Senior Associate Director of Stewardship

Wellesley • Wellesley, MA

7d • $100,000 - $105,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Associate Director of Stewardship plays a vital role in Wellesley’s Development Office, focusing on the management, execution, and continuous improvement of high-level stewardship strategies to deepen the College's most critical philanthropic partnerships. Reporting to the Senior Director of Donor Strategy and Engagement, the Senior Associate Director will partner closely with frontline fundraisers, senior leadership, the Provost’s office, and academic units to implement personalized stewardship plans for major and principal donors and foundations. This role manages day-to-day stewardship operations and ensures that the College’s most significant supporters experience highly professional, narrative-driven touchpoints that clearly demonstrate the profound impact of their philanthropy.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Five to seven years of progressively responsible experience in donor relations or stewardship, preferably in higher education or a comparable nonprofit setting.
• Demonstrated ability to manage sensitive information with the highest level of confidentiality and professional discretion.
• Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer’s sponsorship now or in the future.
• Supervisory experience, with the ability to provide day-to-day direction, coaching, and performance support to professional staff.
• Demonstrated success managing high-touch stewardship for major and principal donors, with sound judgment in handling confidential and sensitive donor information.
• Strong writing and editing skills, with the ability to produce narrative-driven, donor-facing impact communications as well as metrics-based reports for institutional funders.
• Working knowledge of endowed, restricted, and grant-funded reporting requirements, including donor intent, gift agreements, and CASE standards.
• Ability to collaborate across academic and administrative units to gather impact data and student-outcome information.
• Proficiency with CRM and donor database systems (Salesforce/Affinaquest or comparable), and comfort using donor data to assess and strengthen stewardship activity.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple reporting timelines and competing deadlines.
• A collaborative, service-oriented approach and the discretion appropriate to the College's most significant donor relationships.

Responsibilities

• Implement and manage individualized, high-touch stewardship plans for the College’s most significant individual and institutional donors, providing responsive, discreet, and deeply professional service.
• Partner closely with the Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR) staff and Office of Sponsored Research to ensure foundation grant reporting seamlessly aligns with institutional timelines and serves as an effective baseline for grant renewals and re-solicitation.
• Act as a key liaison to faculty, department chairs, the Provost's office, and Career Education to gather complex metrics. Coordinate the stewardship and impact-reporting plans for major donors, tracking and sharing the full arc of the student experience, from landmark affordability initiatives and academic/research milestones to post-graduation career placement and outcomes.
• Provide leadership and strategy for the College's signature recognition societies, and develop new giving societies to broaden donor engagement. Manage and maintain a cohesive system of donor recognition vehicles across all gift levels, including public announcements.
• Manage naming opportunities, physical recognition signage, and milestone events associated with major capital projects and campus revitalization initiatives.
• Partner across the Development office and the broader campus to ensure seamless, coordinated, and timely donor engagement.
• Oversee the production of compelling, multi-channel stewardship communications, ranging from creative print/digital impact stories for individual donors to rigorous, metrics-driven grant impact reports for institutional foundations.
• Monitor and support the strategic stewardship of philanthropic assets—including annual, major, principal, endowed, and restricted funds from both individuals and foundations.
• Partner with finance, academic units, and legal/grants teams to ensure all endowed, restricted, and foundation grant funds are tracked and reported in strict compliance with donor intent, grant agreements, institutional policies, and CASE standards.
• Work with campus partners to review and ensure that gift documentation aligns with the gift acceptance policy and is executed properly.
• Directly supervise, mentor, and evaluate the Assistant Director of Donor Relations and the Assistant Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, actively aligning their individual goals and professional development with the office's strategic priorities.
• Utilize donor data and analytics to evaluate the effectiveness of stewardship efforts, tracking metrics such as donor retention, reporting accuracy, and donor satisfaction to make data-driven recommendations for improvement.
• Maintain and strengthen processes, workflows, and tracking mechanisms related to principal gift management, foundation reporting schedules, and overall campaign execution to ensure compliance deadlines are met.
• Supervise designated team members or project workflows, and perform other duties as assigned to support the overarching goals of the Development office.

Benefits

• Competitive Compensation
• health, dental, vision and pre-tax saving benefits
• life insurance
• disability coverage
• free parking on our picturesque campus
• paid vacations
• personal days
• sick time
• holidays
• retirement savings plan
• Wellesley College contributes up to 10.5% towards your 403(b) plan for eligible employees
• hybrid work environment
• caregiving support through Wellthy
• legal plan insurance
• pet insurance discount
• retirement planning
• access to cultural and leisure activities throughout metro-Boston
• continuing training
• pathways for growth
• tuition benefits
• resources to navigate student loan forgiveness
• free use of our state-of-the-art athletic and fitness facilities with onsite fitness classes
• Library resources
• opportunities to attend diverse campus events

What This Job Offers

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