Position Summary:
Reporting to the Associate Vice President of Alumni Engagement and Giving and exercising a high degree of creativity, strategic thinking, independence, and leadership, the Director of Annual Giving will lead annual giving efforts for NJIT. Managing an Associate Director and Assistant Director of Annual Giving, they will lead and oversee a robust, digital-first direct response and leadership annual giving program with the goal of increasing alumni giving, donors, and revenue each year.

Essential Functions:

• Work closely and collaboratively with the AVP, Alumni Engagement and Giving to analyze current annual giving operations and recommend, implement, and execute on changes needed to propel the team to a best-in-class, digital-first operation capable of building giving rates, donor counts (especially among alumni), and revenue.
• Collaborate with the AVP, Alumni Engagement and Giving and Director, Alumni Engagement to build and execute a comprehensive engagement and giving strategic plan for NJIT’s alumni population.
• Maintain and enhance ongoing annual giving efforts, including but not limited to direct mail and email, student engagement center, Day of Giving, crowdfunding, and leadership annual giving, utilizing creativity, industry best practices, and data analytics. Incorporate new platforms including texting and personalized video for solicitation and stewardship.
• Develop and adhere to an annual plan and calendar, ensuring on-time delivery of appeals and strategically using segmentation to improve results.
• Conceptualize and produce all direct mail and email for NJIT annual giving, from writing copy to working with mail house to design and execute appeals or sending email through NJIT’s CRM system. Consistently test message, design, format, and other factors to improve direct response performance.
• In partnership with AVP, Alumni Engagement and Giving and the Assistant Director, Annual Giving, oversee the transformation of the NJIT student calling program to a true digital engagement center, incorporating video and texting alongside calling, and including stewardship and engagement outreach in addition to solicitation.
• Increase the number of crowdfunding projects each year by building awareness of NJIT’s crowdfunding platform among campus partners. Provide quality control for projects, and coach participants to successful completion of campaigns.
• Partner closely with Associate Director, Next Generation Advancement on efforts to build a culture of philanthropy among NJIT students and young alumni, including supporting events and building multichannel direct marketing campaigns.
• In partnership with NJIT’s Donor Relations team, establish a comprehensive, multi-channel annual giving stewardship program.
• Oversee Leadership Circle ($1,000+ annual donors) and, in partnership with Associate Director, Annual Giving, work to grow membership each year. Engage Senior Development Officers and other DAR staff in strategies to grow alumni giving, donors, and revenue.
• Stay abreast of trends in annual giving and advancement and recommend adoption of new technologies and strategies as appropriate.
• Build strong relationships both within Development & Alumni Relations and across campus, including student life, strategic communications, and academic affairs.
• Provide leadership, management, and strategic guidance to the annual giving team.
• Use data to assess programs and develop strategy.
• Assume responsibility for meeting goals, objectives, and other key performance indicators for annual giving.
• Guide and mentor staff members on best-practice activities, strategies, programs, and priorities related to annual giving; build trust-based, positive, and authentic working relationships with them; follow university and industry best practices for performance management, and model desired behaviors.
• Manage and responsibly steward annual giving budget.
• Other duties as assigned.

Prerequisite Qualifications:

• A bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree preferred.
• A minimum of 5-7 years of progressively responsible experience in annual giving and/or advancement.
• Demonstrated success in developing successful annual giving efforts that have resulted in measurable and significant growth in alumni participation, donor counts, and/or revenue.
• Experience with CRM platforms, databases, and analytics.
• Demonstrated ability to design, implement, and evaluate comprehensive plans for annual giving, establishing goals and objectives that translate into annual operating plans.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to work successfully with high level university administrators, faculty, donors, and volunteers.
• Exceptional writing, speaking, interpersonal, and analytical skills.
• Position may involve travel as well as ability to work evenings and weekends.
• At the university’s discretion, the education and experience prerequisites may be exempted where the candidate can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the university, an equivalent combination of education and experience specifically preparing the candidate for success in the position.

Department:
Alumni
Reports To:
Associate Vice President, Alumni Engagement & Giving
Position Type:
Staff
Bargaining Unit:
Non-Aligned
Range/Band:
10
FLSA:
Exempt
Full-Time