Director of Stewardship & Development Content

UNC-Chapel Hill•Chapel Hill, NC

About The Position

The Director of Stewardship & Development Content, housed within the Adams School of Dentistry (ASOD) Office of Advancement, serves as a senior advancement professional providing strategic leadership for the School’s comprehensive donor stewardship program and development-focused content. The position supports the philanthropic mission of ASOD and the Dental Foundation of North Carolina (DFNC) by strengthening donor relationships, demonstrating the impact of private support, and advancing philanthropic engagement benefiting students, faculty, programs, research, patient care, and facilities. The Director provides strategic leadership for development-focused content and philanthropic communications across print and digital channels supporting fundraising, stewardship, donor and alumni engagement, and broader advancement priorities. The position also serves as Editor-in-Chief of the North Carolina Dental Review, the School’s alumni publication, establishing editorial direction and overseeing content development, production, and distribution in collaboration with writers, designers, institutional partners, and external vendors. The Director collaborates with Development colleagues, University Development, faculty, students, administrators, and other partners to align stewardship and development content with School and University advancement priorities and to identify and translate compelling academic, clinical, research, and student-focused stories for donor and alumni audiences. The position serves as a strategic resource to Advancement leadership and contributes stewardship and development-content expertise to fundraising, donor engagement, and advancement planning. The position also provides leadership for stewardship and development-content operations, including management of assigned budgets, production timelines, external vendors, and multiple concurrent initiatives. The Director exercises significant independent professional judgment in establishing strategies, priorities, approaches, and timelines while ensuring the accuracy, confidentiality, and appropriate use of donor and institutional information. Through strategic stewardship, donor relations, impact reporting, and development-focused storytelling, the Director strengthens the donor experience and cultivates lasting relationships in support of ASOD’s education, research, patient care, and service missions.

Requirements

Demonstrated professional experience in development, advancement, donor relations, stewardship, fundraising, or a closely related field.
Demonstrated knowledge of advancement and fundraising practices, including donor stewardship, recognition, engagement, impact reporting, and relationship-building principles.
Demonstrated ability to independently develop, implement, and manage donor stewardship, donor relations, development content, or other advancement-focused programs and initiatives.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including strong writing, editing, and editorial judgment.
Ability to translate complex institutional and philanthropic information into clear, compelling, audience-appropriate content.
Demonstrated ability to exercise independent professional judgment, assess needs, establish priorities, solve complex problems, and manage multiple projects and initiatives simultaneously.
Strong interpersonal and relationship-management skills, including the ability to collaborate effectively and influence outcomes across organizational boundaries.
Ability to interpret and apply applicable policies, procedures, and standards related to donor stewardship, recognition, reporting, and confidential donor information.
Ability to exercise appropriate discretion in handling sensitive institutional matters.

Nice To Haves

Experience in advancement, development, donor relations, stewardship, or fundraising within a higher education, healthcare, nonprofit, or similarly complex organization.
Experience developing, implementing, and evaluating comprehensive donor stewardship and engagement strategies, including donor recognition, endowment or impact reporting, and individualized stewardship initiatives.
Experience developing high-level donor-facing and fundraising content, including impact stories, proposals, campaign materials, philanthropic messaging, print and digital communications, or alumni-focused publications.
Experience managing complex advancement-related projects involving budgets, production timelines, external vendors, and multiple internal and external stakeholders.
Experience using advancement systems, donor information, engagement data, or other measures to evaluate stewardship activities, inform strategy, and identify opportunities to strengthen donor relationships.

Responsibilities

Develops, implements, evaluates, and continuously improves a comprehensive stewardship program supporting annual, major, principal, and planned gift donors.
Manages donor recognition and acknowledgment strategies.
Oversees recognition and naming opportunities.
Develops impact reporting for endowed funds, scholarships, and other philanthropic initiatives.
Designs and implements individualized and broad-based stewardship activities to strengthen donor engagement, retention, and long-term relationships.
Provides expertise on stewardship best practices and applicable University policies related to endowments, fund use, recognition, and donor reporting.
Advises Development colleagues and leadership on effective stewardship approaches.
Represents the School in University-level stewardship activities, including OneCarolina Stewardship meetings and the University Development Office’s Davie User Group.
Develops and oversees donor impact stories, philanthropic messaging, fundraising and campaign materials, proposals, and other donor-facing content.
Serves as Editor-in-Chief of the North Carolina Dental Review, establishing editorial direction and overseeing content development, production, and distribution.
Collaborates with colleagues to align stewardship and development content with School and University advancement priorities.
Identifies and translates compelling stories for donor and alumni audiences.
Provides leadership for stewardship and development-content operations, including management of assigned budgets, production timelines, external vendors, and multiple concurrent initiatives.