Director of Development & Alumni Relations, School of Social Work (Hybrid)

The University of Connecticut is a top-ranked national university and health-system with its flagship campus in idyllic Storrs. Designated a Carnegie Research 1 institution, UConn is the state land- and sea-grant university charged with education, research, and service to the state and nation. The University serves 33,500 students across seven campuses, 8,800 first-in-family students, and boasts 25 national championships. UConn Health is a top-ranked health provider located in Farmington and delivers award-winning medical education, research, and hospital and clinical services to 1.3 million patients a year.

With record-applications, back-to-back Men's Basketball National Championships, and a strategic location equidistant from Boston and New York City, UConn is poised to continue its meteoric rise as New England's top public University guided by a new strategic plan.

To meet the strategic objectives of the University, UConn Foundation is embarking on a historic campaign to support the University's trajectory. With students at the forefront, the campaign will also elevate faculty, groundbreaking research, sustainability, and a thriving community on campus that fuels the state. We seek the top talent in the country to join Husky Nation and invite inquiries and applications. We are committed to a caring and inclusive work culture, professional and leadership development, and flexibility for high achievers with a passion for higher education.

The UConn Foundation is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. We celebrate diverse perspectives and are committed to a welcoming environment that will value your unique experiences and identity. We recognize that a true commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion requires ongoing education and action, and we strive for continued growth each and every day.

We're looking for dedicated professionals to drive success and excellence and exemplify our values of integrity, empathy, kindness, accountability, collaboration, transparency, and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Development and Alumni Relations is responsible for the planning and execution of fundraising and alumni programs that engage social work alumni and contributes to the fundraising priorities of the School of Social Work. This includes serving as a liaison between the School of Social Work, the alumni auxiliary groups of the school, Development colleagues, and the Alumni Relations team to support the goals of all organizations through shared resources and collaborative initiatives.

Primary Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of up to 60 alumni and friends.
• Raise between $100,000 - $250,000 per year. Approximately 50% of workload is committed to engaging donors, drafting plans for prospect engagement, developing tailored proposals, and staffing the dean and others as needed in support of development activity for the School of Social Work.
• Coordinate with development colleagues, deans, department heads, and faculty to articulate the school's fundraising priorities and serve as liaison between the School of Social Work and Foundation departments responsible for annual appeal fundraising, crowdfunding, and student philanthropy.
• In collaboration with the Senior Director of Alumni Relations, Engineering integrate the strategies of Alumni Relations and School of Social Work to develop, implement and manage comprehensive alumni programming for alumni and current students.
• Collaborate with colleagues across campus including faculty and staff, other alumni relations professionals, alumni chapters/networks and alumni affinity groups to ensure that alumni programming meets broad University, College and Foundation objectives and effectively utilizes available resources.
• Develop, plan and implement, in coordination with Alumni Relations, events that foster continued alumni engagement and investment in Social Work and the University.
• Monitor annual operating budgets for all related programs; stay on budget while ensuring good return on investment and maximizing the alumni experience.
• Identify opportunities to reach alumni in broad geographic regions and across the health care settings and industry. Use virtual tools such as social media and other networking strategies to connect these alumni and create a more visible and responsive alumni network.
• Manage the administration, coordination and operation of alumni events both on and off-campus. This includes developing marketing and cultivation strategies, hands on event management off-site, as well as effective follow-up with participants.
• Identify opportunities to highlight Social Work events and achievements in research, teaching and service as well as student and alumni achievement through Alumni Relations and college communications.
• Coordinate efforts between alumni advisory boards on strategies to identify distinguished alumni, faculty and students and strengthen programming to increase alumni engagement & identify new prospects for philanthropic support of campaign goals
• Perform administrative duties related to advancement work Including documenting activity, writing proposals, inputting engagement plans in relationship management database, and adhering to Foundation policies.
• Contribute to the overall productivity and efficiency of the Division/Department's development staff, by meeting or exceeding goals in a metrics-driven environment.
• Develop and support clearly defined and strategic fundraising priorities within the campaign and articulate compelling cases to advance these priorities.
• Model and articulate the Foundation's organizational core values at all times.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Fundraising

Demonstrate the ability to personally solicit gifts of $10,000 and above.

Potential Donor Discovery

Collaborate with the Prospect Management and Research team to increase and grow the major gift pipeline and overall fundraising success of the unit. Collaborate and partner with major gift officers in their effort to secure major gifts in support of Social Work.

Engagement

Collaborate with Stakeholder Engagement to steward donors, engage with alumni, and support events specific to your unit.

Leadership

Provide visible leadership across the entire organization by engaging in organization-wide activities such as development management meetings, all-staff meetings, and staff events.

Key Competencies

• Champion for inclusion and diversity both internally and externally.
• High level of motivation, as well as an ability to exercise independent judgment.
• Strong interpersonal skills, tact, and diplomacy.
• The ability to build productive, beneficial relationships with a broad range of constituencies.
• Strong written and verbal communications skills, including ability to effectively communicate University priorities to donors and prospects, and to positively represent the University and Foundation.
• Familiar with the use of computers and information management tools, such as CRMs (Blackbaud).
• Ability to handle multiple tasks, to assess and order priorities, and to track details in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to engender trust and confidence of donors and prospective donors and to maintain confidentiality of donor information; ability to represent the UConn Foundation to prospects, donors, faculty, administrators, and others.
• Ability to work to the demands of the position, which may exceed a 40-hour work week.
• Attention to and concern for others.
• Requires lifting up to 25 pounds, moving equipment and the ability to move a rolling cart.
• Must be willing to travel extensively. Reliable personal transportation is required for this position.
• Must possess a valid driver's license issued from the state in which the employee resides. Employees must maintain at their expense, automobile liability insurance coverage in the minimum amount of $500,000 or a combination of umbrella and automobile liability insurance coverage of $500,000. A certificate of automobile insurance evidencing the limit, must be provided to the Foundation at hire and annually thereafter.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree, advanced degree preferred.
• Competence in Microsoft Office suite and donor management systems.
• 5+ years of experience in alumni relations, as a major gift fundraiser, and/or relevant transferrable skills
• Experience with Social Work or related Health Sciences Field preferred.

Salary:

The expected salary for this position is $85,000+. It will be commensurate with qualifications and experience, while also placing an emphasis on internal equity.

Benefits:

Benefits start from day one. We offer medical, dental, and vision plans and will make an annual contribution to your health savings account if enrolled in one of the high-deductible health plans offered by the Foundation.

In addition, there are a few other perks to being a UConn Foundation employee:

• We offer a generous contribution to your 403(b) retirement plan to help you plan for retirement.
• We place an emphasis on work/life balance. In addition to a hybrid schedule, you will receive thirteen paid holidays, five weeks of paid time off per calendar year, and additional sick time.
• We invest in your professional development. Aside from opportunities to participate in various trainings, committees, and conferences throughout the year, you will also be eligible for tuition reimbursement after one year of employment.

Please inform a Human Resources Representative if you need any assistance completing any forms or participating in any part of the application process due to a disability.