Assistant Director of Engagement Operations and Communications

Wesleyan University•Middletown, CT

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Office of Advancement (ADV) builds lifelong relationships with alumni, parents, and friends, and engages through meaningful experiences, communication, volunteer roles and philanthropic opportunities, all in support of Wesleyan’s educational mission and financial goals. The Advancement team inspires the Wesleyan community and cultivates support for university initiatives through outreach activities, including development/ fundraising, alumni & parent relations, and both on- and off-campus events. Engagement programs, special events, and Advancement operations and communications teams are working together to redefine engaged philanthropy and find opportunities for strategic collaboration. This position sits within the Engaged Philanthropy Team and supports Wesleyan's most ambitious campaign to date. The Assistant Director builds and manages the platforms, reports, and communications pipelines that connect an alumni body of more than 30,000, along with parents and friends, to Wesleyan's mission, using Salesforce Marketing Cloud. The role includes pulling and interpreting platform reports, proofreading and editing donor and alumni facing copy, reviewing and testing communications prior to send, monitoring the communications calendar to flag scheduling conflicts in advance, and partnering with colleagues across Advancement and the wider campus community. Reporting to the Associate Director of Engagement Operations, the Assistant Director's work is integral not only to the Engagement Team but to the wider goals of the Office of Advancement.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in marketing, digital communications, public relations, journalism, or a related field and 2 years of experience in marketing or a related field or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
Experience with Salesforce Marketing Cloud or equivalent enterprise-grade email platform build for complex, data driven constituent journeys.
Excellent writing skills, with experience in writing for social media or email channels using appropriate conventions and voice.
Intermediate computer skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and databases.
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while working with varied personalities and work styles.
Demonstrated ability to work with minimum instruction.
Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment in a deadline-driven environment with competing priorities.
Knowledge of HTML and CSS to use within email.
Experience with survey platforms such as Qualtrics or comparable tools.
Experience coordinating event registrations or similar logistics processes.
Experience training or cross-training colleagues on systems or platforms.
Demonstrated commitment to work within a diverse environment and interact collegially with individuals of different backgrounds.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience working with complex Microsoft products and databases, preferably in an academic environment.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary Advancement staff expert and strategic lead on all aspects of the Salesforce Marketing Cloud platform.
Manage the vendor relationship with consulting partners, including evaluating service delivery; oversee system documentation, system updates, and email data maintenance; and manage data imports from the Salesforce Marketing Cloud connector and build reports in the CRM.
Build, maintain, and review dynamic reports in the CRM to integrate with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, determining audience segmentation criteria to ensure accurate delivery of communications to targeted audiences.
Draft, build, test, and send bulk emails in accordance with Office of Advancement needs, serving as operations lead alongside the lead event implementer or engagement initiative owner.
Partner with the Associate Director to review and recommend updates to the communications send calendar.
Lead platforms and initiatives, including Alumni-Elected Trustee election and Binswanger nomination surveys via Qualtrics or comparable platform.
Determine segmentation and eligibility criteria for mailing lists, and manage the mail file generation, review, testing, and implementation in a way that maximizes platform capabilities to meet divisional strategic goals around engagement.
Build, review and analyze email report analytics making recommendations and providing counsel to the Senior Director of Engaged Philanthropy to help inform data-driven marketing and communications strategies and calendaring.
Partner with the Associate Director of Engagement Operations to balance departmental resource needs, including cross-training colleagues on key platforms and testing protocols; support operational aspects of major campus weekends; lead a key aspect of building divisional-priority event registrations; and represent the Engagement Team in divisional and campus operations-focused meetings.
Other duties as assigned.