Senior Director, Alumni Engagement & Philanthropy

About Western Kentucky University:

Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a student-centered, applied-research institution committed to providing its students with a transformative academic and social experience and to elevating its surrounding communities. Founded in 1906, WKU is the second largest undergraduate institution in the Commonwealth of Kentucky with approximately 17,500 students (32% first generation, 18% underrepresented minority) and nearly 2,900 faculty and staff employees.

Western Kentucky University is committed to empowering its campus community to embrace diversity by building equitable and inclusive learning, working, and living environments. At the heart of our mission, we seek to provide holistic education and employment experiences that prepare students, faculty, and staff to become effective scholars, contributors, and leaders in our diverse and evolving communities.

Located 65 miles north of Nashville, TN, and just over 100 miles south of Louisville, KY, WKU's main campus is in Bowling Green, KY - a city with approximately 70,000 residents. With an ethnically and diverse population, more than 85 languages are spoken in and around Bowling Green, and people from 35 nationalities call our community home.

Western Kentucky University seeks to attract talented faculty and staff who are inspired individually to contribute to WKU's strategic plans and ongoing success. We offer comprehensive wellness and health benefits to employees and their families, including domestic partners and other qualified dependents and take pride in providing a workplace culture that supports balancing the responsibilities of work and family life. Paid-time off for holidays, vacation and sick leave, and a tuition discount program for employees and dependents are also provided. Learn more about WKU and Bowling Green at wku.edu/about.

Job Description:

The Division of Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement is seeking a goal-oriented individual looking to join our Alumni Engagement team foster lifelong relationships with WKU constituents through activities designed to honor the WKU spirit, engage all members of the WKU family in the life of the University, and secure private support to advance WKU's mission. The Division's core values drives our success through: a Positive and supportive culture, being Accountable for our work and to our peers, demonstrating we are a Resilient team that adapts to change, and see Feedback as an opportunity for growth, and above all, expect Professionalism at all times.

The ideal candidate is a leader, collaborator, self-motivated, metrics driven, and possesses an innate ability to get things done. As a philanthropy and alumni engagement professional, you will interact with WKU alumni and friend on a daily basis and seek to engage them with WKU and ask for their investment. This position is responsible for working with all alumni engagement team members and partners in the Division of Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement and University to create comprehensive strategies to engage alumni in ways which lead to meaningful investment in their relationship with WKU.

Position Summary

The Senior Director of Alumni Engagement & Philanthropy, in conjunction with the Executive Director, leads and manages all aspects of alumni engagement while integrating investments in philanthropy into engagement efforts. Alumni Engagement team members manage assigned portfolios that include assigned alumni market segments, programs, volunteers, partners, and of assigned alumni. Team members are responsible for working cross-functionally across the Division and forming partnerships across campus, especially academic colleges, to lead achievement engagement and investments goals for their assigned portfolio.

This position is responsible for leading the development of annual plans to achieve engagement goals that help advance the strategic priorities, overall goals and mission of the WKU Alumni Association.  This position directly manages an assigned portfolio of programs and leads specific initiatives related to program evaluation, volunteer management best practices and team development. This position reports to the Executive Director of the WKU Alumni Association and oversees a team of four full-time and one part-time professional staff members. 

The following duties are customary for this position, but are not to be construed as all-inclusive.  Duties may be added, deleted and assigned based on management discretion and institutional needs.

Engagement & Philanthropy Leadership (25%)

• Provide leadership for a robust array of engagement opportunities that advance the strategic initiatives, goals and mission of the WKU Alumni Association in addition to those of the Division of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement and fundraising campaigns.
• As the leader of engagement and investment programs, works with team members, partners, and volunteer leaders to produce a comprehensive structure for building communities of engaged supporters by regions, by era of graduation and key constituencies (legacy students, current WKU students, young alumni, parents, faculty/staff, donors, etc.).
• Leads team efforts to assess engagement and investment programs and services to ensure they achieve stated goals and objectives in addition to accounting for human and financial resources.
• Works in conjunction with the Executive Director to lead the WKU Alumni Association by cultivating partnerships with its board of directors, councils, chapters, groups, volunteers and members.
• Serves as the partnership lead to the entire Integrated Marketing and Appeals team to ensure that communication and marketing strategies are collaboratively formed and consistent among all programs and market segments.

College Alumni Engagement (30%)

• Form partnerships with colleges and designated campus partnerships to design and execute collaborative volunteer opportunities through boards, committees and defined volunteer roles.
• Work with academic deans to establish alumni engagement strategies to support college goals and initiatives.
• Support College-Aligned Advisory Boards and Alumni Councils

Portfolio Management (20%)

• Manages engagement and investment strategies for assigned portfolio of alumni ranging in size from 150-250 on average and includes specified alumni engagement strategies and investment outcomes including timelines for solicitation of membership support, charitable gifts, volunteerism for the WKU Alumni Association and WKU Philanthropy.
• Supervises assigned team members and their portfolio management progress

Engagement Marketing Strategy (25%)

• Collaborate with Integrated Marketing & Appeals to define and execute a common strategy for marketing and communications which drive digital and experiential engagement.
• Collaborate with Division of Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement colleges to support college-based alumni engagement through communications to scale

Key Performance Indicators for Position

Engagement (Global & Filtering by Region, Era of Graduation and Key Constituencies)

• Alumni Engagement Index %/Year Over Growth
• Events: # by type, region, producing group (AA, Chapters, Society, YAC)
• Events Attendance
• Entities Coded for Activities/% of Members &/or Donors participating
• Contact reports by Engagement team members

Volunteers

• # by type
• Hours served
• % Membership by group/overall

Membership & Giving

• Membership performance of assigned team member market segments
• Giving to AA and other areas for assigned portfolios/segments

Sponsorships # & $

• Net proceeds minus hard costs to fulfill obligations: $
• # & $ of New Sponsors
• Table Sponsorships vs. Event/Presenting Sponsorships

Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree
• At least five years of experience in nonprofits or higher education with specific experience in managing assigned programs, working with volunteers and supervising staff

Additional Information:

Kentucky state law requires all public institutions of postsecondary education to conduct pre-employment criminal background checks to determine suitability for employment.

Western Kentucky University (WKU) is committed to a policy and practice of providing equal employment and educational opportunities to all individuals. In accordance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Revised 1992, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, no form of discrimination or harassment will be tolerated at WKU on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, marital status, age, uniformed services, veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, or physical or mental disability in admission to career and technical education programs and/or activities, or employment practices.

Persons with disabilities, who need reasonable accommodations to participate in the application and/or selection process, should notify the office of Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action/University ADA Services (EEO). To request an accommodation, report/express a complaint, or ask questions regarding WKU''s Discrimination and Harassment Policy (#0.2040), please contact Mr. Joshua Hayes, EEO Director/Title IX Investigator/University ADA Coordinator, via email at joshua.hayes@wku.edu or by phone at (270) 745-5121.

The University is also required to investigate complaints of sex and gender-based harassment, also a form of discrimination, and has designated the Title IX Coordinator as the individual responsible for coordinating the investigation and response to such complaints. The Title IX Coordinator for the University is Ms. Deborah Wilkins, who can be contacted via email at deborah.wilkins@wku.edu or by phone at (270) 745-5396. Additional information regarding Title IX is accessible via WKU''s https://www.wku.edu/titleix/ website.

Information concerning educational programs offered by WKU are provided at: http://www.wku.edu/atwku/academics.php

Application Instructions:

The following items must be submitted through the electronic talent management system:  

• Cover Letter
•  

You will receive email confirmation that your submission has been received. The candidate review process will generally begin as materials are received. The expected hire date is on or about July 1, 2021.