Wesley Theological Seminary is a graduate professional school of The United Methodist Church. Its mission is to educate persons for the various forms of Christian ministry and to provide theological leadership on issues facing the church and the world.

The Seminary offers four degree programs M.Div., M.A., M.T.S., and D.Min.

The Seminary is in the silent phase of its $20 million capital campaign. To strengthen the endowment, $14 million needs to be in current cash, of which only $1.8 million can come from three years of the Annual Fund. It is anticipated that about $6 million will come from planned giving.

Additional background about Wesley Theological Seminary continues at the end of this document.

Due to a combination of people moving onto other positions, and retirement, the director of development position is open.

New director of development will be coming into an institution that is "on the move." The Seminary has an important vision, it is on the cutting edge of theological education, including doing some risky things.

There are creative and gifted people who support each other. There is an excellent faculty, extraordinary students, and an excellent Board.

The Seminary has ambitious goals, but it tries to reach them in a collegial environment.

The position offers a broad range of experience in fund-raising activities, but the institution is small enough that the director of development will have access to the president, deans, etc.

There is an opportunity to grow professionally.

During the next three years, the director of development will play a major role in the Seminary's advancement campaign, currently in a silent phase. A major aspect of the work during this time will be the coordinating of various development activities during this intensive effort, working closely with the executive vice president, who directs the campaign. It is an opportunity to "multiply" everyone's effort.

The Seminary is first tier in quality, but only third tier in endowment.

Reports To: Executive vice president, in parallel with director of Seminary relations (admissions), and vice president for church relations and student development.

Supervises: Development Office staff. The total number of people in the Development Office is six full time equivalents.

Basic Function: Principal focus of the position is on developing relationships, both outside and inside the Seminary, the development and management of programs and the leadership of staff.

• Coordinate all development activities at Wesley, with special responsibilities for the Annual Fund, publications, and prospect management.

• Be lead person responsible for annual gifts to the Seminary (currently about $600,000 per year) through both mail appeal and face to face appeals. This is a base building/constituency building job. Expected to recruit new supporters, and develop ties to key churches.

• Look for "cultivation" events.

• Work directly with the president and the executive vice president to coordinate their work in development. The president and executive vice president are the Seminary's major gift solicitors.

• Supervise the receipt and acknowledgment of all gifts.

• Manage the proposal process.

• Supervise mailings.

• Work directly with the vice president for Church Relations and Student Development to coordinate the development aspects of that person's portfolio.

• Provide leadership and supervision of professional development staff; management of the development office, including support staff, data-management systems; and calendar and mailings.

• Take the lead in programming, communication, special events and face-to-face contact with non-graduate donors and prospects, especially for the "Wesley Council." Members of the Council contribute $1,000 each year.

• Spend about two days each week out of the office visiting with donors and prospects, and encouraging their financial and other forms of support for the Seminary.

• Produce regular forms of communication for donors and prospects.

• Organize special events.

• Represent the Seminary in local churches, to small groups and individuals.

• Outstanding interpersonal skills and exceptional oral and written communication skills. "Relational development" is an example of needing and using all of these skills. Need to represent the institution well. Have an ease in talking about church, Seminary and ask for money. Be able to develop a case statement for use in the campaign.

• The ability to task, coordinate and encourage people who may be more experienced, older, maybe not direct reports.

• A B.S. or B.A. degree. This is required.

• Knowledge of and experience working in an institution of higher education or a church is a plus as is some knowledge of planned giving, seminary education, special events, public relations, or publications.

• Familiar with the nature and culture of church-going people. Need to find out where donor is in his/her thinking about church. There is a need to "Fund a Generation of Excellence."

• Able to effectively support the president and executive vice president as the two major gift solicitors in the campaign. However, it is not known whether the president and executive president's "style" will be effective with Baby Boomers. The director of development should be able to suggest new ideas about soliciting various generations.

• Able to manage conflicting priorities.

• Able to operate and use report generation capabilities of a "non user friendly" data base. The Seminary uses a AS 400 mainframe. Programming is provided by CMDS Software; Harrisonburg, Virginia. Hopefully, will have worked with several database packages.

• An out-going, self-starter who works cooperatively with others in a diverse, fast-paced environment, handles multiple projects at the same time, and is proficient in Windows-based computers and word processing.

• Expected to know The United Methodist Church well and to be acquainted with the polity and beliefs of other denominations.

• Available some evenings and weekends. Some overnight travel required.

• Comfortable in a collegial and communicative environment.

• Disciplined, results-oriented, and aggressive in pursuing new initiatives and program improvements.

Applicants are considered for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, or marital status.

A member of the Washington Theological Consortium, Wesley Theological Seminary is committed to a form of theological education that is both loyal to its denominational heritage and supportive of the ecumenical movement toward a united church. The Seminary is prepared to provide training for those who wish to serve as ministers, whether lay or ordained, professional or non-professional. The degree programs are tailored to fit varying vocational goals.

The Seminary attempts to demonstrate how rigorous intellectual pursuit can be centered in a worship of God that leads to caring relationships within the community and informed concern for the world without. The administrative and educational policies affirm the dignity and worth of every human being. Wesley is committed to:

• Inclusiveness of race, sex, nationality, economic status, and age.

• Working toward a barrier free environment with adequate facilities and assistance for persons with handicapping conditions.

• The personal and intellectual maturation of the Seminary's students, as it strives to furnish the church with leaders whose experience at Wesley Seminary has fostered disciplined spiritual lives as well as an understanding of Christian faith that critically and compassionately engages the realities of the church and the world.

Wesley Theological Seminary is in its second century of preparing men and women for service to church and society. The Seminary's origin was in the 1881 meeting of the Maryland Annual Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church. Enabling legislation of that year led to a charter for Westminster Theological Seminary and the opening of classes in 1882 on the campus of Western Maryland College in Westminster, Maryland. For more than half a century the Seminary thrived there as the training center for ministers of the Methodist Protestant Church.

In 1939, with the union of the three major branches of Methodism, Westminster Seminary became one of ten schools of theology of the new Methodist Church. The new union enhanced the Seminary's growth and helped it define a role of service to the total church. After careful study of pertinent factors, it was decided in 1955 that the Seminary should move from Westminster to the present site in Washington, D.C. In 1958, the Seminary took up residence at its new campus and was renamed Wesley Theological Seminary.

In 1968 the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form The United Methodist Church. Simultaneously, Wesley Seminary became one of thirteen seminaries of the new United Methodist Church.

• The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada,

• Commission on Higher Education of The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, and

• The University Senate of The United Methodist Church (Board of Higher Education and Ministry.