Assistant Director, Annual Giving and Engagement

at  Nebraska Wesleyan University

Nebraska Wesleyan University is seeking a full-time Assistant Director of Annual Giving and Engagement. The successful candidate will be responsible for the planning and execution of a comprehensive annual fund focused, donor engagement and giving program designed to both grow support for Nebraska Wesleyan University, and increase and retain the number of donors who participate.
Focus will be on developing segmentation, messaging and a broad solicitation, engagement and stewardship plan, and using university resources strategically to accomplish annual goals outlined by the Board of Governors and other university leadership. This position will establish a student engagement center, utilizing various communication channels including, but not limited to, phone, mail, email, social media, and web to accomplish goals related to annual giving and donor relations, with a focus on donor retention and new donor acquisition.
NWU offers a competitive wage and comprehensive benefits plan including Health, Dental and Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Disability benefits, Retirement, seven weeks of paid time off per year through vacation and holidays, and 100% tuition discount for dependents after one year of service.

QUALIFICATIONS:

The successful candidate will have:

• a bachelor’s degree or higher in Marketing, Communications or related field.
• 3- 5+ years of experience in marketing, fundraising or related field.
• experience with coaching and managing volunteers, student workers, and/or interns.
• an understanding of fundraising best practices, including annual giving and donor relations, strongly preferred.

In addition, candidates must:

• have expertise and proven track record of employing effective marketing, fundraising and donor relations strategies.
• have an understanding of social media strategies and deployment.
• have experience successfully managing detailed projects.
• have strong organizational skills.
• be detail oriented.
• be able to work independently, prioritize tasks, take initiative and meet scheduled deadlines.
• possess strong interpersonal, oral and written communication skills.
• be familiar with Nebraska Wesleyan’s mission and/or have an understanding of a liberal arts college.

• Plan, implement and evaluate the annual giving donor engagement program in collaboration with Director of Annual Giving and Engagement and vendor/partners.
• Make strategic decisions related to constituent segmentation and messaging with the goal of growing annual giving - both donors and dollars.
• Create communication and engagement plans for a range of constituent groups, including alumni of various ages, former Board of Governors members, parents, Emeriti Faculty and Staff, and others.
• Develop an annual solicitation and stewardship calendar in collaboration with the Development Communications Manager, the Manager of Donor Relations and other Advancement colleagues.
• Manage the student Donor Engagement program
• Develop segmentation, messaging and caller training strategy to improve overall program results and efficiency. Create and regularly revise training materials.
• Recruit, hire, train, retain and supervise a staff of students to engage donors. Manage all related tasks including payroll, budget analysis, employee evaluations and bonus/incentive structure.
• Coordinate strategies and analysis with overall Archway Fund and Annual Giving strategies.
• Serve as liaison to outside vendors.
• Manage, engage, steward and solicit a portfolio of up to 125 Annual Giving donors and prospects.
• Assist with the planning and execution of Giving Day, Affinity Giving and/or other crowdfunding campaigns.