Senior Director, Advancement Communications

Wayne State University • Detroit, MI

11d • Onsite

About The Position

Wayne State University is searching for an experienced Senior Director, Advancement Communications at its Detroit campus location. Wayne State is a premier, public, urban research university located in the heart of Detroit, Michigan where students from all backgrounds are offered a rich, high-quality education. Our deep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity, diversity and inclusion creates exceptional educational opportunities which prepare students for success in a global society. Strategic leader for the Division of Development and Alumni Affairs advancement communications team. In collaboration with division and university leadership, develop and oversee communication and marketing strategies that build awareness, inspire generosity, and activate involvement within the university’s community of alumni and donors. The senior director serves as brand and philanthropic champion, inspiring the advancement communications team to actively contribute toward achieving annual and campaign fundraising and engagement goals. The position requires an understanding of integrated advancement marketing and development communication best practices and an ability to lead through influence and collaboration. Responsible for developing and implementing advancement communication and marketing strategies; advising on the implementation of major and principal gift proposals, case statements, impact reports and stewardship messaging, omni-channel planned and annual giving marketing, audience segmentation and lead generation; and coordinate editorial content development. The senior director will work in close collaboration with the division vice president and AVPs, unit directors and the university’s Senior Associate Vice President, Marketing and Communications. This position reports to the Associate Vice President, Advancement Communications and Engagement.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree.
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a concentration in English or journalism. Master's degree preferred.
• Extensive knowledge, understanding and experience with university policies and procedures.
• Expert (established subject matter expert, 7+ years experience).
• Minimum seven (7) years of experience within advancement communication and marketing, to include individual production for proposal writing, fundraising collateral, and communications planning. Minimum four (4) years of experience managing personnel, preferably in an advancement, higher education, or non-profit environment.
• Knowledge of general fundraising process, comprehensive fundraising campaigns, marketing and public relations, annual giving, planned giving, and publication coordination.
• Extensive experience writing in Associated Press style.
• Experience in leading creative and collaborative teams and using data to create and inform marketing strategies.
• ANALYTICAL AND PRESENTATION SKILLS: Ability to evaluate, interpret, and present complex information effectively in professionally prepared documents or presentations. Must possess a demonstrated attention to detail in order to achieve a high degree of accuracy.
• COLLABORATION: Exhibits a willingness to partner and model partnership with units across the university with integrity and high character to reach unified goals. Possesses the ability to navigate difficult situations with grace and understanding.
• COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS: Ability to communicate clearly, concisely and professionally both orally and in writing. Strong interpersonal skills are a must. Demonstrates the ability to plan and deliver oral and written communications that are impactful and persuasive including presentations to university management and committees.
• EDITING AND PROOFREADING SKILLS: Ability to accurately edit and proofread a variety of materials under tight deadlines.
• LEADERSHIP SKILLS: Demonstrated strong leadership skills to influence and motivate individuals and groups to achieve results. Maintain accountability for the university's and division’s mission, vision and values. Inspire your team to uphold these core values.
• LEARNING AGILITY: Independent and innovative self-starter who displays an ability to learn quickly and easily adapts to changing situations. Experience researching topics to gain knowledge and understanding when information gaps exist.
• PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION: Ability to manage several projects simultaneously, prioritize and plan work activities while meeting respective deadlines. Strong organizational, project and time-management skills required. Maturity, sound judgment and ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously in a deadline-oriented environment.
• TEAMWORK: Ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues within the division and other units to gain full understanding of the project and desired outcome; ability to produce high quality and consistent results with assistance of team members; provide support to teammates when tackling complex projects.
• TECHNICAL SKILLS: Proficient in the use of complex administrative systems software, preferably in the higher education environment. Proficient with Microsoft Office suite, especially Word, Excel and Teams. Ability to understand and translate complex concepts into lay terms.
• WRITING SKILLS: Ability to conduct research, interview subjects and write materials that are creative and interesting, with strong attention to detail, grammar and style rules.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree preferred.
• Experience in higher education fundraising preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic communication expertise to achieve university annual and campaign fundraising and engagement goals; and deploy a team of advancement communication professionals who contribute toward achieving university and s/c/u fundraising and engagement goals through the creation of communication plans, major and principal gift proposals, case statements, impact reports and stewardship messaging, omni-channel planned and annual giving marketing, audience segmentation and lead generation, and coordinated editorial content development.
• Analyze data to inform and create collaborative strategies that increase the quality, frequency and focus of alumni and donor communication on behalf of university and s/c/u fundraising and engagement goals. Coordinate and negotiate priorities, project needs and workload alignment in the best interest of the alumni and donor engagement process and campaign and annual goals.
• Lead creation and provide final approval of all marketing and promotional materials for the division. Ensure cohesive branding and consistent messaging across all communication materials and platforms.
• Supervise staff, effectively manage performance to meet individual and team initiatives; foster a collegial and highly productive work environment. Recruit, interview, hire, train, coach, evaluate, and discipline staff. Establish and communicate performance expectations in a manner that motivates and empowers staff to fulfill job duties. Encourage, support, and ensure employee participation in training and development programs. Coordinate clear workload objectives defined among staff, contracted consultants or service providers.
• Write, edit, and contribute to time-sensitive, complex materials that require interaction with departments across the campus for projects that have executive priority. Responsible for creating final documents to ensure consistency of the message.
• Manage unit's annual budget. Develop expense projections, approve expenditures at unit level, and monitor transactions for compliance with university policies and procedures.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees