PAY GRADE: 31E

CONTEXT OF THE JOB:

Under the limited direction of the Senior Director of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) Marketing and Annual Giving, the Associate Director establishes, manages, and implements projects to consistently and effectively communicate engagement, solicitation, cultivation and stewardship messaging through a variety of direct marketing channels with a primary goal of increasing donor giving and alumni engagement at the University of Delaware. This position supports the overall marketing and communications efforts of DAR Marketing, primarily responsible for those priorities related to giving, engagement, event management and stewardship while focusing on an integrated marketing strategy and schedule for the alumni and donor constituency.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Identifies, manages, and articulates marketing and communication strategies to support donor and alumni engagement and giving efforts, and manages the implementation of these efforts in collaboration with Development and Alumni Relations staff.
• Develops, manages and implements an annual marketing, communications and solicitation plan for the entire alumni base with a specific focus on the audience experience.
• Manages marketing and communications projects related to development and alumni relations including invitations, brochures, fundraising and engagement materials, stewardship and other multi-channel direct marketing efforts.
• In collaboration with the Donor Relations team, manages the direct marketing stewardship strategy for all annual donors with a focus on retaining those donors year-over-year.
• In collaboration with the Alumni Engagement and Special Events teams, manages the direct marketing strategy and implementation for alumni and donor events.
• Develops and implements an annual marketing plan to increase engagement and participation from segmented alumni groups such as young alumni, those celebrating a reunion, volunteers and affinity groups through programming in collaboration with the Alumni Engagement team.
• In collaboration with other DAR Marketing team members, responsible for strategy and management of internal and external DAR partners and affinity fundraising program needs supporting campus partners, colleges and departments to ensure they successfully achieve their fundraising and engagement goals.
• Provides guidance and direction on design, content, and organization of the DAR website and social media strategy as it relates to engagement, stewardship, events and donor relations.
• Serves as DAR Marketing and Annual Giving customer service liaison for donor and gift questions for internal and external constituencies.
• Orchestrate and develop ongoing evaluation and analysis of program areas.
• Develop a fiscal year plan and analyze statistical reports to evaluate and adjust the effectiveness of program areas, making recommendations for future success.
• Monitors and tracks expenses incurred through work activities and provides input on annual budget needs. Coordinates purchase decisions for assigned tasks and projects.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree and five years of progressively responsible job-related experience in development, donor-relations, event marketing, communications or related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience. Master’s degree preferred.
• Working knowledge of engagement, event marketing and donor relations concepts, principles, procedures and techniques.
• Experience in university or college setting, working with diverse constituencies preferred.
• Experience in developing and implementing short-and-long-term engagement and marketing goals and plans while successfully managing multiple projects, particularly across departments requiring leadership and collaboration.
• Requires creativity, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of individuals and constituencies in a diverse community, including donors and senior level administrators. 
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability and willingness to learn the University’s key constituents and donors in order to effectively communicate with them.
• Ability to strategically execute marketing strategies to most effectively solicit, cultivate and steward donors.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends for donor and special events.