Director of Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving

University of North Texas System•Dallas, TX

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The Office of University Advancement at the University of North Texas at Dallas is dedicated to advancing the university’s mission through philanthropy, alumni and community engagement, strategic partnerships, marketing, and communications. The department works closely with donors, alumni, corporate partners, foundations, and community stakeholders to cultivate relationships, secure financial support, and provide stewardship that enhances student success, academic excellence, scholarships, and institutional growth. University Advancement also leads efforts to promote the university’s achievements, strengthen its brand, and increase visibility through strategic marketing and communications initiatives. By fostering meaningful engagement and securing critical resources, the Office of University Advancement plays a key role in expanding opportunities for students and supporting the continued growth and long-term success of UNT Dallas. The Director of Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving leads strategies that strengthen alumni connection and increase broad-based giving at the University of North Texas at Dallas. Through innovative programming, digital engagement, and technology-enabled outreach, the Director creates opportunities for alumni and other constituents to connect, volunteer, advocate, and give. This position builds scalable alumni and annual giving programs, collaborates with campus and Advancement partners, and uses data to evaluate results and refine strategy.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, business and three (3) years of professional experience in fundraising, alumni and donor relations, public relations, sales or related field; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
Knowledge of alumni engagement, annual giving, philanthropy, donor participation, volunteer engagement, and constituent relationship-building principles.
Demonstrated ability to conceptualize, build, implement, evaluate, and improve innovative engagement and fundraising programs.
Fluency in technology-enabled outreach, digital communications, data management, online giving strategies, and emerging engagement tools.
Ability to translate institutional priorities into meaningful alumni engagement opportunities and compelling annual giving campaigns.
Strong analytical skills, with the ability to evaluate program and campaign data and make informed strategic recommendations.
Excellent relationship-building and collaboration skills across diverse alumni, donor, campus, and community constituencies.
Ability to communicate effectively through written, verbal, digital, and presentation formats.
Strong attention to detail, follow-through, sound judgment, creativity, adaptability, and commitment to constituent-centered engagement.

Nice To Haves

Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in alumni engagement, annual giving, higher education advancement, nonprofit fundraising, or related work.
Experience building new programs, expanding an emerging alumni program, or launching new annual giving initiatives.
Experience designing and managing digital fundraising or digital engagement campaigns.
Experience with advancement CRM systems and digital engagement or giving platforms, such as Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce, Ellucian Advance, GiveCampus, ThankView, Hustle, Anthology, email marketing platforms, or similar tools.
Experience using segmentation, analytics, dashboards, testing, or performance metrics to assess and improve engagement or fundraising outcomes.
Experience working with alumni volunteers, ambassadors, advisory groups, or campus partners.
Experience supervising staff, directing project teams, or coordinating cross-functional workflows.
Knowledge of annual giving best practices, alumni engagement strategies, donor participation programs, and emerging technology in advancement.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement a comprehensive alumni engagement strategy designed to strengthen alumni affinity, participation, volunteerism, advocacy, and philanthropic support.
Build scalable alumni programs and engagement opportunities that reflect the needs of UNT Dallas alumni and the university’s evolving priorities.
Lead the development of innovative engagement initiatives, which may include regional programs, career and professional networking, alumni volunteer opportunities, student-to-alumni transition programs, alumni recognition, affinity-based engagement, virtual experiences, and campus traditions.
Serve as project lead for alumni programs from concept through implementation, including development of program goals, timelines, workflows, budgets, communications, logistics, follow-up, assessment, and recommendations for future improvement.
Develop alumni volunteer and ambassador pathways that move graduates from initial participation to deeper leadership, advocacy, and support of the university.
Partner with campus offices, academic units, student-facing programs, and university leadership to identify meaningful opportunities for alumni involvement.
Develop and implement a comprehensive annual giving strategy that increases donor participation and builds a sustainable culture of philanthropy among alumni and other university constituents.
Lead broad-based fundraising initiatives utilizing digital-first outreach strategies, including email, online giving, texting, social media, crowdfunding, digital engagement platforms, virtual outreach, and other emerging channels.
Create annual giving programs and campaigns focused on donor acquisition, first-time donors, renewal, retention, reactivation, recurring giving, young alumni giving, faculty and staff giving, student philanthropy, and other priority audiences.
Plan and execute giving campaigns and special initiatives, including giving day or similar participation-based fundraising efforts, in collaboration with Advancement Communications and campus partners.
Use segmentation, personalization, testing, and performance data to improve campaign effectiveness and donor experience.
Identify engaged alumni and annual giving donors whose participation or giving may indicate potential for deeper philanthropic engagement, and coordinate appropriate referrals and follow-up with development colleagues.
Ensure annual giving communications are donor-centered, mission-focused, timely, and aligned with UNT Dallas priorities and brand standards.
Lead the use of digital engagement tools and technology platforms to expand alumni participation and annual giving reach in efficient, scalable, and personalized ways.
Demonstrate proficiency with advancement CRM systems, online giving platforms, email marketing tools, engagement platforms, project management tools, analytics dashboards, virtual engagement technologies, and related systems.
Explore and implement innovative tools, technologies, and outreach methods that improve alumni engagement, annual giving results, constituent experience, and operational efficiency.
Collaborate with Advancement colleagues to ensure effective data integration, engagement tracking, gift and activity coding, audience segmentation, and reporting.
Maintain awareness of emerging trends and best practices in alumni engagement, annual giving, digital fundraising, and advancement technology.
Establish goals, performance indicators, and assessment methods for alumni engagement and annual giving programs.
Track and analyze alumni participation, digital engagement, volunteer involvement, donor acquisition, renewal, retention, reactivation, campaign performance, giving participation, and other relevant outcomes.
Prepare reports, dashboards, program evaluations, and strategic recommendations that inform decision-making and resource allocation.
Use data and constituent feedback to refine programs, strengthen outreach strategies, improve the alumni and donor experience, and identify new opportunities for engagement and giving.
Ensure accurate and timely documentation of alumni engagement activities, volunteer involvement, campaign results, and constituent interactions in the advancement CRM and related systems.
Collaborate closely with Advancement Communications to develop integrated communication plans for alumni engagement and annual giving initiatives across digital, social, web, print, and other communication channels.
Build strong relationships with university leadership, colleges and schools, student affairs, career services, athletics, faculty, staff, and other campus partners to advance alumni engagement and philanthropic participation.
Represent University Advancement and alumni engagement initiatives with alumni, donors, volunteers, campus partners, and external constituents.
Manage assigned budgets, vendors, timelines, workflows, and operational processes in accordance with university policies and advancement standards.
Provide leadership and direction to staff, student employees, volunteers, vendors, or cross-functional project teams supporting alumni engagement and annual giving programs, as applicable.
Perform other duties as assigned.