Overview

Princeton University Advancement works to inform, inspire, and involve Princeton’s global community of alumni, parents, and friends in ways that enable the University to fulfill its mission of advancing learning through scholarship, research, and teaching to serve humanity. Reporting to the Senior Associate Director, Donor Relations, the Assistant Director is principally involved with presidential acknowledgments and other written communications to donors for gifts to the University. In addition to a specific writing and editing responsibilities, this individual works with colleagues in Donor Relations and across Advancement to continually enhance institution-wide donor relations activities that not only promote interaction with and recognition of donors at all levels, but also seek to provide “the best donor experience of any institution.”

 

The successful candidate has strong written and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to write knowledgeably about University initiatives and its developments for a diverse constituency, and establish and maintain excellent working relationships with the president’s office and multiple stakeholders across campus. It is critical that the Assistant Director understands fully the mission and organization of the University, and is prepared to articulate, in particular, the impact of giving and the importance of donor communication as they relate to the stewardship of gifts to the University.

 

Responsibilities

• Researches and writes a high volume of direct president-to-donor correspondence, ranging from acknowledgment letters to stewardship reports; letters must accurately reflect the president’s voice, an understanding of campus priorities, needs, and developments; and a grasp of individual relationships with key high-level donors.
• Writes a range of other stewardship correspondence and reports, including acknowledgment templates for the Recording Secretary and Vice President for Advancement, and components of such publications as the 50th Reunion Book and Gifts to Princeton.
• With the Director, Senior Associate Director, and colleagues in Donor Relations, helps to identify ways to continually enhance the University’s stewardship and overarching engagement programs with an eye towards keeping Princeton at the forefront of trends and industry practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and five plus years of related experience.
• Excellent written and interpersonal communication and time management skills; customer-orientation and the ability to communicate effectively with diverse groups.
• Superb attention to detail and accuracy of content.
• Must have an ability to be flexible and responsive to varying needs and must be adept at writing in a variety of voices.
• Ability to initiate and maintain effective collaboration and communication with campus partners, administrators, donors, faculty and students.
• The highest standards of professionalism and performance as evidenced by consistency and quality of output, timeliness and follow-through, discretion, and a strong appreciation for special needs associated with sensitive data and commitment to keep confidential all data related to Princeton and its alumni and donors.
• Evidence of self-motivation and initiative, and the ability to work both independently and in teams, with high personal standards representative of Princeton’s commitment to excellence.
• Strong project management skills necessary to set and monitor progress against goals, engage stakeholders, develop plans and timelines, and to measure success toward goals.
• Willingness to search out answers, and ability to recognize when others need to be involved in activities or decisions.
• Familiarity with Princeton University and its mission, as well as the ability to fully articulate it to donors and volunteers.
• Commitment to the Office of Development’s mission of maximizing philanthropic support for Princeton University and to its guiding principles of Civility, Collaboration, Innovation, and High-Performance.

 

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. EEO IS THE LAW

Standard Weekly Hours36.25Eligible for OvertimeNoBenefits EligibleYesProbationary Period180 daysEssential Services Personnel (see policy for detail)NoPhysical Capacity Exam RequiredNoValid Driver’s License RequiredNo Experience LevelMid-Senior Level#LI-SB1