Senior Director of Donor Relations and Engagement

University of Texas at Austin

10d•Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the Executive Director for Donor Relations, the Senior Director of Donor Relations and Engagement provides strategic leadership for donor engagement programs that advance university priorities, strengthen philanthropic relationships and support fundraising success. The position oversees engagement strategies and experiences for assigned presidential boards and councils, giving societies, donor affinity groups and UDO events across campus-based, regional and international settings. The Senior Director leads engagement strategy, team performance and campus partnerships to strengthen donor connections and support long-term giving and stewardship objectives. Serves as the strategic lead for donor engagement, volunteer leadership and constituent experience programs within Texas Development. This position leads the Engagement team, establishes priorities and performance expectations, and ensures strategies, communications, events and partnerships align with university priorities and Texas Development fundraising objectives and donor relations goals.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
7+ years of progressive experience in donor relations, stewardship, advancement, or nonprofit fundraising.
Demonstrated success managing individual and programmatic stewardship for major/principal-level donors.
Strong writing skills, including experience drafting executive-level correspondence.
Experience using CRM/donor database systems to analyze data and inform strategy.
Excellent relationship management and cross-functional collaborations skills.
Proven ability to manage multiple high-priority initiatives, meet deadlines, and maintain accuracy and service quality.
Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.
Must be eligible to work in the United States on a full-time basis for any employer without sponsorship.
Works in standard office conditions, in a shared office environment, with repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation.
Regular and consistent attendance is required in this job.

Nice To Haves

Experience in higher education advancement or a comparable large, complex institution.
Prior supervisory experience, including leading and developing team members.
Familiarity with advancement CRM platforms.
Experience building dashboards or reporting frameworks to track program performance.
Experience managing presidential/vice-presidential-level donor communications.
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and diplomatically with institutional colleagues and external partners on sensitive and complex matters, while exercising sound judgment and discretion.
Must be able to travel frequently, overnight and weekends as necessary.

Responsibilities

Partner with the Executive Director to establish long-range plans, performance measures, operational improvements and resource allocation recommendations that advance Donor Relations objectives and support university and fundraising priorities.
Serve as a member of the Donor Relations leadership team and contribute to planning, resource allocation and cross-functional decision-making.
Represent Donor Relations and Texas Development in work groups/committees, cross-functional initiatives and external engagement opportunities, as appropriate.
Provide executive oversight and strategic direction for the Development Board, presidential boards and councils, and other volunteer leadership organizations.
Develop governance, membership and succession strategies for volunteer leadership organizations, giving societies and donor affinity groups.
Establish governance frameworks, membership expectations, succession planning practices and operating standards that support effective volunteer leadership and institutional alignment.
Advise and partner with board chairs, committees and university leaders to strengthen volunteer engagement, philanthropic advocacy and institutional impact.
Advance stewardship and recognition strategies that strengthen donor relationships and philanthropic participation.
Lead, develop and mentor Engagement team leaders and professional staff, providing coaching and accountability to foster high performance and professional growth.
Establish performance expectations, accountability measures, professional development plans and succession strategies that support individual growth and organizational continuity.
Recruit, retain and develop a high-performing team capable of advancing engagement priorities and delivering exceptional constituent experiences.
Evaluate staffing structures, workload distribution and team capacity to ensure organizational effectiveness and sustainable operations.
Foster a collaborative, welcoming and donor-centered culture that promotes innovation, accountability, professional growth and continuous improvement.
Encourage knowledge sharing, collaboration and the adoption of best practices to strengthen team and department effectiveness and service delivery.
Direct strategy, planning and execution of donor programs, volunteer leadership experiences and constituent-facing events.
Oversee strategic communications supporting donors, volunteer leaders and participants across campus-based, regional and international programs.
Direct the development of executive briefings, reports, presentations, newsletters and communication materials supporting donor and volunteer engagement activities.
Provide oversight for a portfolio of campus-based, regional and international programs that enhance constituent experiences and advance fundraising and stewardship objectives.
Ensure constituent experiences reflect institutional priorities and stewardship standards.
Analyze SPUR CRM data, participation metrics, giving trends and constituent feedback to evaluate program effectiveness and stewardship outcomes.
Identify, in partnership with SPUR and technology business analytics, configuration opportunities in SPUR that will provide increased visibility into engagement outcomes and support new projects and programs.
Explore technological tools, including those available to UT Austin employees to increase efficiency and effectiveness of engagement activities.
Develop and maintain performance dashboards, reporting frameworks and key performance indicators that support organizational accountability.
Provide strategic recommendations informed by data, constituent insights and performance trends to support decision-making and advance fundraising priorities.
Serve as a strategic advisor on volunteer leadership and donor engagement best practices.
Partner with development officers, advancement leaders, faculty, staff and university leadership to identify and advance meaningful donor opportunities.
Promote standards, resources and best practices that strengthen donor and volunteer engagement across Texas Development.
Additional duties as assigned.