Description

DUTIES: Spearheading the college’s annual giving program, the Director of College-Wide Annual Giving develops, writes, and implements a multi-channel fundraising program for the college’s annual “Fund for St. John’s,” targeting alumni, parents, and friends of the college to benefit both St. John’s campuses in Annapolis and Santa Fe. Year round, the Director leads, coordinates, and facilitates project-management among internal partners and stakeholders and with outside vendors to reach and exceed annual fund goals via direct mail, email marketing, social media marketing, dedicated giving days, event presence, personalized outreach, and more.  The Director will consistently seek continuous improvement in the means, tools, communications and efficiency through which the college executes its annual fund programming for the purpose of increasing productivity and fundraising results.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategy and Execution of the Annual Fund Program

Working with the college-wide Advancement and Communications teams to create and execute the strategic vision and tactical Annual Fund fundraising plan to achieve maximum success each year. The Director will:

• Set challenging but achievable annual giving goals for targeted prospect groups.
• Develop, write, and implement strategies for targeted communication for segmented markets of the SJC constituency, including but not limited to alumni, friends, parents, and participants in community programs and events utilizing current industry best practices.
• Regularly analyze and assess progress to goals and provide timely reporting to leadership indicating the drivers and impediments to progress to adapt and develop solutions to adjust approaches addressing underperforming segments in real time.
• Grow, support, and coordinate with a network of self-identified Annual Fund volunteers by developing effective technology and tools for organization, solicitation, training, and regular results reporting.
• Provide to the Communications and Advancement Services teams communications plans, schedules, and written content for emails, social media posts, print pieces, and marketing blurbs well in advance of implementation and publication deadlines.
• Develop, maintain and adhere to clear, results-oriented implementation plans and standard operation procedures for annual giving.
• Understand the unique position of St. John’s College in higher education, the distinct pedagogy of the college, and its long history so that the Director can communicate effectively with potential donors and alumni.
   

Project and Vendor Management

• Maintain, share, and implement a detailed calendar of annual giving activities.
• Coordinate Advancement team partner contributions to fundraising campaigns.
• Oversee external vendors supporting appeals, solicitations, and giving initiatives.
   

Annual Fund Marketing and Communications Leadership

• Guide the creative direction of all print and digital outreach for the Annual Fund. Ensure consistent branding and messaging aligned with institutional priorities.
• Collaborate with the Communications team to integrate annual giving into broader college communications.

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS:

• Meet or exceed annual fundraising goals, and campaign/event specific goals.
• Demonstrate success in collaborating with staff, volunteers and officers of the college, particularly with regard to donor engagement and building a significantly enhanced college-wide annual fund effort bridging the college’s efforts to the next capital campaign.
• Grow and maintain a high-performing team of college-wide alumni giving volunteers with the support of Office of Alumni Engagement.
• Meet or exceed annual metrics for recruitment, retention, upgrade and lapsed-donor recapture.
   

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in fundraising, preferably in higher education, with a strong focus on annual giving, project management, and communications with prospective donors.
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Strength in developing positive and cooperative working partnerships with leadership, staff, alumni, volunteers, external vendors, stakeholders, and donors to drive results.
• Enjoys collaborating with others and working as a part of a team, in both behind-the-scenes and public environments.
• Curious, tolerant, and open-minded; a well-developed sense of humor and an outgoing, entrepreneurial spirit
• Demonstrated strategic thinking and vision-setting with measurable results
• Expert-level written communication, multi-media, and presentation skills with demonstrated knowledge and experience in the design and execution of communication strategies, preferably in fundraising in a higher education setting.
• Demonstrated project management abilities, including analysis, planning, prioritization, and attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while adhering to deadlines.
• Managing project execution through creating accountability systems for tracking results, data analysis, and collaboration/knowledge sharing.
• Preferred proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Acrobat, video editing and production tools, and social media platforms. Willingness to learn and deploy software designed for peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns and event registration, currently GiveCampus and Almabase.
• Strong experience with Raiser’s Edge preferred. Dedication to recording donor interactions in support of data informed decisions.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision in a fast-paced environment.
• Proactive problem solver.
• This role may be required to occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.
• This position is largely self-directed and requires understanding and compliance with organizational policies, procedures, and values. While performing the duties of this job, the Director will be required to interact collaboratively with the team and stakeholders, and communicate via phone, videophone, or text messaging. The position may require travel up to 25%; or possibly more if selected candidate is fully remote.

This position can be fully remote.

COMPENSATION: Grade 15 (Salary Range $73,650-$93,650)

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER