Essential Job Duties: 

The Assistant Director is responsible for serving as a liaison between the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The position will be the annual giving fundraising advocate, resource and expert for assigned college(s) and unit(s) while maintaining a strong working relationship with associated staff.

In this role, the Assistant Director works with the Annual Giving team to manage and implement fundraising strategies, which align with college and Annual Giving goals.
The Assistant Director also monitors all data and trends for the College providing regular updates to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The Assistant Director reports to the Executive Director of Annual Giving and works closely with the Annual Giving staff, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the University Communications team.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic direction and long-range/short-range planning for growing the annual giving program while supporting the greater development and campaign goals of the college.
• Act as the top annual giving fundraising advocate, resource, and expert for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences while maintaining a strong working relationship with associated staff.
• Manage and execute mail, email, and web solicitations sent from the annual giving office that utilize content and segmentation strategies for the college.
• Integrate college’s messaging within the scope of the annual giving team’s university-wide fundraising campaigns.
• Maximize return for NC State Day of Giving for the college through the utilization of segmentation and unique content.
• Perform copywriting for fundraising communications of the college.
• Perform copywriting and editing for university-wide fundraising communications as needed.
• Partner with NC State and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences marketing, and communications staff for design, editing, videography, and other asset deliverables.
• Utilize data and reporting information to strategically enhance marketing efforts.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for the college and provide regular updates to both teams.
• Follow emerging trends and best practices in annual giving direct marketing strategy.
• Assists in the detailed planning of annual solicitation programs, which may include special campaigns.

Other Responsibilities: 

• Perform other duties as required or assigned.
• Attend a variety of events throughout the year.
• Occasional travel and occasional night and weekend work is required.

Minimum Education/Experience: 

Post-baccalaureate credentials or Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and at least two or more years of professional-level experience in direct solicitation/fundraising or a closely related field (such as sales) are required.

Departmental Required Skills: 

• Ability to work in a fast-paced, complex, team-oriented environment
• Demonstrated project management and organizational skills with a strong attention to detail and deadlines
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Working knowledge of Mac OSX and Windows desktop environments or similar computer software.
• Ability to work independently, to be creative, and exercise initiative
• High energy level and strong drive to be successful
• Unquestioned integrity in dealing with confidential information
• Open and accessible interpersonal style; good listener
• Optimistic, persistent and positive attitude
• Knowledge of strategies that target annual giving prospects, donors, and alumni.

Preferred Experience, Skills, Training, and Education: 

• Experience in non-profit development office is preferred.
• Vendor management is a plus.
• Familiarity with direct marketing practices and techniques, including test strategies, segmentation strategies, and measurement of results is desirable.
• Project management experience with the ability to work independently with minimal supervision and make decisions to move the program forward.
• Proven experience in fundraising operations
• Experience producing and executing large scale/comprehensive mailings (50K+ constituents) is desirable.
• Work experience requiring effective writing, proofing, and editing skills is preferred.
• Knowledge of principles, practices, and ethics of fundraising
• An understanding of the land grant, research Tier One university environment
• 1-3 years of experience.