The Director of Stewardship & Donor Engagement (MH)

The Director of Stewardship & Donor Engagement (MH)

Posted on January 22, 2018

The Director of Stewardship & Donor Engagement reports to the Executive Director for Advancement Operations. The Director is responsible for designing, implementing, and directing an integrated and comprehensive donor relations and stewardship program that appropriately and consistently promotes interaction and connection with and recognition of donors at all levels. The Director is a forward-thinking, innovative, and energetic professional with proven success in donor engagement and stewardship, capable of developing and orchestrating the implementation of a multi-year plan to advance institutional efforts.

The Director works closely with the other directors in Advancement, leadership gift officers, the president’s office, deans, and academic/administrative department heads.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Evaluate the quality and impact of the donor relations/stewardship program whose components include use of gifts, recognition, events, gift agreements, management of information, and privacy compliance.
• Collaborate with other departments to create strategies for developing donor relations/stewardship standards across campus to create an energetic and enthusiastic culture of philanthropy.
• Partner with leadership, annual, and planned giving officers to identify top 100 stewardship prospects.
• Proactively support gift officers in the design and execution of annual and multi-year stewardship plans for donors and top prospects.
• Manage staff activities including, but not limited to, annual reporting of restricted endowed funds and annual gifts, scholarship matching, acknowledgements from senior leadership, and dedications.
• Develop a process to document and track stewardship action for individual alumnae in Datatel.
• Serve as a creative resource in identifying and developing new methods of donor communications, i.e., web pages and social media.
• Regularly review management tools to ensure timely stewardship.
• Work with Advancement directors to review existing donor recognition societies and associated events to maximize impact and effectiveness.
• Collaborate and work on other events as necessary for Advancement and the College.
• Ensure gift acknowledgement processes remain relevant and are fulfilled.
• Identify opportunities to honor emerging donor groups; alumnae of color, young alumnae, and international alumnae.
• Determine the best way institutionally to honor and recognize donor giving on an annual basis, i.e., publish/email annual honor roll; develop year-end fiscal summary report.
• Partner with the Mount Holyoke Fund to maximize potential of the College’s annual and consecutive giving societies; advise on programmatic elements including communications and event opportunities.
• Address donor questions and concerns related to fund administration and beneficiaries, gift acknowledgments, and report requirements.
• Identify and collaborate on the development of digital and print communication opportunities to connect with donors.
• Facilitate the production of seminal donor communications.

Qualifications:

• Strategic and detailed planner who understands the role of advancement in a higher education environment.
• Proactive, able to prioritize work to maximize department resources.
• Excellent organizational, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Able to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Contribute ideas and process improvements using available resources.
• High attention to detail.
• Ability to develop and maintain solid and effective working relationships with internal and external constituents.

Education and Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in direct and varied areas of stewardship, development, or alumni relations, preferably in a higher education, non-profit setting.
• Experience working with volunteers and donors.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Access, PowerPoint, Microsoft 365, and advanced Excel), Adobe Acrobat, Datatel.
• Occasional night and weekend work is required.

Mount Holyoke College is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to enriching the educational experience through the diversity of its faculty, administration, and staff members. The College encourages applications from individuals from underrepresented groups, including faculty, staff, and administration of color, diverse gender identities, first-generation college students, and individuals with a demonstrated leadership commitment to including diverse backgrounds and perspectives.