Chinese International School

Chinese International School (CIS) is now inviting applications for the role of Director of Major Gifts.

About CIS

Founded in 1983, CIS is a private non-profit school in Hong Kong offering an international education from Reception to Year 13 in two languages – Mandarin and English. CIS places a strong emphasis on integrating Chinese culture into its curriculum and broke new ground with the launch in 2013 of a residential study centre in Hangzhou for all Year 10 students. The school has approximately 1650 students aged 4-18 representing over 30 nationalities. CIS is committed to academic excellence, with a mission to inspire students to a lifelong love of learning. Further information about CIS is available here: https://www.cis.edu.hk/about-us/about-cis

Transformative Growth under Vision ‘33

CIS is entering a period of exciting and transformative growth guided by Vision ’33, the School’s ambitious road map for the coming decade in the run-up to its 50th anniversary in 2033. As part of this growth, CIS will be expanding its campus, redeveloping an adjacent property at 9 Hau Yuen Path just awarded to CIS by the Hong Kong Education Bureau. Scheduled to open in August 2028, CIS’s redevelopment of the 9 Hau Yuen Path site will house students in Years 2–6, as well as permit a significant increase in the School’s overall enrolment across its expanded campus, creating opportunities for additional families to join the CIS community. In addition, the School will be extending its financial aid programme, ensuring that promising learners from diverse backgrounds will benefit from its world-class educational offerings.

In partnership with the Board of Governors, the Head of School, and the Executive Director of Advancement, the Director of Major Gifts will play a critical role in achieving the fundraising successes required to support this redevelopment project and realise the ambitious goals for the future of CIS that are set forth under Vision ‘33. Further information about Vision ’33 is available here: https://www.cis.edu.hk/about-us/vision-33

Advancement at CIS

CIS’ strong culture of giving has played a key role in the school’s growth and in the School’s ability to continue as a leader in international, bilingual and intercultural education. CIS has a generous community that gives back in many different ways, from volunteering their time to donating money to the Annual Fund, capital campaigns, the CIS Endowment Fund, Planned Giving and the Alumni Annual Appeal.

Further information about Advancement at CIS may be found here: https://www.cis.edu.hk/giving/overview and the most recent CIS Annual Report may be found here: https://www.cis.edu.hk/about-us/about-cis

The Role

Reporting to the Executive Director of Advancement, the Director of Major Gifts will work closely and collaboratively with key members of the advancement team, including the Executive Director of Advancement and the Assistant Advancement Director, as well as the Campaign Steering Committee and School Leadership Team.

The Director of Major Gifts will be responsible for identifying and cultivating relationships with prospective major gift donors. Key responsibilities will include:

• Planning and leading a tailored major gift portfolio, with an emphasis on gifts of HK$1,000,000 or greater;
• Researching major gift donor prospects;
• Growing relationships with major gift donors;
• Developing a donor solicitation strategy for major gift prospects;
• Preparing and completing major gift solicitation meetings;
• Designing and operating a donor stewardship program;
• Tracking and assessing major gift fundraising metrics; and
• Drafting major gift proposal documents.

Successful candidates for the role will have a thorough background in fundraising best practices and substantial experience with donor databases for managing donor and solicitation records. In particular, CIS invites applications from candidates with the following qualifications:

• A Bachelor's degree;
• Fluency in English and Chinese;
• A minimum of 5 years of previous fundraising experience, preferably in schools or educational nonprofits;
• Familiarity with Donor database software, particularly Salesforce;
• Familiarity with Prospect Research Tools & Wealth screening;
• Familiarity using and creating major giving fundraising and marketing tools; and
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and the ability to build strong relationships with diverse internal and external stakeholders.

In addition, a postgraduate degree or Fundraising certificate would be an advantage, along with prior professional experience working with donors in Hong Kong, Greater China and the Asia-Pacific region.

How to Apply

Applications should include the following:

• CV (maximum 4 pages)
• Letter of application (1-1.5 pages) with a detailed statement of aspirations and relevance for the position

Completed applications should be uploaded via this page.

Perrett Laver is an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all qualified candidates. Information provided will be treated in strict confidence and used only for recruitment purposes.
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