Advancement Communications Specialist

Gonzaga•Spokane, WA

1d•$71,280 - $107,006•Onsite

About The Position

The Advancement Communications Specialist plans, coordinates, and executes integrated communications strategies that advance alumni engagement, philanthropy, stewardship, constituent experience, and institutional priorities across University Advancement. The position develops and manages multichannel communications campaigns, storytelling initiatives, constituent journeys, and engagement strategies across print, digital, social, email, SMS, web, and emerging platforms. Working collaboratively with the Office of Marketing and Communications and University Advancement departments—including Alumni Relations, Annual Giving, Development, Planned Giving, and Donor Relations—the Specialist coordinates communications planning, audience-centered messaging, brand consistency, and measurable engagement outcomes. The role also supports alumni engagement and annual giving through digital campaign strategy, social media management, content creation, performance measurement, and special project communications. It is a regular, full-time, on-site position with occasional telework available. The schedule is fixed daytime hours Monday through Friday, with occasional evening and weekend work and travel for event coverage as needed.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree, or equivalent professional experience in lieu of the education requirement at a ratio of one year of experience for each year of required education.
Five years of related experience.
Strong writing, editing, and proofreading skills, including the ability to develop compelling content for executive leadership, alumni, and university stakeholders.
Ability to develop and execute communications strategies and campaigns aligned with institutional goals, alumni engagement, and fundraising initiatives.
Proficiency in managing digital communication channels, including social media, email marketing, and websites, and understanding of audience engagement strategies and best practices.
Demonstrated ability to create engaging, creative, audience-specific content across multiple platforms while maintaining consistent institutional branding and messaging.
Ability to monitor, analyze, and report on digital campaign performance using engagement metrics and analytics to identify opportunities for improvement.
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build and maintain effective relationships with university leadership, alumni, internal departments, and external stakeholders.
Excellent organization and project management skills, including managing multiple projects, prioritizing competing deadlines, coordinating cross-departmental initiatives, and maintaining attention to detail.
Ability to work on-site in a typical office setting and participate in in-person meetings five days per week.
Ability to travel to events as needed, including out-of-town events and weekend and evening activities.

Nice To Haves

Background in higher education, alumni relations, fundraising, or marketing.
Proficiency with Salesforce, Blackbaud, or similar CRM platforms, and Marketing Cloud or other integrated email marketing systems.
Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, or comparable graphic design tools.
Familiarity with social media management platforms such as Sprout Social or similar tools.
Knowledge of digital marketing strategies and platforms, including Google Ads and Meta Ads; relevant digital marketing certifications are strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and coordinate integrated communications supporting alumni engagement, giving, stewardship, and Advancement priorities.
Create content to steward top alumni volunteers, including letters, biographies, award submissions, and honorary degree statements.
Coordinate with Marketing and Communications colleagues to align alumni content with strategic communications goals, calendars, brand voice, positioning, and guidelines.
Partner with Alumni Relations staff, volunteers, and regional leaders on communications for regional chapters, affinity communities, volunteer engagement, and geographically based programming.
Develop strategies, plans, and content for digital marketing campaigns across social media, email, SMS, and web in support of Advancement goals, including alumni engagement and annual giving participation.
Develop and implement a social media strategy aligned with Advancement communications goals.
Engage alumni in online communities and respond to platform comments and engagement as the Alumni Relations voice.
Acquire new social media fans and followers and retain existing audiences.
Create messages and engagement campaigns for social and digital platforms.
Coordinate social media content, ads, and promotions with Marketing and Communications colleagues and shared content calendars.
Measure, track, and report on digital campaign effectiveness, engagement metrics, and conversions, and develop best practices to improve performance.
Collaborate with Advancement Operations and CRM stakeholders on constituent segmentation, communications automation, audience management, engagement reporting, and lifecycle communications.
Lead creation and curation of Alumni Relations social media content for sharing across social channels.
Travel to University events as needed to provide social media coverage, including writing posts, taking and editing photos, and producing video; this may include out-of-town, weekend, and evening events.
Coordinate communications priorities and schedules with Advancement colleagues to reduce message overlap and improve constituent experience across engagement and fundraising efforts.
Write and produce annual giving appeals and communications supporting fundraising goals and donor acknowledgements.
Serve as a liaison between University Advancement and Marketing and Communications, advocating for content strategy, channel placement, and timing of Alumni and Annual Giving content.
Support executive communications initiatives, including presidential engagement events, cultivation activities, leadership messages, strategic updates, speeches, presentations, and communications related to institutional priorities.
Perform additional duties as assigned by the department.