Director of Engagement

The PEDDIE SCHOOL • Hightstown, NJ

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Peddie School seeks a creative builder and exceptional team leader to deepen relationships across its student, alumni, and parent community. The Director of Engagement will build meaningful relationships, design scalable volunteer engagement systems, and develop collaborative partnerships that advance the School’s mission and strengthen connections to Peddie.

The director will lead the strategy and execution of the Peddie Leadership Council, the Peddie Network, the expansion of WeSoar: Peddie’s Women’s Network, other committee-based volunteer engagement, and stewardship of lead volunteers. The role partners with frontline fundraisers and the engagement team to connect alumni and parents with the life of the School and demonstrate the impact of philanthropy. The director will conceive purposeful community experiences, incorporate volunteer feedback, lead a team in delivering those experiences, and travel to connect with alumni and parents across the country.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Five to seven years of experience in alumni relations, advancement, volunteer management, project management, stewardship, communications, or a related field.
• Ability to build relationships and conceive experiences that deepen relationships and produce meaningful outcomes.
• Willingness to travel regularly and work evenings and weekends.
• Experience building and managing volunteer-led programs, including recruiting, training, and retaining volunteer leaders.
• Strong, authentic relationship-building skills across generations and backgrounds, including with students, alumni, parents, trustees, and donors.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including writing for alumni audiences.
• Fluency with LinkedIn as a networking tool and institutional publishing platform.
• Warm, collaborative, solutions-oriented, and self-motivated approach; energy for creating new pathways for alumni connection.
• Commitment to Peddie’s mission and values, including an inclusive community, diverse perspectives, and a culture of belonging.
• Discretion, ethics, and professionalism when handling confidential information.
• Comfort with Raiser's Edge NXT or an equivalent CRM and analytics, along with sound project and budget management.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in schools or nonprofits serving adolescent or young adult populations.
• Experience launching or scaling regional chapters, affinity networks, or early-stage programs, and comfort with ambiguity.
• Experience building cross-departmental partnerships, such as with college counseling, student life, or career services.
• Experience partnering with gift officers and using engagement data to identify prospects.
• Experience with parent programs, reunions and Alumni Weekend programming, speaker series, and virtual events.
• Understanding of how alumni engagement and philanthropy intersect.
• Familiarity with email and design tools such as Constant Contact and Canva.

Responsibilities

• Strategically develop and lead innovative, high-impact engagement opportunities.
• Lead the design and launch of the Peddie Network.
• Lead and develop alumni and parent engagement efforts.
• Partner with frontline fundraisers to exceed engagement and fundraising goals.
• Direct the strategy and execution of the Peddie Leadership Council, the Peddie Network, WeSoar: Peddie’s Women’s Network, and other committee-based volunteer engagement.
• Steward lead volunteers and build scalable volunteer engagement systems.
• Partner with the engagement team and frontline fundraisers to connect alumni and parents with the School and showcase the impact of philanthropy.
• Listen to and incorporate volunteer feedback, and lead a team in delivering engaging experiences.
• Travel to connect with alumni and parents across the country.

What This Job Offers

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