Executive Director, Donor Relations and Stewardship

Rice University Minimal Template External Career Site • Houston, TX

85d

About The Position

The Development and Alumni Relations Division (DAR) at Rice University seeks an experienced and creative leader for the position of Executive Director, Donor Relations and Stewardship. As an integral part of DAR, the Executive Director, Donor Relations and Stewardship works to foster lasting relationships between the university and its benefactors, promoting positive attitudes toward giving among current and prospective donors. This position is responsible for the strategic development and implementation of a high performing, comprehensive, campus-wide donor relations program, in collaboration with the DAR Working Group and Leadership Teams. The position will focus on executing a comprehensive donor relations program designed to increase donor satisfaction and retention to drive fundraising growth; creating and maintaining a positive and professional relationship between the university and its donors, alumni, and constituents; collaborating with various DAR units to determine effective gift stewardship strategies; and elevating the overall giving experience. The Executive Director, Donor Relations and Stewardship manages a staff of professionals with responsibilities for acknowledgments, impact and scholarship reporting, donor recognition, and principal gift donor engagement. This position provides recommendations to DAR and University leadership on stewardship and donor relations to develop strategic direction, determine priorities, and initiate and monitor the performance of efforts consistent with those priorities. The Executive Director, Donor Relations will provide data-informed recommendations to leadership and fundraisers about donor recognition and experiences, develop collaborative reporting approaches with fundraising teams, and work to ensure all donors experience gratitude and understand the impact of their giving. This position also has responsibility for conceptualizing and overseeing execution of initiatives that reach principal gift prospects and helps to elevate Rice’s reputation among potential and existing donors. The ideal candidate is a highly collaborative leader and strategic thinker with a demonstrated track record and the proven ability to create and implement a successful and effective large-scale program.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree with a major in Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, and/or Business.
• 5+ years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in professional and higher education fundraising, public relations, marketing, development of budgets, preparation and presentation of case statements, and analysis of operations.
• Leadership and strategic management skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to lead and motivate others.
• Ability to manage a large number of project activities simultaneously.
• Ability to engage and motivate groups of diverse individuals.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to work well under pressure and manage projects simultaneously.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team to meet expected deadlines and schedules.

Nice To Haves

• 6+ years of the experience specified above, preferably with an institution of higher education.
• Fundraising and donor relations experience, including a proven track record of stewarding gifts of $1M or more.
• Proven track record of effectively working and leading in a large, complex, dynamic, and sophisticated organization.
• Well-developed project management skills, including experience initiating and implementing a new program or project.
• Wide-ranging knowledge of academic units, current affairs in higher education, and research.
• Ability to set a vision and to influence and inspire others to action.
• Working knowledge of the 4 Pillars of Donor Relations and experience applying the principles to initiatives in an annual, major, and principal gift fundraising environment.
• Demonstrated experience with Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).
• Proficiency with a fundraising CRM and strong data-driven orientation.

Responsibilities

• Develop strategies to improve the donor experience, increase retention, and promote giving to Rice.
• Conceptualize and implement a quantitative and qualitative measurement system to evaluate the effectiveness and success of all donor relations programs.
• Collect and utilize qualitative and quantitative inputs from a wide range of collaborators across campus to inform and develop highly customized engagement plans for principal and major gift donors.
• Provide leadership to gift stewardship and donor recognition initiatives for all donors.
• Collaborate with DAR Marketing and Communications to identify and activate areas of integrated opportunities to tell donor impact stories.
• Lead the development and execution of strategic donor recognition and impact events.
• Develop annual department goals, objectives, key performance metrics, and associated budget.
• Build and strengthen a network for donor relations and stewardship practitioners throughout central DAR, schools, and units at Rice.
• Maintain working knowledge of industry best practices and standards to promote departmental longevity and divisional efficacy.
• Design, implement, and direct a comprehensive, integrated, and donor-centric donor relations and stewardship plan.
• Work closely and collaboratively with the senior fundraisers to provide resources, direction, and operations support.
• In partnership with the Principal Gifts team, develop and execute thoughtful and highly customized strategies for engaging principal gift donors.
• Represent DAR at functions and work with donors and other constituents to strengthen connections and build trust in Rice.
• Supervise the Donor Relations and Stewardship team.
• Develop and implement strategies that will support the DAR engagement team vision.
• Set clear direction and priorities for staff of professionals and administrative support personnel.
• Lead by example; foster a work environment that recognizes and rewards cross-functional collaboration.
• Actively mentor and train staff, providing frequent opportunities for professional learning and growth.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree