Website Lick Wilmerding High School
ABOUT LICK WILMERDING HIGH SCHOOL
Lick-Wilmerding High School is a nonprofit, independent, co-ed, college preparatory day school serving grades 912 with a tradition of integrating rigorous academic courses with technical, visual, and fine arts. A private school with public purpose, Lick-Wilmerding High School develops the head, heart, and hands of highly motivated students from all walks of life, inspiring them to become lifelong learners who contribute to the world with confidence and compassion. LWHS welcomes, embraces, and supports highly motivated students, and their families, from all economic and cultural backgrounds. LWHS is highly esteemed for its dynamic academic program that integrates technical arts and allows opportunities for students to also explore visual and performing arts, athletics, and altruistic public purpose programs. LWHS furthers this mission by developing graduates with the capacity, confidence, compassion, and commitment to change the world. LWHS’s award-winning, state-of-the-art campus and buildings are located on 755 Ocean Avenue in San Francisco, California.
Endowed by San Francisco entrepreneur James Lick, the school first opened its door as the California School of Mechanical Arts in 1895. The Lick School eventually merged with the Wilmerding School of Industrial Arts and the Lux School of Industrial Training, a technical education school for girls. James Lick and Jellis Wilmerding founded a school accessible to students from all walks of life. The 556 students currently at LWHS reflect the school’s strong commitment to its history and tradition as well as its cultural, social, and socioeconomic diversity. First generation-to-college students typically make up between 7% to 14% of a class. The enrolled student body at LWHS is 12% African American, 40% Asian (including East and South Asian), 17% Latinx and 60% White with 39% of the overall student body identifying as Multiracial. In all, 69% of the student body identifies as students of color.
Lick-Wilmerding High School is one of the most selective Bay Area independent high school, receiving up to 1,100 applications for 140 seats available for each incoming class annually. The current class of 2024 are students who have typically graduated at the top of their class from a mix of public, private, and parochial middle schools. Students are bright and exceptionally motivated teenagers with a strong interest in unleashing their potential within an authentic and inclusive school environment. Each year, 98-100% of LWHS graduates attend four-year colleges or universities; others will take a gap or attend a community college. LWHS is also highly admired for its robust Flexible Tuition Spending program that awards $7.1 million to 34% of enrolled students. In fact, 26% of LWHS’s operating budget is dedicated to ensuring flexible tuition for students and families. Tuition at LWHS covers all books, course materials, daily lunch, yearbook, athletic uniforms, co-curricular activities, and grade-level retreats.
Despite the global pandemic, LWHS remains in robust financial health. Over the past years, the school has expanded the size of the student body, completed a historic $28M capital campaign, expanded campus facilities to support more students, enhanced its instructional and science lab spaces, and increased their Flexible Tuition program. Their endowment has grown to $70 million, and the school has built up a robust financial reserve. In July 2023, Raj Mundra became the new Head of School of Lick-Wilmerding High School succeeding the past Head who had successfully led the school for 11 years. Raj was most recently the Deputy Head of School for Academics and Student Affairs and Dean of Studies at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Working closely with the school’s community, Raj is focused on advancing and implementing the school’s ambitious strategic goals and helping to set the stage for LWHS’s next stage of growth. To build on the school’s successful legacy of philanthropy, LWHS now seeks a new, dynamic Executive Director of Advancement who will help expand their fundraising support, strengthen their culture of philanthropy, and establish effective funding partnerships to advance LWHS as a world-class educational institution.
THE POSITION
The Executive Director of Advancement provides overall vision, leadership, and direction for Lick-Wilmerding High School’s advancement programs that help strengthen LWHS’s reputation as a world-class school. The Executive Director of Advancement oversees the school’s advancement efforts, including annual giving, major giving, leadership giving, planned giving, grants, events, donor engagement, and effective stewardship efforts. As LWHS’s principal fundraising strategist, the Executive Director of Advancement will lead efforts to strengthen individual giving efforts to support the school’s short- and long-term success. This position reports directly to LWHS’s Head of School and serves as an essential member of the Administrative Leadership Team. Peers include Chief Financial and Operations Officer, Dean of Equity and Inclusion, Dean of Faculty, Dean of Students, Dean of Teaching and Learning, Director of Admissions, Director of Athletics, Director of Strategic Communications, and Director of The Center for Civic Engagement.
The Executive Director of Advancement will develop and implement comprehensive, effective fundraising goals and strategies to strengthen the Annual Fund, raise significant major, leadership, and planned gifts, and build and cultivate new donor relationships. The Executive Director of Advancement works closely with members of the school’s Board of Trustees on strategic fundraising and planning, attends Board meetings and events, and provides staffing support for the Development, Finance, and Governance Committees. The Executive Director of Advancement will be a positive and enthusiastic face for LWHS and become a known and trusted leader to peers, faculty, parents, students, alumni, and supporters of the school. The Director also leads efforts to support future philanthropic campaigns and strategic funding projects.
The Executive Director of Advancement currently leads and manages a three-member advancement team that includes a Director of Development, Annual Fund Manager, and Database Manager and will potentially grow the team with two new positions to support school’s growth in philanthropic support. The Executive Director of Advancement will enhance the team’s ability to research and identify new donors and prospects, steward donors well, and meaningfully engage with alumni, parents, and grandparents. The Executive Director of Advancement must be an accomplished fundraiser with the strategic vision to lead a high performing advancement team that interacts and engages well with a range of diverse constituents. To be successful, the next Executive Director of Advancement must be a skilled listener, communicator, and relationship builder who can articulate clear and compelling cases for support that ensures the growth and vitality of one of the nation’s premier independent high schools.
QUALIFICATIONS
The ideal candidate will bring forth a passionate, enthusiastic commitment to LWHS’s mission, vision, and values and a passion for advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. This next leader should have a minimum of seven years of senior-level leadership experience in managing successful fundraising teams. Experience with independent schools would be an advantage. This individual should be a strategic thinker and energetic leader with a proven ability to hire, supervise, motivate, and retain an advancement team that strives to achieve and exceed goals with proven drive and achievement in the successful solicitation of six- or seven-figure gifts. Also, the new leader must possess the ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with a diverse spectrum of people including administrators, faculty, staff, volunteers, alumni, parents, and donors in a complex variety of multi-cultural settings. Experience working with a committed Board and volunteers will be important, including exceptional written and verbal communication skills with strong interpersonal, active-listening, and relationship-building competencies.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
The salary range for this position is $225,000 to $235,000. Benefits include 100% employer-paid medical and dental plans, and vision plan (voluntary); life insurance and AD&D benefits, short-term and long-term disability insurance, long-term care benefits; flexible spending accounts (FSAs); two TIAA-CREF 403(b) retirement savings plans, including employer contributions of 5% unmatched and 2% matched (up to a total of 7%) and elective deferrals through salary; employee assistance program (EAP); four weeks of paid vacation (after first full year of employment; two weeks for first year), 11 paid holidays, two personal days, ten paid sick pay days annually, leaves of absence, and other time off; and a warm, collaborative, creative, and meaningful work culture.
Relocation assistance will be provided for the successful candidate.
APPLICATION
Lick Wilmerding High School has retained Campbell & Company to conduct this search. A full position guide and instructions on how to apply can be viewed here.
