Director of Alumni Relations

University of the District of Columbia • Washington, DC

9h

About The Position

The Director of Alumni Relations serves as UDC’s senior leader responsible for designing, implementing, and evaluating a comprehensive alumni engagement strategy that strengthens lifelong relationships between the University and its 50,000+ alumni worldwide. Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer, the Director provides vision, leadership, and strategic direction for all alumni engagement, volunteer leadership development, student-to-alumni pipeline initiatives, regional and affinity programs, and alumni-driven philanthropic partnerships. This position plays a central role in elevating Firebird pride; expanding alumni volunteerism and advancing UDC’s strategic priorities through sustained engagement and philanthropy. The Director also serves as the primary administrative partner to the UDC National Alumni Society, supporting operations, communications, and shared programming.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required (communications, marketing, nonprofit management, higher education, or related field).
• 5–7 years of progressively responsible experience in alumni relations, engagement, advancement, or related fields—preferably in higher education, an HBCU, public university, or mission-driven nonprofit.
• Demonstrated success developing multi-channel engagement strategies and leading volunteer-driven organizations.
• Proven ability to create, execute, and assess strategic engagement and volunteer management plans, including recruiting, training, and supporting diverse alumni volunteers.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and manage the work of others, including setting expectations, providing feedback, supporting performance, and applying University policies and procedures.
• Strong relationship-building, facilitation, and interpersonal skills across diverse communities, with a demonstrated ability to motivate volunteers and foster meaningful alumni connections.
• Excellent written/oral communication, storytelling, and public-speaking abilities that inspire engagement and equip volunteers as effective ambassadors.
• Familiarity with CRM platforms such as Raiser’s Edge, SalesForce, EverTrue, ThankView, or similar, including experience tracking volunteer activity and engagement metrics.
• Strong project management, organizational, and leadership abilities, with the capacity to guide volunteer boards, committees, and affinity groups.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in annual giving, fundraising, or campaign-related work highly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Alumni Engagement Leadership (10%): Develop and implement a multi-year Alumni Engagement Strategic Plan aligned with UDC’s mission, strategic plan, and institutional advancement goals.
• Establish clear engagement goals, KPIs, and annual metrics tracking participation, activation, alumni satisfaction, volunteer growth, and philanthropic outcomes.
• Expand inclusive engagement pathways across all legacy institutions—DC Teachers College, Federal City College, Washington Technical Institute—as well as the UDC Community College, ensuring strong and equitable engagement across all generations and academic pathways of Firebird alumni.
• Volunteerism, Leadership Development, and National Alumni Society Support (30%): Serve as the senior liaison to the UDC National Alumni Society; advise its leadership, chapters, and committees to support governance, operations, and strategic alignment.
• Lead and manage all alumni volunteer programs—including recruitment, onboarding, training, governance support, and leadership development for boards, chapters, committees, and affinity groups.
• Strengthen volunteer engagement and stewardship by providing clear expectations, ongoing support, recognition programs, and consistent communication that deepens alumni connection and mobilizes volunteers as ambassadors for the university.
• Coordinate campus-wide volunteer deployment—partnering with Advancement, Admissions, Career Services, and academic units to align volunteer involvement with institutional priorities, track participation through the CRM, and ensure compliance with policies and best practices.
• Provide and/or coordinate administrative support for meetings, elections, communications, chapter relations, and compliance with bylaws and university policies.
• Alumni Recruitment, Retention, and Pipeline Development (10%): Partner with Enrollment Management, Student Affairs, Career Services, and Academic Deans to strengthen the student-to-alumni transition and embed a culture of engagement beginning at matriculation.
• Oversee special alumni development initiatives (e.g., Alumni Career Network and Mentoring; Affinity-based and identity-based alumni communities; Student Alumni Association, etc.) and develop retention strategies to keep alumni connected at 1-, 5-, and 10-year milestones.
• Philanthropy & Advancement Collaboration (25%): Serve as a member of the Advancement Leadership Team and partner closely with Prospect Development, Annual Giving, Corporate Relations, Academic Deans, and the UDC Foundation.
• Lead an alumni-giving strategy that increases participation, upgrades donors, and builds a sustainable alumni donor pipeline.
• Support fundraising campaigns, scholarship initiatives, reunion fundraising, Giving Days, and signature appeals (such as “UDC175”).
• Strengthen stewardship programs specifically for alumni donors, including recognition societies, impact reporting, and personalized stewardship.
• Signature Programs, Events, and Regional Engagement (10%): Design and oversee signature alumni events including Homecoming, UDC175 Legacy events, reunions, regional gatherings, affinity celebrations, and alumni awards.
• Expand regional and national engagement opportunities, particularly in high-density alumni markets.
• Ensure programming reflects UDC’s diverse alumni base and supports inclusive excellence.
• Communications, Digital Engagement, and Brand Alignment (10%) Lead an integrated alumni communications strategy in partnership with Marketing & Communications.
• Oversee alumni messaging, newsletters, social media, digital storytelling, alumni portals/microsites, and engagement technology platforms (e.g., EverTrue, ThankView).
• Promote compelling, mission-centered content highlighting alumni accomplishments and strengthening the UDC brand.
• Data & Technology Management (5%) Ensure accurate alumni records within the University’s CRM and alignment with data hygiene best practices.
• Develop dashboards and reporting tools to measure reach, engagement, volunteer impact, and giving outcomes.
• Use data to drive segmentation, engagement scoring, and targeted outreach strategies.
• Management Manage budget, resource allocation, and vendor relationships.
• Foster a collaborative, mission-driven, alumni-centered culture.

Benefits

• Selectee will be eligible for health and life insurance, annual (vacation) and sick leave and will be covered under the University of the District of Columbia' s retirement plan (TIAA).

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees