Duke University:
Duke University was created in 1924 through an indenture of trust by James Buchanan Duke. Today, Duke is regarded as one of America’s leading research universities. Located in Durham, North Carolina, Duke is positioned in the heart of the Research Triangle, which is ranked annually as one of the best places in the country to work and live. Duke has more than 15,000 students who study and conduct research in its 10 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. With about 40,000 employees, Duke is the third largest private employer in North Carolina, and it now has international programs in more than 150 countries.
OCCUPATIONAL SUMMARY
Reporting to the Director of Advancement Services, the Assistant Director will work closely with the Development & Alumni Relations staff to support their fundraising activities and identify new prospects, especially in the areas of principal and major gifts. This person will develop and manage a comprehensive stewardship plan to ensure donors see the impact of their gifts.
The Assistant Director of Development & Alumni Relations is required to be an accomplished team member who will build and maintain relationships with Sanford and University Development staff. In addition, the Assistant Director will be an independent, creative problem solver with strong organization and interpersonal skills and will demonstrate a commitment to team work, curiosity and initiative. Excellent verbal and written communications skills are required. This person must have the ability to understand the big picture, communicating how a desired strategy or objective fits into the overall vision and mission of the organization, and must demonstrate optimism and commitment.
WORK PEFORMED
A detailed description of functional areas and tasks follows:
Donor Relations
Develop and manage a comprehensive donor recognition and stewardship program for Sanford, including:
- Tracking and maintaining an active, current body of stewardship information pertaining to a large constituency of donors.
- Coordinating the drafting of stewardship messages with DAR staff and school partners
- Preparing annual communications to donors for endowed funds and major expendable gifts.
- Managing the production of all gift acknowledgments, including periodically reviewing and revising acknowledgment letters for the appropriate person’s signature.
- Working with development officers to develop and maintain stewardship plans for the top donors/prospects, and incorporating those plans into the prospect management process.
- Managing the preparation of the annual Donor Honor Roll and the updating of the annual donor recognition plaques.
- Plan and/or coordinate on-campus and off-site donor relations and other development-focused events including logistics, invitation lists and other related tasks, as assigned.
Prospect Management
- Manage portfolio review process for fundraising staff, including updating prospect strategies, readies, and solicitations.
- Build a comprehensive pool of identified, rated and assigned prospects for the Sanford School of Public Policy across all levels of the gift pyramid.
- Aid the fundraising staff in increasing and managing their portfolios by identifying, vetting and providing when possible short synopses of a robust list of prospective donors (alumni, parents, and friends).
- Coordinate with PRMA to request prospect research on new prospects’ interests and giving potential and re-rating prospects when appropriate. Provide information about their contacts, moves, and solicitations to gift officers.
- Review and analyze development call lists for Sanford prospects and disseminate to the appropriate Sanford fundraising staff to ensure that they can collaborate with university development staff on visits to Sanford donors with multiple interests and multi-person teams.
- Plan and manage monthly Internal Prospect Management (IPM) meetings, collaborating with Director of Development & Alumni Relations to develop meeting agendas, identify new prospects, moderate prospect analyses and discussions, and update information in Duke Alumni & Development Database (DADD).
- Serve as the primary liaison to the University Development’s Prospect Management Committee (PMC) and the PRMA Office and ensure compliance with PMC and PRMA policies within the office and school.
- Working with gift officers and other points of contact, develop briefing materials outlining strategies for the dean, volunteer leadership and senior administrators on top Sanford prospects, soliciting input from other sources (e.g., Duke University staff) as needed.
- Prepare event briefings for events including the Dean or other University administrators.
Other
- Handle other projects as assigned and perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein
DEPARTMENTAL PREFERENCES
EDUCATION/TRAINING
Work requires communications, analytical and organizational skills generally acquired through completion of a bachelor’s degree program.
EXPERIENCE
Work requires a minimum of three years’ experience in alumni relations, higher education, or a customer-facing role.
Experience in higher education fundraising is preferred.
Knowledge of the Sanford School or Duke University is preferred.
OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE.
The most successful candidate will possess the following qualities/attributes:
- Proven ability to work both autonomously and collaboratively and to effectively manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously.
- Proven ability to function independently with a variety of important audiences, including volunteers, donors, prospects, colleagues and faculty members.
- Exceptional writing, verbal communication, analytical and organizational skills, along with advanced Excel, and project management skills.
- Familiarity with an academic environment such as Duke University.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Education
Work requires communications, analytical and organizational skills normally acquired through completion of a bachelor's degree program.
Experience
Work requires two years of experience in fund raising, alumni affairs, public relations, student activities, program administration, or a related field to become familiar with activities involved in planning special events or programs.
OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE.
Duke is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.
Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essentialjob functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.