Senior Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship

University of Texas at Austin

10d • Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship provides strategic leadership for stewardship programs that advance university priorities, demonstrate the impact of philanthropy and strengthen long-term donor relationships. The position oversees individual and programmatic stewardship, senior leadership correspondence, donor recognition, impact reporting and campus partnerships to support fundraising success and deliver a consistent, donor-centered experience across Texas Development. The Senior Director leads stewardship strategy, team performance and campus partnerships to strengthen donor connection and support long-term giving and engagement objectives. Serves as the strategic lead for donor stewardship, recognition, impact reporting and related donor communications within Texas Development. This position leads the Stewardship team, establishes priorities and performance expectations, and ensures strategies, systems and partnerships align with university priorities, 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 engagement, volunteer management, or advancement events.
• Experience designing and executing engagement strategies for boards, councils, or giving societies.
• Experience managing complex event portfolios across multiple locations (campus, regional, international).
• Strong project management and cross-functional partnership skills.
• Proven ability to manage multiple high-priority initiatives, meet deadlines, and maintain accuracy and service quality.
• Must be eligible to work in the United States on a full-time basis for any employer without sponsorship. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. The University Development Office does not sponsor work visas for this position.
• Regular and consistent attendance is required in this job.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in higher education advancement or a comparable large, complex institution.
• Experience engaging senior volunteer leadership or presidential-level boards.
• Prior supervisory experience, including leading and developing team members.
• Experience with international or multi-region engagement programs.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and diplomatically with institutional colleagues and external partners on sensitive and complex matters, while exercising sound judgment and discretion.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Executive Director to establish long-range plans, performance measures, operational improvements and resource recommendations that advance Donor Relations and university fundraising priorities.
• Lead stewardship, recognition and impact reporting initiatives that strengthen donor relationships and advance 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 stewardship-related partnerships, as appropriate.
• Serve as the primary stewardship lead for a select portfolio of top-tier donors, while providing strategic oversight for individual stewardship, plans, priority donor strategies and programmatic initiatives tied to significant gift commitments.
• Provide strategic oversight for programmatic stewardship initiatives, including scholarship and beneficiary reporting, donor onboarding and retention, giving society engagement, milestone communications and recurring impact reporting.
• Partner with transformational, leadership, major, principal and annual giving colleagues to identify stewardship opportunities and develop annual and multi-year plans that reflect donor intent, giving history, relationship goals and university priorities.
• Coordinate responses to complex stewardship matters related to fund administration, beneficiaries, gift acknowledgements, reporting requirements and donor commitments.
• Lead, develop and mentor Stewardship 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.
• Evaluate staffing structures, workload distribution and team capacity to ensure organizational effectiveness, sustainable operations and timely stewardship delivery.
• Foster a collaborative, welcoming and donor-centered culture that promotes innovation, accountability, professional growth and continuous improvement.
• Direct senior leadership correspondence, including presidential and vice-presidential gift acknowledgements, condolences and other high-visibility donor communications, in coordination with established university protocols.
• Oversee donor recognition, dedications, impact communications and stewardships events that demonstrate appreciation, reinforce the impact of philanthropy and support donor engagement.
• Partner with University Marketing and Communications, fundraisers and other campus colleagues to develop donor impact stories, stewardship reports, recognition materials and other high-visibility communications.
• Ensure donor communications reflect institutional priorities, stewardship standards and a consistent voice of gratitude, accountability and impact.
• Analyze SPUR CRM data, stewardship activity, donor feedback, reporting outcomes and giving trends to evaluate program effectiveness and stewardship outcomes.
• Identify, in partnership with SPUR and technology business analysts, configuration opportunities in SPUR that will provide increased visibility into stewardship outcomes and support new projects and programs.
• Explore technological tools, including those available to UT Austin employees, to increase efficiency and effectiveness of stewardship activities.
• Develop and maintain performance dashboards, reporting frameworks and key performance indicators that support organizational accountability and continuous improvement.
• Provide strategic recommendations informed by data, donor insights and performance trends to support decision-making and advance stewardship and fundraising priorities.
• Serve as a strategic advisor on stewardship, recognition, reporting and donor communications best practices.
• Partner with development officers, advancement leaders, faculty, staff and university leadership to identify and advance meaningful stewardship opportunities.
• Collaborate with colleges, schools, units, Advancement Services and Texas Development colleagues to strengthen stewardship strategy and execution across campus.
• Promote standards, resources, templates and best practices that strengthen stewardship across Texas Development.
• Additional duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Competitive benefits package that includes insurance and retirement benefits in addition to other programs and services.
• Professional development opportunities

What This Job Offers

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