Director of Advancement, Humanities, Social Sciences and Campaign

Regular/Temporary

Regular

Location

Central Campus

Open Date

2026/10/28

Job Type

Continuing

Close Date

2026/11/14

Employee Group

TMG

Favorite Job

Department

UA PanUni Adv(Faculties-Units)

Full/Part Time

Full-Time

Salary Grade/Band

Band N

Salary Range

$118078.00 - $177116.00 (annual)

Job Code

006169

Hiring Range

$118078.00 - $154829.00

Existing Vacancy

Yes - Backfilling as Existing

Target Number of Openings

1

35

Job Description

Is This You?

You are a collaborative fundraising leader who enjoys working with exceptional academic leaders to achieve fundraising success. You are excited by the prospect of leading the fundraising priorities for two complementary – yet distinct – faculties: Humanities and Social Sciences. You have an engaging and inquisitive nature and are personally interested in the disciplines of both faculties. Outside of your professional expertise, you are motivated by having a front row seat to the brightest minds in Social Sciences and Humanities in Canada. To learn and then turn around and identify and motivate prospective donors would energize you.

You are an excellent connector – you can weave the thread across projects and priorities that share commonalities. You do this with the mindset that a rising tide lifts all boats. You can think on your feet and explore deep impact opportunities because you are prepared, you are a listener and have analyzed relevant data to make informed decisions to maximize impact.

Working with two cooperative and respectful Deans does not intimidate you.



You see your relationship with academic leadership as a partnership – and your role is to unlock their faculties’ potential by accessing philanthropic support. You see the full picture and know what it takes to provide a best-in-class donor experience, regardless of the gift amount, though you thrive in the strategy and planning that goes into major gifts at the $1M+ level. Building a prospect pipeline and working with a dedicated advancement team to do so is a welcome challenge. You enjoy working alongside highly capable advancement team members who under your guidance and coaching can continue to drive philanthropic support.

Lastly, representing a vital pillar for an upcoming campaign currently in the planning phases excites you. You have campaign experience and would add value to McMaster’s advancement leadership team to ensure the successful execution of the campaign. If this sounds like you, read on.

The Opportunity

The Director of Advancement, Humanities, Social Sciences & Campaign will lead the fundraising strategies for the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Humanities. Working in partnership with the faculties’ development leads, the Director will work with Dean Sean Corner (Humanities) and Dean Jeremiah Hurley (Social Sciences) to identify key funding priorities for each faculty. The Director will then translate these priorities into clear cases for support, and work with the existing advancement teams in both faculties to identify,



cultivate and solicit major gift prospects. The Director will inherit a team of seven advancement professionals across the two faculties Currently two support the Faculty of Humanities, and four support the Faculty of Social Sciences, with a shared alumni engagement officer supporting both faculties. The Director will work to increase annual revenues from both faculties, growing to $10M annually.

In addition to fundraising for the key priorities of both faculties (as described as evergreen, always on fundraising), the Director will be the lead fundraiser for the ‘Civic Pillar’ of the upcoming McMaster University campaign. The University has not been in campaign for over a decade and is currently in the planning stages. The Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Social Sciences are the lead academic partners within the Civic Pillar. Building on the existing breadth of research within the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Social Sciences, which led to the $50M gift from Red Wilson to establish the Wilson College of Leadership and Engagement, McMaster University is developing Canada’s most important civic leadership program, equipping students with the history, mindset, character and leadership skills they need to reshape our civic culture. It’s a philosophy as much as a program. And it puts civility, civil discourse and civic practice at this centre.

The Director will act as the subject matter expert and lead solicitor for this pillar of the campaign. They will work alongside University Advancement leadership in campaign planning. The Director will manage a comprehensive Advancement portfolio, supporting t

📌 Director of Advancement, Humanities, Social Sciences and Campaign (Canada)
🏢 McMaster University
📍 Canada