Senior Associate Director of Donor Relations

Position Title:
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Senior Associate Director of Donor Relations
Position Type:
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Regular
Hiring Range:
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_$115,200.00 - $143,987.00 per year. Compensation will be based on education, experience, skills relevant to the role, and internal equity._
Pay Frequency:
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Annual
OVERVIEW
University Relations (UR) builds Santa Clara University’s excellence and character by strengthening relations with alumni, parents, and friends of the University, raising public awareness, and increasing private philanthropy, which supports the University’s growth and reputation.
The Office of Donor Relations within UR helps nurture lasting relationships between the University and those who support the institution with private gifts. Donor Relations develops content for frontline fundraisers that inspires philanthropic investment, and is an active advocate for donor interests. The team fosters the relationship between the University and its donors through proposal writing, gift acceptance and management, acknowledgement, recognition, donor/volunteer engagement, and reporting.
**A. POSITION PURPOSE
**Santa Clara University is seeking a talented and experienced Sr. Associate Director of Donor Relations to develop communications that support fundraising and campaign goals. This individual will manage the Associate Director of Donor Relations and the Assistant Director of Donor Communications. This team will deliver:
* Proposals and cases to support philanthropic investment
* Internal and external communications assistance to the Institutional Giving team
* Content for University Marketing and Communications (UMC) storytelling and Alumni Relations teams
* Appeals and stewardship collateral for the Annual Giving’s gift acknowledgments and executive communications (for UR VP and president’s office as needed)
* Select donor stewardship pieces
Reporting to the Director of Donor Relations, this position requires a thoughtful, proactive, and motivated professional with a proven track record in storytelling and persuasive writing, employee management and training, as well as project management, preferably in a development setting. The Sr. Associate Director will be responsible for managing and prioritizing a pipeline of writing requests from a team of major, parent, principal, and gift planning officers, and telling the story of SCU to engage philanthropic prospects and donors.
The successful candidate will be a donor-informed writer/editor, with expertise in strategic communications and an ability to leverage print and digital content platforms. They will gather the facts needed to create compelling and customized donor content and train/encourage/inspire staff to create sophisticated donor collateral.
_This position is eligible for a flexible work schedule: hybrid - work from the office and home._
B. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Functional Area
* Manages the Associate Director of Donor Relations and the Assistant Director of Donor Communications.
* Responsible for proposals and cases for support for gift prospects of $100k+, Annual Giving appeals and stewardship, donor stories and profiles, Institutional Giving internal/external communications support, donor stewardship reports for select major/principal donors, and the timely production of presidential and UR VP gift acknowledgements and general correspondence.
* Works closely with the Director of Donor Relations to set department goals and strategies to achieve and evaluate them.
* Performs independent research and/or conducts interviews with subject matter experts on campus to inform content under tight deadlines.
* Utilizes basic design skills/technology and outside contractors as needed to present visually compelling formats for proposals and cases for support.
* Mentors and provides resources to cross-train donor relations staff and creates guidelines and instruction manuals as needed.
* Responsible for determining cost-effective outside resources and training to ensure professional development and expand editorial skills (especially donor features and appeal writing) of staff.
* Manages the flow and priority of all writing requests.
* Incorporates feedback and manages reviews by various internal and external clients.
* Delivers drafts and final products on time.
* Ensures tone and style are consistent with SCU brand and style guidelines, and collaborates with UMC as needed.
* Ensures editorial quality, accuracy and consistency of all materials produced.
* Participates as an active member of the Office of Development, sharing information and collaborating with colleagues in a respectful and professional manner; contributing to a healthy and positive work environment.
* Actively engages in Santa Clara’s mission and campus community to effectively tell SCU’s story by regularly participating in activities on campus including donor and alumni events, Convocation and other annual faculty/staff/student activities, and other academic seminars, lectures, or SCU athletic events.
* Performs other duties as assigned in support of Santa Clara University's mission.
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C. QUALIFICATIONS
**The items below are representative of the knowledge, skills, abilities, education, and experience required or preferred.
This position requires the ability to effectively establish and maintain cooperative working relationships within a diverse multicultural environment.
_**To be considered for this role, please submit three writing samples with your cover letter and resume. Further samples will be requested as needed.**_
1. Knowledge
* Direct knowledge of persuasive storytelling and advancement communications trends, preferably in a development setting.
* Knowledge of higher education advancement preferred.
* Understanding and appreciation of the mission of Santa Clara University and the vision and values of a Jesuit Catholic educational institution.
* Experience managing staff, performing performance evaluations, and budgeting.
* Impeccable writing, editing, copyediting, and proofreading abilities.
* Experience working with creative teams, including contractors.
2. Skills
* Must possess experience in persuasive writing, including writing highly-customized pieces for high-level donors.
* Experience leading interviews and conducting individual research to tell a dynamic story.
* Must be able to train staff on a variety of writing tasks to ensure workflow continuity, such as interviewing skills, determining an angle, developing a consistent narrative/on-brand voice, working with technical content, writing in a donor-centric style.
* Flexibility in writing style, from personal and emotional communications to rational and fact-driven case statements.
* Ability to manage time and workload to achieve goals in a deadline driven environment.
* Must be a self-motivated individual who can demonstrate accountability, initiative, creativity, and focus in a rapidly changing and intellectually stimulating environment.
* Excellent technological skills: particularly Microsoft Office and Google software tools; database and web resources; and design and editing tools such as Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop, and Canva. Knowledge of Blackbaud CRM database a plus. Willingness to learn new software as needed.
3. Abilities
* A high level of comfort working and communicating with a wide range of University leadership, staff, and faculty.
* Genuine appetite to contribute to a collaborative, ethical, and professional team environment.
* Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to lead, collaborate, build alliances, and achieve results within a population that may possess competing interests, opinions, and /or expectations.
* Focused on confidentiality and discretion both as relates to donor information and sensitive information in the office.
* Active listening skills and ability to negotiate positive