Reporting to the Director of Principal Gifts, work closely with the principal gifts team and other development colleagues and university administrators in executing a stewardship program designed to secure and strengthen long-term relationships with the University’s most generous donors.  The stewardship and project specialist is involved in working with divisional colleagues, who are managing relationships with donors who have given $1M or more to the University, to create and implement long-term strategies for acknowledging, describing impact and reporting to donors in the principal and leadership gifts pools.

Program Planning

Plan and direct a comprehensive program of stewardship activity designed to acknowledge and recognize individuals and families that have made gifts totaling $1M or more, with priority emphasis on donors of gifts greater than $5M.

• Engage in ongoing networking with colleagues internal to University Development and externally in schools and units on high-level strategic thinking to further donor engagement.
• Drive timely and thoughtful comprehensive stewardship of the principal and leadership gift pools through customized efforts.
• Understand the diverse nature of stewardship efforts at Duke and offer solutions for how to best inform donors about the impact of their philanthropy, including events, written reporting and electronic reporting.
• As a member of the principal gifts team, create high-level stewardship plans for individual donors, including invitations to stewardship events on campus and away from Duke or special “days of impact” for selected donors.
• For events with a stewardship focus, work with event originators to help conceive of program where appropriate, determine invitation lists and craft briefing materials.
• In these activities, collaborate and coordinate with the Office of Donor Relations, ensuring consistency, leveraging expertise, and recording activity.

Execution of Short- and Long-Term Stewardship Plans and Activities

Manage and execute the identified stewardship plans of selected principal and leadership-level donors on an annual basis, particularly those who have given to more than one division or to centrally-based projects and programs, in collaboration with other colleagues responsible for stewardship efforts.

• Research, write and produce stewardship and impact reports for top donors, including writing letters for the president and provost.
• In conjunction with principal and leadership gifts colleagues, create and execute immediate stewardship activity/correspondence for the president and/or other academic and development leaders for our highest level donors.
• Collaborate on and produce stewardship reports for selected donors of special gifts and projects that do not fall within the purview of a school or center.
• Attend special events where stewardship of top donors is a central feature.
• Adhere to University Development guidelines regarding donor confidentiality as well as privacy related to release of student information (FERPA).

Serve as a Stewardship Information Hub

Increase knowledge of Duke programs and initiatives for proactive use in stewardship activities by seeking online information and forming relationships across campus to gather information.

• Represent principal gifts on committees related to stewardship including events.
• Work with the Donor Relations team in University Development to share and receive information.
• Provide guidance to development and alumni relations colleagues concerning all broad-based stewardship efforts originating from principal gifts, and respond to challenges others may face in the stewardship process.
• Participate in the Donor Relations Working Group of donor relations professionals at Duke who gather regularly for the purposes of idea-sharing and networking.

Stewardship Project Management

• Keep track of and project manage reporting or stewardship activities originating out of principal gifts, at times in collaboration with Donor Relations in University Development.
• Work with the president’s office to streamline requesting and executing of stewardship activity, including recording the activities in the database.
• Manage and expand the pledge reminder project for top donors.
• Collaborate with other development colleagues in helping to produce stewardship reports.
• Other stewardship activities as created or assigned.

Behavioral Competencies:

• Curiosity and information seeking
• Creativity and Initiative
• Express ideas orally and in writing
• Plan, prioritize, and multitask
• Exercise attention to detail
• Collaborate with others
• Organizational awareness
• Teamwork
• Provide excellent customer service

Education and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Research, writing, and editing experience
• Careful attention to detail
• Experience handling confidential information
• Ability to use design applications, especially Adobe InDesign, preferred
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines
• Ability to work autonomously and as a member of a team

OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

Interested Candidates

Please submit cover letter and resume to [email protected].

Please put “Principal Gifts Stewardship Project Specialist” in the subject line.

Duke University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual’s age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status. Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes.