Job Description:
The Assistant Director of Donor Relations manages donor communications and acknowledgment strategy to ensure timely, accurate, and meaningful recognition of philanthropic support. This position oversees acknowledgment correspondence for university leadership, curates donor impact stories, and develops templates aligned with University style guides that reinforce the University’s voice and brand. The incumbent writes, edits, and manages complex projects involving contacts both within and outside of the university.
This is a hybrid position that will work at least two full days per week in the office with periodic on-campus hours for in-person events or meetings and special projects on an as-needed basis.
Responsibilities:
- Manage acknowledgment processes to ensure timely and accurate donor correspondence reflecting institutional priorities and donor relationships.
- Draft, edit, and refine acknowledgment templates and customized high-level individual messages for university leadership.
- Curate and manage student and program impact stories for use across stewardship communications.
- Oversee production and quality control of honor and memorial notifications and other recognition materials.
- Collaborate with Donor Engagement and Stewardship Colleagues, Annual Giving, and Advancement Communications to shape messaging and improve donor experience.
- Evaluate and document departmental processes to enhance efficiency and accountability.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Education: Bachelor’s degree
- Experience: One year of professional experience in fundraising, development, alumni relations, donor relations, nonprofit management, or similar professional work. Experience in a role that interacts with donors, alumni, and/or volunteers. Proven project management experience. Proficiency with MS Office Suite and CRM donor management systems
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience: A minimum of two years of progressively responsible experience in advancement, communications, or nonprofit management. Raiser’s Edge and/or NXT experience. Advanced Excel proficiency with experience managing, segmenting, and analyzing constituent data.
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills with the ability to adapt tone and message for different audiences.
- The role requires exceptional writing, editorial, and complex project management skills and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively while exercising judgment and initiative.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently, prioritizing and managing multiple projects with competing deadlines with accuracy and attention to detail.
- Proven ability to communicate with clarity, tact, and diplomacy, building strong professional relationships with university leaders, colleagues, and diverse stakeholders.
- Proficiency with MS Office Suite and CRM donor management systems (e.g., Raiser’s Edge, NXT, Salesforce).
- High degree of judgment, discretion, and accountability when handling sensitive donor information.
- Exceptional work ethic and track record of personal initiative.
- Must possess a collaborative mindset.
- Adept at problem-solving and using judgment in situations requiring independent initiative and tact.
- Knowledge of, or ability to learn quickly, the internal workings of the University as well as the skills to effectively utilize technology tools available to the OAER.
We offer a competitive benefits package, including health, life, prescription, and dental plans, tuition remission benefits, paid leave (22 days of annual, 15 days of sick, 3 days of personal, and 14-15 holidays) and retirement plans with employer contributions. You can see more details on our benefits here.
