Job Purpose: 

The Senior Director, Annual Giving, leads the Alumni Affairs annual giving unit in developing and executing the strategy for soliciting and stewarding the College’s alumni, students, parents, and faculty/staff for annual gifts up to $5,000. Ensures the strategy aligns with the priorities of the IA Division and the strategic plan of the College to maximize annual support and donor participation. Collaborates closely with the Vice President, Alumni Affairs, and the Senior Director, Alumni Engagement, to set and achieve ambitious annual goals for total donors, renewal rates, and amounts raised. Analyzes giving data to support a healthy pipeline for larger gifts to the College.

Job Duties: 

• Leads development and execution of the annual giving communication, solicitation, and stewardship production plan with an emphasis on renewals and reinstatements. Collaborates with vendors and internal stakeholders to plan direct mail, email, phone, text, and social media outreach. Manages the program budget and analyzes expenditures for cost efficiencies.
• Oversees planning and execution of the major annual giving campaigns, including, but not limited to: President’s Letter, Alumni Pep Supper, Calendar Year End, CofC Day, Share Your Chair, Fiscal Year End, annual donor renewal campaigns, and event-affiliated donations (Fall and Spring Alumni Weekends, Club events, etc.). Emphasizes multi-year giving opportunities. Leads program analysis, reporting, and refinement through benchmarking, measurements, using state-of-the art annual giving techniques and analytics to maximize results.
• Partners with the Vice President, Alumni Affairs, to engage the Alumni Association Board of Directors and its Give Back Committee to support alumni annual giving and stewardship initiatives. Develops and fosters close relationships with university partners (President’s Office, Athletics, Student Affairs, Facilities, Deans, Department Chairs, etc.) to meet and exceed goals for annual support and donor participation.
• Establishes and clearly communicates expectations to staff for performance goals and objectives. Provides frequent, constructive feedback, including interim evaluations as appropriate. Ensures staff have the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to accomplish goals. Completes bi-weekly leave reports, evaluations, and individual work plans by established deadlines with proper documentation. Considers opportunities for relevant professional development as appropriate. Addresses and documents performance issues as they occur.

Minimum Requirements: 

Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of five years of demonstrated relevant experience in production management, marketing, and fundraising. Staff supervision and professional experience working in higher education preferred. Candidates with an equivalent combination of experience and/or education are encouraged to apply.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

A demonstrated understanding of sophisticated fundraising and marketing techniques, volunteer management, donor relations, and stewardship. Proven ability to reach aggressive goals. Facility working with a relational database or CRM (i.e., Raiser’s Edge). Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. A dedicated commitment to personnel management, teamwork, and collaboration with colleagues from across the institution.

Special Instructions to Applicants: