Occupational Summary

The Assistant Director of Young Alumni and Student Giving is part of the Annual Fund team responsible for the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of undergraduate seniors and undergraduate alumni who graduated in the past 15 years to meet ambitious dollar and participation goals for Annual Fund giving. The Assistant Director is responsible for managing the Young Alumni for Duke fundraising program (years 1-4 post-graduation) and the Senior Giving Challenge fundraising program (current undergraduate seniors).  S/he spends extensive time on campus, in addition to some travel nationally, to solicit donors, recruit and manage volunteers, and staff events. The position reports to the Director of Young Alumni and Student Giving, Duke Annual Fund, with responsibility to the Director of Development for Alumni and Leadership Giving.

Responsibilities:

Program & Volunteer Management: 

Young Alumni for Duke Program

• Develop and execute a strategic plan to secure philanthropic gifts from Duke’s youngest undergraduate alumni with the goal of stabilizing and then improving participation rates.
• Recruit, onboard, train, and manage undergraduate alumni volunteers from the first four years after graduation to build a stronger culture of philanthropy among their peers to increase Annual Fund participation.
• Partner with members of the AF Communications Team to develop and implement a multi-channel communications plan for educating and soliciting this constituency.

 Senior Giving Challenge Campaign

• Develop and execute a strategic plan to secure philanthropic gifts from undergraduate seniors and reach ever-higher participation totals.
• Recruit, onboard, train, and manage a volunteer committee to assist in developing and executing strategies throughout the year to meet or exceed goal.
• In partnership with the Development Special Events team, design, manage and staff senior events.
• In partnership with the AF Communications Team, develop and implement a multi-channel communications plan for education and solicitation of seniors.
• Liaise with other University offices to partner on efforts to develop complimentary strategies to promote the campaign.

5th Reunion Backup Support

• Serve as staff backup for the 5^th reunion class, participating in the recruitment of committee volunteers, attending all committee conference calls and meetings, and helping develop and executing strategies for leadership donors.

Identify, Qualify, Cultivate, Solicit and Steward Donors; 

• Travel nationally 2-3 times annually to conduct at least 15 meetings with young alumni to recruit and train YAFD volunteers and solicit prospects.
• Conduct at least 30 on-campus meetings annually with current students to recruit and train volunteers and solicit prospects.
• In coordination with the Assistant Director of Stewardship, develop and execute a stewardship plan for senior gift and undergraduate donors (1-4 years post-graduation) to promote consistent giving post-graduation.
• Participate and assist in all strategies working toward the overall goal of increasing participation among all young alumni (up to 15 years post-graduation), as well as actively solicit leadership donors and new members for the Young Alumni Development Councils.

Serve as an active member of the Duke Annual Fund staff and the Alumni Giving Team: 

• Maintain and provide accurate statistics and reporting that will contribute to annual operating plans and yearly analyses for the Young Alumni and Student Giving team.
• Attend and participate in a variety of Annual Fund events (e.g. Annual Fund Advisory Board meetings, Reunion Weekend activities, student philanthropic education events, etc.).
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Work in coordination with other Annual Fund and DAA staff who are primarily responsible for education of all current students on the importance of philanthropy and staying connected with Duke post-graduation.

`Required Qualifications:

Education/Training: 

Work requires communications, analytical and organizational skills generally acquired through completion of a bachelor’s degree program.

Experience: Work requires one year of experience in alumni affairs, public relations, fund raising, sales and promotions, marketing, student activities or a related field to acquire skills necessary to administer and coordinate annual fund solicitations and other special fundraising activities. A bachelor’s degree from Duke University may be substituted for the required year of experience since the familiarity with the University and contacts with current students and recent graduates would be directly relevant to the job.

Additional Requirements / Skills

• Ability to travel regularly and to work on weekends and evenings.
• Strong initiative, high energy level, creativity, and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, working both independently and as a team member.
• Previous experience with managing volunteers preferred.
• Knowledge of Duke University preferred.

Additional Behavioral Competencies

• Collaborating with others
• Goal and Task Management
• Curiosity and Information Seeking
• Ability to Influence
• Flexibility
• Dealing with Ambiguity
• Expressing ideas orally and in writing
• Listening
• Organizational Awareness
• Leadership