The Opportunity

Havergal College is seeking a dynamic and strategic fundraising professional to join our Advancement team as Director, Development. Reporting to the Executive Director, Advancement, the Director will play a pivotal role in leading Havergal’s philanthropic efforts during an exciting time of growth, helping to achieve bold goals and strengthen support for the School’s priorities.

With approximately 75% of their time dedicated to major gift cultivation/solicitation and stewardship, the Director will manage a personal portfolio of 35–45 prospects, cultivating and soliciting support for the School’s highest priorities. The Director will also provide leadership to the annual giving and donor engagement portfolios and foster a collaborative and high-performing culture focused on meaningful donor engagement and impact.

As a seasoned fundraiser the new Director will be a thoughtful team leader focused on advancing a culture of philanthropy across a complex organization. The Director will bring strong relationship building skills, with experience across a number of advancement functions including Annual Giving, Donor Engagement and Major Gift fundraising.

 

About Havergal College

Founded in 1894, Havergal College is one of Canada’s pre-eminent independent schools for girls, offering an exceptional education from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. Located on a beautiful 22-acre campus in midtown Toronto, Havergal prepares young women to make a difference through outstanding academic and co-curricular programs. Our culture is defined by our core values of integrity, compassion, inquiry, and courage, and we take pride in attracting and retaining outstanding faculty and staff who share our commitment to educational excellence and community.

Our Mission, Vision, and Values

Founded in 1894 and rooted in the Anglican tradition, Havergal’s mission is to prepare young women to make a difference. The hallmarks of a Havergal education are enriched, broad-based educational programs and rigorous academic standards, a stimulating and supportive learning environment and a strong community that fosters the qualities of leadership and good citizenship, underpinned by the school’s values of Integrity, Inquiry, Compassion and Courage.

These pillars of excellence prepare our graduates as leaders of the future and have positioned Havergal at the forefront of women’s education for 130 years.

Anglican Affiliation

Havergal was founded in 1894 to provide a high-quality education for girls in the Anglican church tradition. Today, we continue our affiliation with the Anglican faith while fostering respect for, understanding of and celebrating the religious traditions and teachings of other faiths that are meaningful to our school and global community.

Havergal’s Anglican affiliation provides a foundation for our spiritual life as a collective. We pair our school values of inquiry, integrity, compassion and courage, with the spiritual values of kindness, generosity, love, justice, humility, truth, hospitality, service, compassion, forgiveness and redemption. Our Anglican affiliation underpins our commitment to preparing young women to make a difference by deepening our sense of self, our commitment to our community and our responsibility to a higher good.

Recognizing the power and importance of fostering a sense of belonging, we:

• Welcome students and families from all faiths and beliefs (DIVERSITY)
• Seek ways to understand how our faith connections commit us to a responsibility to each other and the world, and our approach to injustice. (EQUITY)
• How we can celebrate, respect, and work together across and through our beliefs and values, both faith-based and secular. (INCLUSION)

Core Competencies of Havergal Employees

Demonstrated ability and commitment to the following core competencies:

Inclusive Excellence – Understands the importance of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging to our mission and how these principles are essential to achieving excellence and creating an environment that enables all students, staff, faculty and parents to contribute their unique strengths and achieve maximum success.

Collaboration & Teamwork – Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives of the College.

Integrity & Trust – Demonstrates respect, honesty, and transparency in all interactions to earn and maintain confidence and credibility. Reliable and counted on honouring their words and actions.

Learning Agility – Seeks out diverse experiences and applies lessons learned to new challenges. Interested in exploring and understanding new and different approaches to meet the challenges of a dynamic environment.

Communication – Speaks and writes clearly and consistently with consideration of the audience and can articulate ideas well in writing and orally.

Growth Mindset – Belief and attitude that one can improve their individual skills and abilities through the dedication of time, effort and energy, is able to adjust to, learn from, and embrace change as necessary for future success

 

Advancement at Havergal College

As an independent school and registered charity, Havergal relies on philanthropic donations as an important source of financial support to provide excellence in the education of girls. We are committed to educating students who will be equipped to face the future head-on and lead with integrity and ingenuity.

Havergal is a not-for-profit institution and tuition covers the costs of operating expenses. It is through the generosity of our donors that we are able to deliver a truly exceptional educational journey to our students as they become confident, globally-minded leaders of tomorrow.

Every donor will have their own individual reason for making a gift. Alumni often tell us that their gift is an expression of gratitude for the experience they had as a student. Parents and grandparents wish to show appreciation for the community that is helping their children and grandchildren to thrive. Whatever the reason, your gift will impact the life of every Havergal student and create a lasting legacy.

When you make a gift to The Havergal Fund, at any level, you will have a direct impact on the daily lives of our students. The cumulative generosity of The Havergal Fund donors creates a pool of funds that support all aspects of the Havergal learning experience. A gift to The Havergal Fund is annually directed to our areas of greatest need and may include student financial assistance, faculty professional development, tools and resources to support academic curriculum innovation, efforts toward environmental sustainability, program enrichment in the arts and athletics and our focus on wellbeing.

 

Key Responsibilities

• Support the implementation of a comprehensive major gift strategy, from cultivation and solicitation to stewardship and ongoing donor engagement.
• Maintain a personal portfolio of 35–45 major gift prospects and donors, advancing them through the full engagement cycle.
• Provide leadership and mentorship to direct reports, including Advancement Officers in the portfolios of Annual Giving, Donor Engagement and the Senior Advancement Officer, while working closely with colleagues across the Advancement team to support fundraising strategy and donor engagement.
• Provide strategic oversight and guidance to the Annual Giving portfolio initiatives, ensuring alignment with the School’s broader fundraising priorities and donor engagement strategy.
• Collaborate with the Executive Director, Advancement and Associate Director Major Gifts, to shape campaign priorities, goals, and donor engagement strategies.
• Partner closely with Advancement Services to ensure seamless coordination of research, gift processing, and data integrity.
• Build strong relationships across the College community including faculty, staff, parents, and Old Girls/Alums to inspire philanthropy and connect donors to meaningful opportunities for support.
• Establish and track performance metrics, ensuring accountability and progress toward fundraising goals.
• Recruit, support and work with volunteers throughout the gift cycle to strengthen donor engagement and advance fundraising priorities.
• Regularly collaborate with Havergal senior leadership who have cross-functional leadership responsibilities.
• Promote and model a culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning and a commitment to quality.
• Keep current on programs and faculty expertise, student initiatives, parent and alumni relations and engagement at Havergal.
• Remain current on trends, and patterns in the philanthropic sector, and the independent school community, as well as maintain understanding and assessment of risks and opportunities.

 

Qualifications, Knowledge And Experience

• Broad knowledge of fundraising principles, including campaigns, annual giving, and donor engagement.
• Progressive experience in fundraising that includes proven success in major gifts, with experience cultivating and soliciting donations at the six- and seven-figure level.
• Demonstrated experience leading and coaching a high-performing team.
• Experience recruiting, supporting and working with volunteers throughout the gift cycle.
• Demonstrated success aligning donor interests with organizational priorities to cultivate strong, long-term relationships.
• Proven ability to build strong internal and external relationships with integrity and professionalism.
• Strategic thinker with exceptional interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills.
• Knowledge of fundraising best practices in independent schools or the education sector is an asset.
• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent combination of training and experience, with CFRE preferred.

Located at 1451 Avenue Road, North York, Ontario, the Director, Development will be required to attend occasional early morning, evening and weekend meetings with travel from time to time.

 

Application Process

KCI Search + Talent is supporting Havergal College in the recruitment of a Director, Development. For more information about this opportunity, please contact Jill Anderson, KCI Search + Talent, at Havergal@kcitalent.com.

Interested candidates should send their resume and letter of interest to the email address listed above no later than January 15, 2026. All inquiries and applications will be held in strict confidence.

To view the full Position Brief, please visit:  www.kcitalent.com

The Director, Development position offers a competitive remuneration package including a salary of $125,000 – $150,000, a comprehensive benefits package, life insurance, and group RRSP.

At Havergal, we believe that great schools are made up of great people. We are committed to building a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates with a diverse range of experiences and perspectives, including women, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) peoples and persons with disabilities. Our core values are inquiry, compassion, integrity and courage and we welcome applicants who are inspired by our mission to prepare young women to make a difference and to take on an ever-changing world with confidence, resilience and global-mindedness.

Havergal College is an equal opportunity employer, committed to an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment and selection process and work environment in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Accommodations are available upon request for candidates engaging in all parts of the recruitment and selection process.