Job Summary:

The purpose of Development and Institute Relations (DIR) is to foster a thriving and engaged community of support for Caltech. By connecting the people who share and support Caltech’s mission and values, we will ensure the Institute receives the necessary resources to achieve Caltech’s aspirations and sustain its excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship in perpetuity.   DIR team members embrace and uphold the values of diversity, integrity, respect, focus, and pride.

As a member of the senior management team and a manager of multiple teams, the Assistant Vice President for Engagement and Annual Programs (AVP EAP) is responsible for creating and leading comprehensive integrated initiatives and programs that engage and strengthen relationships with alumni, parents, prospects, donors, and the broader community to ultimately drive support for the Institute.  The AVP EAP will partner with the Associate Vice President for Development, Assistant Vice President for Advancement Services, and Assistant Vice President for Campaigns, as well as other DIR team members, to achieve strategic engagement across all constituents and meet fundraising goals.

The primary function of Engagement and Annual Programs is to advance public understanding, advocacy, and support for the Institute and its educational and research achievements through strategic constituent engagement. By working in synergy, this unit helps to develop an important pipeline for engagement and giving.

Reporting to the Vice President for Development and Institute Relations, the AVP EAP is responsible for providing leadership and strategic direction for The Caltech Associates, The Caltech Fund, and Campus Programs.  The AVP EAP will also work in partnership with the Caltech Alumni Association, as a separate 501c3 organization.  Additionally, the AVP EAP will lead the Alumni Relations staff who strive to enrich the lives and opportunities of all alumni.

The AVP EAP will be responsible for expanding upon a robust and comprehensive program of alumni engagement and annual giving, and will carry a small portfolio (25+) of prospects.  The AVP EAP will be an integral partner in the Break Through campaign, with an intended goal of $2 Billion, in which raising unrestricted dollars and building a sustainable donor pipeline are important components.

Job Duties:

• Serve as a member of the Vice President of Development and Institute Relations senior management team and work in partnership to achieve Caltech’s strategic and fundraising goals, while also helping to build and empower a high-performing team of advancement professionals.
• Provide support and partnership to the Caltech Alumni Association Board to further their mission to promote the interests of Caltech as a world standard of academic excellence by strengthening the ties of goodwill and communication between the Institute, its alumni, and its students, and by maintaining programs to serve their needs.
• Build, inspire, and manage a high-caliber Engagement and Annual Programs team of four distinct groups (Alumni Relations, The Caltech Associates, The Caltech Fund, and Campus Programs).

Alumni Relations: Empower and enable DIR staff to support all alumni, to create an innovative, proactive, and inclusive culture that consistently evaluates and builds a sense of partnership and values that must be shared.

The Caltech Associates: Empower and enable DIR staff who support the Caltech Associates Board to drive a progressive, strategic, and results-oriented program that will cultivate, nurture, retain, and expand membership in the Associates locally, and in the New York and Bay Area.

The Caltech Fund: Build comprehensive annual giving programming that includes targeted planning, goal setting, programmatic implementation and strategic evaluation.  This programming will have specific focus to increase unrestricted and current use support over the next five years.

Campus Programs: Serve as the public face and liaison to the Caltech campus community. Provide guidance to the Campus Programs team to ensure programming and community outreach reflects, supports, and enhances the Institute’s scientific, cultural, and engagement aspirations.  On occasion, oversee execution of high level, public events, such as the Institute’s 125th anniversary celebration.

• Serve on strategic task forces and committees ensuring appropriate participation, implementation, and evaluation measures are achieved.
• Guide and advise Engagement and Annual Programs management team on strategy, planning and execution of multifaceted internal and external relations programs designed to effectively engage key constituents, especially alumni, in Caltech’s research and educational endeavors through well-executed events, meaningful volunteer opportunities, and effective communication strategies.
• Support and drive the integration of the Engagement and Annual Programs teams into the Break Through campaign by identifying appropriate roles.
• Take a leadership role in working with teams and other departments within DIR to build sustainable engagement and cultivation activities, with a focus on effective partnership and clarity of roles within systems and processes.
• Personally manage a small portfolio of high-priority, annual giving prospects/donors.
• Lead the staffing, budgeting and planning processes for the Engagement and Annual Programs team.
• Other duties as assigned.

Basic Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible development/external relations experience.
• Experience working with alumni engagement, alumni associations, alumni boards, and/or alumni relations.
• At least 5 years of increasingly responsible higher education, non-profit, or related experience with previous fundraising and management skills and experience.
• Demonstrated experience building, leading, motivating, assessing, and holding accountable high-performing, well-integrated professional teams.
• Exceptional ability to organize and motivate staff and a proven ability to manage a team that combines fundraising fieldwork with volunteer management expertise.
• Demonstrated success persuading and influencing groups and individuals to support the organization’s agenda with respect to colleagues, team members, volunteer leadership and other potential stakeholders.
• Outstanding demonstrated success building, cultivating and stewarding new relationships leading to measurable results i.e. larger donor base, increase in campaign revenue, increase in volunteer participation and partnership.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills along with outstanding social skills, instincts, judgment and integrity are required for success.
• The ideal candidate will be an ambitious and motivated professional, who values a collaborative working environment and who will be able establish strong, interpersonal relationships with academic leaders, donors, community members, and internal staff.
• Must demonstrate a highly sophisticated understanding of all aspects of the cultivation and solicitation process, whether staffing senior administrators such as the Institute’s President, members of the Board of Trustees, Division Chairs and key faculty or making successful solicitations him/herself.
• Strong leadership skills and the ability to excite and educate internal and external resources.  This person should also have the ability to inspire the staff, volunteers, and all others to be effective resources in fundraising and engagement endeavors.
• Candidates must be comfortable with a flexible work schedule, including travel for events, committee meetings, and some evening and weekend work.
• Demonstrate the ability to practice and adhere to organizational values.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Candidates will have an authentic curiosity about science and technology as well as a strong appreciation for the extraordinary intellectual accomplishments and challenges of Caltech’s faculty and students.
• A working understanding of a research university environment is helpful along with the grace and enthusiasm necessary to engage individuals on behalf of Caltech.