Summary/objective

From its location in New York City, Cambridge in America (CAm) promotes interest in and support for the University of Cambridge (UK) and its constituent Colleges among alumni and friends in the United States and in the Americas. Cambridge in America runs alumni and development programs aimed at showcasing the best of Cambridge, working in partnership with University and College leadership.

A historic institution of higher education in the United Kingdom, Cambridge consistently ranks among the very top research universities worldwide, with more than 18,000 students from all walks of life and all corners of the world, nearly 9,000 staff, 31 Colleges and 150 Departments, Faculties, Schools, and other institutions.

Sustaining a university of this caliber demands continual investment, therefore fundraising efforts and innovative partnerships are vital and an essential element of the work of Cambridge in America. Staff at CAm are committed to excellence and a culture of high-performance and collaboration.

The Director of Annual Giving and Marketing has a vital role in advancing CAm’s initiatives. Reporting to the Senior Director of Strategic Engagement, the position provides support for a range of key activities aimed at increasing support to Cambridge and its constituent Colleges.

The Annual Giving and Marketing team works to grow engagement with US-based donors, alumni, and friends of the University and Colleges of Cambridge by implementing data- and research-oriented strategies. This includes management of the annual giving program to build the base of support by soliciting individual gifts and encouraging overall participation with direct, multi-channel marketing.

Reports to: Senior Director, Strategic Engagement

Essential functions

Under the direction of the Senior Director of Strategic Engagement of Cambridge in America, responsibilities include:

Strategy and Planning

• Develop annual and multi-year multi-channel annual giving strategies to increase awareness and engagement with CAm among North American audiences and grow the base of support for Collegiate Cambridge via print and digital media.
• Identify opportunities for program growth and cross-departmental collaboration, using a results-oriented and data-driven approach, rooted in best practices for appeals and marketing.
• Develop KPIs, metrics, and reports to share with CAm stakeholders that demonstrate the progress and value of the annual giving and marketing programs.
• Contribute to overall planning of content and distribution calendars with Strategic Engagement team and input from CAm and University colleagues.

Annual Giving

• Enhance and grow Cam’s annual giving program with the goal of increasing awareness, affinity, and engagement rates among US audiences of alumni and friends; cultivating and acquiring new donors, retaining donors, re-capturing lapsed donors, stewarding donors, and increasing average gift and participation levels year-over-year to feed the donor pipeline at CAm.
• Develop messaging and content for direct marketing in line with overall CAm communications goals and strategies.
• Ensure the annual giving donor experience is optimal from solicitation to donation to stewardship; oversee maintenance and upgrades of online giving mechanisms; manage annual donor stewardship in keeping with overall stewardship activities of CAm.
• Serve as liaison between individual Cambridge Colleges and CAm’s Advancement team to ensure and maintain high data integrity, optimum utilization, and security over a series of complex marketing projects.

Management and Collaboration

• Manage and mentor the Associate, Annual Giving and Marketing who assists in managing all CAm direct marketing and production, data manipulation (appeal segmentation, suppression), vendor correspondence, and college-client management, data entry/record maintenance, copy writing and marketing, among other duties.
• Serve as lead project and “client” manager for College partners, CAm fundraisers, and CAm Planned giving team in development of multi-channel annual giving and direct marketing projects including annual giving appeals, leadership giving appeals, and stewardship.
• Oversee the pulling, segmentation, accuracy, and management of data for annual giving and marketing projects. Develop reporting against established metrics relating to results and strategy.
• Manage vendors, including designers, digital media teams, printers, mail houses, as warranted, to execute high quality projects that meet CAm brand standards and deadlines.
• Oversee Annual Giving and Marketing budget-setting and tracking for projects, including expense forecasting, ROI, and annual and multi-year budgets. Track return-on-investment and results (in coordination with Strategic Engagement team) for all projects.

Other duties as assigned

May include assisting with implementation and staffing of CAm and University of Cambridge events, including occasional night and weekend events and possible travel to the University and key regions in the US. Handling occasional donor and prospect inquiries and requests by phone and email.

Candidate requirements and qualification

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree from an accredited college or university.
• A minimum of 5-7 years’ experience in annual giving or development/alumni relations roles managing mass communications and solicitations, preferably in higher education or comparable organization.
• Outstanding organizational skills.
• A demonstrated ability for project management from inception to completion and follow-up.
• An analytical, results-oriented, and sustainable approach to strategy and execution of projects.
• Capacity to develop trust and maintain highly collegial and collaborative working relationships among staff and wider community.
• A high degree of professionalism, including the demonstrated ability to manage responsibilities with accountability, flexibility, integrity, tact, and positive approach.
• Knowledge of advancement and database software.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work occasional nights and weekends for events.
• Ability to occasionally travel domestically and internationally.

Work environment

• Ability to comfortably work in an open area with background noise.
• CAm is currently operating on a hybrid schedule.

To apply for the position

• Send a cover letter and resume to: [email protected]

Cambridge in America (CAm) is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to complying with all federal, state, and local equal employment opportunity (“EEO”) laws.  CAm prohibits discrimination against employees and applicants for employment because of the individual’s race or color, religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, marital status, familial status, domestic partnership status, genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, or any other characteristic protected by law.