Assistant Vice President for Engagement

University of Florida • Gainesville, FL

4d • Onsite

About The Position

The Assistant Vice President (AVP) for Engagement serves as the university's chief architect of constituent experience and the donor continuum. This executive leader designs and governs a comprehensive strategy guiding alumni, donors, parents, students, volunteers, and friends through a lifelong journey of connection, engagement, philanthropy, and advocacy.

The AVP leads a modern, data-driven engagement ecosystem that uses constituent insights, analytics, technology, artificial intelligence, and personalized strategies to create meaningful experiences at scale. By integrating alumni relations, annual giving, and donor relations, the AVP coordinates engagement to strengthen institutional affinity, increase philanthropic participation, and build a sustainable pipeline of future major and principal gift donors.

As a senior Advancement leader, the AVP ensures constituent engagement supports campaign success, donor pipeline development, revenue growth, and long-term philanthropy. The position partners with development, operations, communications, academic, and administrative leadership to create a seamless constituent journey and achieve measurable engagement and fundraising outcomes. The role is onsite at the University of Florida's main campus in Gainesville, Florida.

Requirements

• Master's degree in an appropriate area of specialization and six years of appropriate experience, or a bachelor's degree in an appropriate area of specialization and eight years of appropriate experience.

Nice To Haves

• Seven to ten years of progressively responsible leadership experience in advancement, alumni relations, fundraising, donor relations, constituent engagement, or related fields.
• Experience in higher education, nonprofit, or mission-driven organizations.
• Experience managing complex constituent engagement and fundraising programs.
• Demonstrated success in strategic planning, team leadership, and program management.
• Demonstrated experience leveraging technology to increase organizational efficiency or effectiveness.
• Strong understanding of annual giving, stewardship, donor engagement, and alumni relations best practices.
• Familiarity with advancement CRM systems, donor analytics, constituent engagement platforms, Windows operating systems, Microsoft Word, Excel, and Access, internet browsers, and email platforms.
• Ability to respond effectively to change in a creative, demanding, and fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work independently and self-manage while collaborating closely with senior leadership and delivering division and university vision.
• Excellent attention to detail and work quality, including delivering creative, high-quality work quickly under time pressure.
• Ability to listen carefully, consider stakeholder needs, and respond appropriately.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and prioritize work to maximize productivity.
• Effective time management and organizational skills.
• Ability to work strategically, develop and implement programs and activities for stakeholders, and motivate staff, partners, and volunteers.
• Ability to meet deadlines and work independently.
• Problem-solving competency and exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Commitment to a respectful and collaborative work environment that values integrity, professionalism, and mutual respect.

Responsibilities

• Provide vision, leadership, and strategic direction for the university's constituent experience strategy and engagement ecosystem.
• Oversee Alumni Relations, Annual Giving, and Donor Relations teams in alignment with the engagement ecosystem and organizational mission, vision, and values.
• Design and optimize the constituent journey across the donor continuum, aligning experiences with advancement goals, campaign objectives, and institutional priorities.
• Establish a framework and scalable engagement models that guide constituents from awareness and affinity through engagement, philanthropy, volunteer leadership, advocacy, and transformational giving.
• Ensure engagement investments produce measurable outcomes, including increased participation, donor retention, leadership annual giving growth, prospect identification, and major gift pipeline development.
• Champion artificial intelligence, analytics, automation, predictive modeling, and digital engagement tools in team operations and constituent relationships.
• Foster a collaborative, constituent-centered culture of innovation, teamwork, service excellence, and alignment with university priorities.
• Lead organizational planning and talent development, including recruitment, performance management, succession planning, employee engagement, and leadership development.
• Oversee budgets, resource allocation, and operational effectiveness; evaluate processes and implement best practices, technology, and data-driven improvements.
• Establish governance for data integrity, engagement definitions, and KPI tracking consistent with CASE standards.
• Develop audience segmentation, engagement scoring, constituent personas, affinity modeling, and journey orchestration strategies.
• Coordinate engagement experiences across channels, programs, and constituent populations.
• Develop and govern engagement pathways that cultivate future philanthropic support and move constituents toward increasing levels of philanthropic commitment.
• Develop strategies to identify, qualify, and progress future major gift prospects; partner with development leadership to connect engagement activities to pipeline generation and fundraising performance.
• Measure the relationship between engagement behaviors and philanthropic outcomes and support comprehensive campaign and long-term fundraising objectives.
• Align annual giving, leadership annual giving, major gifts, stewardship, and volunteer engagement strategies; increase revenue through annual giving and alumni programs.
• Serve as a strategic partner across the university and collaborate with academic and administrative leaders on institutional engagement and philanthropic goals.
• Partner with advancement operations teams to ensure accurate reporting using industry standards.
• Collaborate with the Strategic, Communications, Marketing & Engagement (SCME) team on coordinated messaging across the engagement lifecycle.
• Partner with Development to align engagement strategies with campaign initiatives, the major gifts pipeline, and institutional priorities.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance through affordable State Health Plans.
• Life and disability insurance.
• Retirement plans.
• Paid time off, including 11 paid holidays, family leave, sick leave, and vacation leave.
• Training and professional development opportunities through UF Training & Organization Development, leadership development, LinkedIn Learning, and more.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligible employer.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive