The Assistant Director, Alumni Engagement is responsible for building alumni participation, volunteerism, mentoring, ambassadorship, and relationships through the planning and management of alumni engagement events. The Assistant Director supports the strategic goals of the Alumni Affairs Strategic Plan, the Advancement Strategic Plan, the Ascend Together University Strategic Plan, and future strategic directives. This role contributes to University mission by providing alumni opportunities to use their time, talent, and treasures to serve our students and to make a difference in the lives of their families, friends, and colleagues.

Duties

• Develop and lead alumni and family engagement initiatives in partnership with school-based directors in Alumni Affairs and the Parents Program to strengthen alumni affinity, volunteerism, participation, and long-term investment in Pepperdine across all six schools.
• Programs and events may be virtual and/or in person and may include, but are not limited to:
  • Professional networking mixers.
  • Speaker and panel discussion events.
  • Reunions.
  • Community service projects.
  • Student engagement initiatives.
  • Recreational and athletics-related events.
  • Graduation ceremonies and related events.
  • Advancement and fundraising campaign initiatives.
• In collaboration with colleagues across Alumni Affairs, Advancement, and other University departments, determine event and program direction, establish priorities, develop timelines, manage budgets, assess and address operational risk, select vendors and venues, and implement engagement plans aligned with departmental and University goals.
• Provide leadership to student employees and volunteers involved in events and programs, including recruiting, training, assigning responsibilities, and directing work to ensure successful execution and alignment with University standards.
• Lead the planning and execution of regional alumni and family engagement initiatives in cities worldwide in support of University advancement priorities.
• Serve as project lead for assigned initiatives, with responsibility for planning, execution, troubleshooting, and post-event evaluation.
• Oversee all aspects of assigned programs and events and recommend enhancements based on participation outcomes and departmental priorities.
• Identify opportunities for alumni engagement by region, determine event format and approach, manage budgets, oversee registration and attendance planning, coordinate with vendors and campus partners, and evaluate program effectiveness.
• Develop and maintain relationships with alumni and external partners across multiple regions and time zones and serve as a University representative at events and meetings.
• May require periodic travel and occasional evening and weekend commitments.
• Develop and manage regional alumni ambassador and volunteer engagement efforts to strengthen alumni relationships and support the University's mission.
• Identify, recruit, train, and lead alumni ambassadors and volunteer leaders.
• Determine volunteer assignments and engagement opportunities.
• Cultivate relationships that support departmental priorities.
• Provide ongoing guidance to volunteers and recommend opportunities to strengthen engagement, participation, and long-term philanthropic and ambassador support.
• Partner with Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) to develop and implement communication and storytelling plans related to alumni and parent engagement initiatives.
• Recommend messaging, promotional plans, and engagement opportunities for digital and print communications, social media, event storytelling, and related outreach.
• Review communications effectiveness and recommend updates to support departmental goals and audience engagement.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Uphold University mission through work performed.

The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.

Skills and Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor's degree. 
• Experience related to program activity planning and project coordination.
• Demonstrated ability to manage, organize, and motivate volunteers.
• 2+ years of professional working experience, preferably in event planning, operations or a related field.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Exceptional people skills.
• Ability to organize time, projects, and details.
• Ability to quickly learn technology/systems/platforms as needed to support the work.
• Ability to maintain the confidentiality of sensitive information.
• Willingness to help the department as needs evolve.

Preferred:

• 3+ years of professional working experience.
• Familiarity with Pepperdine culture, mission, and values.
• Working knowledge of Pepperdine platforms and systems (i.e. Raiser's Edge, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Peoplesoft, Google applications), or similar
• Experience with alumni affairs programming.
• Ability to build effective long-term relationships both internally and externally.
• Goal-oriented and self-motivated individual who can demonstrate accountability, initiative, energy, creativity, and focus in a constantly changing and evolving environment.

This is a Regular, Exempt, 40 hour per week position.

Expected Pay Rate: $70,500 per year.

The above pay range reflects what Pepperdine University reasonably expects to pay for this position at time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on relevant factors such as work experience, market conditions, education/training, and skill level. In addition to base pay, Pepperdine offers a robust and highly competitive benefits package.

Pepperdine is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of any status or condition protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Pepperdine is committed to providing a work environment free from all forms of unlawful discrimination and harassment. Engaging in unlawful discrimination or harassment will result in appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from the University.

Pepperdine is religiously affiliated with the Churches of Christ. It is the purpose of Pepperdine to pursue the very highest employment and academic standards within a context that celebrates and extends the spiritual and ethical ideals of the Christian faith. While students, faculty, and staff represent many religious backgrounds, Pepperdine is permitted under applicable law and reserves the right to seek, hire, and promote persons who support the goals and mission of the institution, including the right to prefer co-religionists who support Pepperdine's Christian mission.

Qualified individuals should be able to show respect for workplace differences, and have the ability to work effectively with individuals from different backgrounds.

Offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of a criminal, education, and employment screening. The University conducts such screenings in compliance with applicable laws and with the objectives of evaluating risk and supporting a safe environment for students, faculty, staff, and guests; safeguarding key University assets including people, property, information, and the University’s reputation; and providing comprehensive job-related information to University leaders to enable them to make prudent hiring decisions. Individuals will be required to disclose any criminal convictions on a designated form after receiving a conditional offer of employment; failure to disclose accurate information may result in withdrawal of the offer or termination of employment. Qualified individuals with criminal histories will be considered for employment in compliance with applicable laws, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance.