Executive Director, Alumni Engagement

Skidmore College•Saratoga Springs, NY

22h•Onsite

About The Position

The Executive Director of Alumni Engagement leads a comprehensive program to strengthen alumni connections to Skidmore College and advance the College’s engagement and philanthropic priorities. Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Advancement Strategy, the role oversees the Alumni Engagement team, partners with the Alumni Association Board, and directs regional, campus, and volunteer engagement initiatives. The Executive Director collaborates across Advancement and the College to align alumni engagement with institutional and campaign priorities, using data and assessment to guide strategy and improve outcomes. The position works on campus and requires travel throughout the year, including frequent regional travel, occasional national travel on behalf of the College, and weekend work. The Executive Director provides strategic oversight for alumni engagement programs, communications, staffing, budgets, vendors, systems, and workflows.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
Seven or more years of progressively responsible, directly related or applicable experience, including significant leadership and management responsibility.
Experience developing and leading a comprehensive constituent, alumni, membership, volunteer, or community engagement strategy.
Strategic-planning expertise and ability to align goals, tactics, people, programs, and resources with institutional and Advancement objectives.
Sophisticated understanding of how alumni engagement contributes to relationship development, institutional affinity, volunteer involvement, prospect development, and philanthropy.
Experience establishing meaningful metrics, evaluating programs, interpreting data and constituent feedback, and using findings to drive continuous improvement.
Experience recruiting, developing, motivating, and supporting volunteers and volunteer leaders.
Staff leadership experience, including supervision, coaching, performance management, team development, and organizational change.
Experience managing complex budgets and making strategic resource-allocation decisions.
Exceptional interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate persuasively with varied audiences.
Judgment and presence to represent the College in a visible public role, lead meetings, speak at events, and interact effectively with senior leaders and key volunteers.
Record of successful collaboration in a complex, fast-paced organization serving multiple stakeholders.
Ability to build consensus, navigate sensitive matters with tact and humanity, and handle confidential information with discretion.
Strong organization, initiative, adaptability, and problem-solving skills, including the ability to manage multiple priorities, make independent decisions, meet deadlines, and operate within budgetary guidelines.
Commitment to inclusive engagement and creating opportunities that reflect the diversity of Skidmore’s alumni and constituent communities.
Appreciation for the mission and traditions of a national liberal arts college and for the relationships among alumni engagement, Advancement, and the College’s strategic priorities.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Responsibilities

Develop and lead short- and long-term alumni engagement strategy aligned with Advancement and institutional priorities.
Establish annual and multi-year goals, key performance indicators, and measures of success for alumni, volunteer, student, family, and constituent engagement.
Develop dashboards and reporting, and use data, constituent feedback, benchmarking, and program evaluation to guide resource allocation and continuous improvement.
Serve as Executive Director of the Skidmore College Alumni Association and staff liaison to the Alumni Association Board of Directors and its committees.
Coordinate board meetings and committee work, and support long-range planning, policy development, leadership succession, and effective governance.
Work with alumni leaders, including the Alumni Association president, executive committee, Alumni Trustees, and other key volunteers.
Identify, recruit, develop, and support diverse volunteer leaders and create meaningful pathways for alumni participation.
Lead the development and implementation of programs, volunteer opportunities, affinity and regional initiatives, and campus and off-campus events.
Develop responsive, inclusive, and mission-aligned engagement opportunities with constituents and College partners.
Evaluate program and event purpose, audience, outcomes, cost, and effectiveness, and adjust engagement strategies accordingly.
Ensure planning, coordination, risk management, and contingency planning for major campus, regional, virtual, and hybrid programs.
Build productive relationships between Alumni Engagement and fundraising, stewardship, strategic partnerships, advancement operations, prospect development, communications, and other Advancement teams.
Collaborate with SSG leaders and Advancement colleagues to ensure engagement priorities, programs, and resources support divisional strategy and institutional goals.
Partner with fundraising colleagues to deepen constituent relationships, surface interests, support prospect development, and build pathways to philanthropy.
Contribute alumni insight, engagement data, and volunteer perspectives to Advancement planning, campaign activity, and constituent strategy.
Provide strategic oversight for alumni engagement communications, including digital content, social media, web content, publications, program promotion, and volunteer communications.
Lead and manage Alumni Engagement staff, budget, vendors, systems, and workflows.