for our academy offerings and a lifelong love of sport. 

The Opportunity 

In its 50th year, Killington Mountain School has enjoyed great success and is seeking a fundraising professional to execute its refreshed vision for the future. Reporting to the Head of School, the Director of Development is responsible for designing and implementing fundraising strategies and initiatives to secure philanthropic support for the school’s mission and programs. This position represents an exciting opportunity to shape how the school engages, solicits, and stewards its donors. It is ideal for candidates who wish to see the impact of their work daily and desire a leadership position where they can shape strategy and operations. The Director of Development will serve as a key member of the senior leadership team and a strategic partner to the Head of School. 

The Candidate 

The successful candidate will be a hands-on entrepreneur who implements best practices in educational fundraising and embraces the community values that make KMS special. An ideal candidate will bring joy to their work, successfully building purposeful and strategic relationships that benefit the School. The Director will possess a background in nonprofit fundraising, superior communication skills, high emotional intelligence, and a strategic, solution-oriented mindset. They must be a team player, excited by the opportunity and autonomy to build on the School’s culture of philanthropy. In partnership with the Head of School, the Director of Development will recognize and capture fundraising opportunities while developing overarching strategies supported by sustainable systems and processes crucial to realizing KMS’ vision. 

Responsibilities

– Develop and implement a comprehensive fundraising program including annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, capital campaigns, and special events. 

– Partner closely with the Head of School, Assistant Head of School, Board of Trustees, and other stakeholders in cultivation and solicitation activities. 

– Build a strong major gifts program, set goals, timetables, and metrics to benchmark growth. 

– Design and implement a best-practice stewardship program, including alumni and parent relations. Strengthen, lead, and liaise with our volunteer Parents’ Association. 

– Establish and achieve goals, timetables, and strategies for assigned prospects and projects.

– Conduct regular prospect visits to qualify and solicit major prospects for annual fund, capital, or planned gifts. 

– Acquire timely institutional information to create and execute solicitation and stewardship strategies for each prospect. 

– Track activities and generate reports to monitor each prospect’s cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plan. 

– Plan and execute key school fundraising and cultivation events with volunteers, such as our World Cup Annual Fund Kick-off, Days of Giving, Golf Tournament, and Annual Auction. 

– Maintain relationships with organization and foundation representatives, create proposals, reports, presentations, and nurture relationships through other correspondence as needed to advance philanthropic discussions. 

– Prepare reports for and present to the Board of Trustees. Mobilize Trustees in support of fundraising initiatives. 

– Produce the annual giving report, oversee institutional communication related to Development (email, print, social media). 

– Manage gift processing, recording, acknowledgments, and database management with support from the Assistant Head of School and Director of Technology. 

– Prepare and adhere to an annual budget and work plan in consultation with the Director of Finance.

– Participate in all community events, required activities, and Faculty on Duty rotation. 

– Perform other duties as assigned by the Head of School. 

Please note this job description may not encompass all activities, duties, or responsibilities required. Duties and responsibilities may change at any time with or without notice. 

Qualifications

– Minimum of 3 years of fundraising experience, preferably in an educational or nonprofit setting.

– Excellent written, oral, and interpersonal skills; demonstrated solicitation experience. 

– Proficiency with Google Suite, Salesforce, Instagram, and Facebook preferred. 

– Proven success in developing and implementing fundraising strategies, securing major gifts, and achieving annual goals. 

– Strong leadership and management skills, ability to lead and mentor a team. 

– Ability to strategize, implement, and build major gift programs, motivate teams and volunteers.

-Possess the flexibility and initiative to work independently and thrive in a fast paced environment.

– High ethical standards for handling confidential information. 

– Strong computer skills, database research, and maintenance knowledge. 

– Willingness to travel, work evenings, weekends, and occasional irregular hours, both onsite and offsite.

– Ability to pass fingerprinting and background checks. 

Compensation and Benefits

This is a full-time, year-round, exempt position with benefits including a 401k retirement plan after one year of employment, health insurance, HSA, discounted season pass to Killington/Pico, generous vacation and holiday PTO, facility access for meals and gym, and potential tuition remission for qualifying dependent children after one year of employment. Additional compensation for completed Faculty on Duty shifts. Salary commensurate with experience and job requirements. 

To Apply

Please send a resume and cover letter to Claire Butler, Head of School 

(ckershko@killingtonmountainschool.org). 

Equal Employment Opportunities

KMS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The School invites candidates to join in this process who bring a substantive and varied combination of educational pursuits and lived experiences that demonstrate the capacity to make a meaningful contribution. Killington Mountain School does not discriminate on the basis of national origin, race, creed, color, gender, disability, or sexual orientation in the administration of its educational policies, admission, financial aid, loans, hiring process, and other school programs.