Director, Alumni and Family Engagement
- Employer
- Denison University
- Location
- Granville, OH
View more
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Institution Type
- Four-Year Institution
Job Details
Exempt salaried position. Monday through Friday, 40 hours per week plus evening and weekend activities.
Extensive travel is required.
Basic FunctionDevelop and execute strategies for engaging alumni, parents/families, and friends of the college to secure their support for Denison through philanthropy, advocacy, and service. Develop appropriate metrics to measure the success of engagement strategies. Develop meaningful connections and affinity between alumni/parents and the college. Manage a team of six staff, and report to the Vice President for Institutional Advancement as a member of the Advancement Division’s Leadership Team. Oversee the planning, execution, and evaluation of programs that strengthen connections between the Denison family and the college, including Big Red Weekend, Reunion Weekend, and Commencement. Plan and execute events involving alumni and parents, working closely with campus partners. Staff the Alumni Council and assist in the leadership development of the Council executive team by co-defining goals, objectives and executing priorities that are consistent with furthering institutional goals.
Essential Job Functions● Lead a staff of six Alumni and Family Engagement (AFE) team members who have functional oversight of alumni and family engagement programs, activities, and communications; programs and activities include Reunion Weekend, Big Red Weekend, Commencement, and a variety of on- and off-campus events. Oversee communications including monthly e-newsletters to alumni and parents (to be closely coordinated with University Communications), event invitations and announcements, social media presence, promotional materials, etc.
● Unite the collective, focused talents and energies of the AFE team to conceive and develop engagement strategies that secure philanthropic support, and develop enthusiastic and well-informed advocates for the college, its mission, and its objectives.
● Develop, implement and track metrics to assess engagement effort success.
● Lead staff in supporting and encouraging Denison’s alumni affinity groups, including: The Black Alumni Association; Denison Pride; athletic alumni groups; Greek alumni organizations; the Denison Singers, The Hilltoppers, Ladies Night Out, Tehillah and other musical groups, et al.
● Build on the close partnership with the Knowlton Center for Career Exploration in offering career networking and other career-related programming to students and alumni.
● Leverage alumni/parent/friend engagement to further Denison’s objectives, working with academic departments and university offices.
● Participate in campus activities, such as arts and athletic events, lectures, and student performances, as well as major institutional events like First-Year Induction Ceremony, Big Red Weekend, Reunion Weekend, and Commencement.
● Be an active participant in the Granville and Licking County communities.
● Serve as a well-informed, enthusiastic representative of the college locally, nationally and internationally.
● Work collaboratively within a diverse community with multiple constituencies, building cooperation and consensus.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Minimum QualificationsBachelor’s degree and a minimum of 7 years of work experience in advancement, customer engagement, marketing, brand management, or comparable field.
Sound knowledge of customer engagement, analytics and assessment, and importance of brand.
Ability to develop customer engagement and marketing strategies that support alumni and family engagement objectives. Ability to leverage institutional messaging to align with engagement and fundraising goals.
Strong writing, editing, and public speaking skills. Leadership skills, including the ability to motivate, inspire and encourage. Collaborative and results-driven style that keeps Denison front and center.
Analytical mindset with the ability to ask the right questions. Strategic thinker and creative problem-solver. Strong interpersonal skills and high emotional intelligence quotient.
Strong attention to detail and organization. Ability to manage concurrent projects with overlapping deadlines. Have a high degree of discretion and confidentiality. Ability to work evenings and weekends frequently.
Travel within the continental United States (and occasionally internationally) to meet with Denison constituents, and implement activities and programming.
Preferred Qualificationsn/a
Physical DemandsNormal demands associated with general office work and frequent travel on behalf of the University.
Contact(s)Julie HouptContact Phone/ExtensionContact Emailhoupt@denison.eduOpen Date08/16/2019Close DateOpen Until FilledYesSpecial Instructions to ApplicantsIn your cover letter, please address how your background and experience has prepared you for this position at Denison University.
Please provide as one of the required documents, contact information for three (3) work related references including name, address, phone number and email address. Be sure to include at least one manager from your current or previously held job.
Additional InformationApplications received by September 5, 2019 are assured full consideration. Position open until filled.
Must have a valid driver’s license and be insurable by the College.
Final candidate must provide proof of academic degree(s).
Denison University Background Check StatementThe final candidate will undergo a background check as a conditional offer of employment.
Denison University EEO StatementTo achieve our mission as a liberal arts college, we continually strive to foster a diverse campus community, which recognizes the value of all persons regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or socio-economic background. For additional information and resources about diversity at Denison, please see our Diversity Guide. Denison University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Posting Supplemental QuestionsRequired fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).
- * How did you learn about this job announcement/vacancy?
- HigherEdJobs.com
- Insidehighered.com
- Columbus Dispatch/Monster
- Chronicle of Higher Education
- Professional Association Website/Listserv
- Denison HR Website
- Colleague/Friend Referral
- Resume
- Cover Letter/Letter of Application
- List of 3 Professional References and Contact Information
Organization
<p> </p> <p>As one of the nation's leading liberal arts colleges, Denison offers an authentic education in the fine arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. Founded in 1831, Denison is one of the earliest colleges to be established in the old “Northwest Territory,” west of the Allegheny Mountains and north of the Ohio River. Denison is located in Granville, Ohio; 27 miles east of Columbus, the state capital.<img alt="denison_university1.jpg" src="http://www.insidehighered.com/careers/styles/medium/public/images/institution_profile/uploads/denison_university1.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px; float: right;" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p>Innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in the pursuit of knowledge and the cultivation of independent thinking. And because Denison is a residential college, students are deeply engaged as citizens of the campus community. They learn from one another in a rigorous academic setting, but also in rich social, cultural and political environments.</p> <p>As a residential undergraduate liberal arts college, Denison is among those places that have been called “distinctively American” in their contribution to higher education worldwide. In fact, it is one of a select number of institutions that today defines the type.</p> <p>Confident in the distinction of its graduates and advantaged by unusual resources, Denison has pointedly resisted the tendency in higher education to add layers of graduate degrees, professional schools, and service functions beyond the scope of baccalaureate education of the highest order. Entering its 177th year, Denison has maintained a fully residential campus based upon the well-tested premise that learning flourishes in community.</p> <p>Denison selectively admits successful, confident, and motivated students who seek to take advantage of highly participatory learning within classroom, laboratory, and studio and who expect to learn and grow through their investment in the challenges and opportunities of college life.<br /> The college attracts matriculants from across the country and more than three dozen nations. Denison engages students with outstanding professors in small classes that encourage men and women to take a high degree of personal responsibility for learning. Students pursue a major field of study selected from 39 areas offered by 28 disciplinary departments and interdisciplinary programs in the divisions of Natural Science, Humanities, Social Science, and Fine Arts as well as complete a sequence of General Education and a personalized curriculum of electives from across the college.</p> <p><img alt="denison_university2.jpg" src="http://www.insidehighered.com/careers/styles/medium/public/images/institution_profile/uploads/denison_university2.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image" />A Denison education is not just for a living but for a life. Denison graduates are educated to be curious, resourceful, and reflective. They are expected to begin a life of learning at Denison, not complete it. They are well prepared for the rapidly changing world of the 21st century.</p> <p>Nothing defines a Denison education more than the mutually enriching relationships that develop between students and faculty. The heart of the college is a full-time faculty of almost 200. These men and women, who hold the most advanced degrees in their fields, are selected on the basis of pedagogical and scholarly ability and are encouraged to be innovative teachers whose continuing growth in their discipline through active scholarship allows them to be among the best at their craft. They look forward to the challenge and stimulation of their students even as they seek to draw the best efforts from them. Many Denison students come to regard professors as mentors, who frequently oversee students' independent scholarly projects.</p> <p>Denison’s faculty is committed to undergraduate education. As teacher-scholar-advisers, their principal responsibility is effective teaching informed by the best scholarship. Faculty members place a priority on working closely with students, interactive learning, and partnerships with students in original research. Denison’s low student/faculty ratio allows for close supervision of independent research and collaborative work in small groups and classes.</p> <p><img alt="denison_university3.jpg" src="http://www.insidehighered.com/careers/styles/medium/public/images/institution_profile/uploads/denison_university3.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px; float: right;" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p>At Denison, men and women learn and grow in community, and the residential character of the campus is more than a convenience but a way of engaging the full student body in a shared enterprise. The college actively seeks academically superior students who bring diverse talents, interests, backgrounds, and experiences, believing that out of the classroom as well as within learning takes place by sharing, questioning, and growing together. Denison students have unusual opportunities to participate in the arts, in athletics and recreation, in service to others beyond the campus, in student organizational life, and in campus governance.</p> <p> </p>
Get job alerts
Create a job alert and receive personalized job recommendations straight to your inbox.
Create alert