Assistant / Associate Director of Donor Relations

Job DescriptionDepartment:Donor RelationsPay Rate Type:SalaryEmployee Type:Job Summary:The Assistant/Associate Director of Donor Relations reports to the Director of Donor Relations and maintains close working relationships with other members of the Division of College Advancement staff, Colby faculty, and administration. The Assistant/Associate director plays an integral role working in a structured, systematic program for donor stewardship while maintaining the College’s reputation of demonstrating impact, integrity, and fund compliance. The successful candidate will possess the ability to develop creative strategies for the acknowledgement, reporting, and ongoing stewardship of donors, with the goal of increasing donor engagement and giving in support of Colby’s fundraising efforts.The Assistant/Associate Director of Donor Relations works closely with faculty and staff across campus to create high-impact reporting for a select set of endowed and current-use funds as part of a College-wide stewardship program designed to foster and sustain long-term, meaningful relationships between the College and its donors. The work includes collaborating with colleagues and leadership to prepare substantive reports for donors that demonstrate the impact of their philanthropy to the College, and working strategically with the director, colleagues, students, information, and data to ensure that all requirements are being met.In addition to creating and contributing to stewardship reports, the Assistant/Associate Director of Donor Relations will support other donor stewardship efforts including data collection and reporting, recognition events, research on donor funds, and identifying and developing donor engagement and recognition opportunities.Essential FunctionsTo perform successfully in this position, an individual must be able to perform essential duties satisfactorily as well as possess education/experience, employ the knowledge, skills, and abilities as listed in representative fashion. Colby College actively supports the Americans with Disabilities Act and will consider reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position. This listing of essential duties is not all-inclusive, but representative; other duties may be assigned.Manage, in collaboration with others on the Donor Relations team, the reporting process for many of the College’s endowed funds, which may include financial reporting, ensuring that donors receive timely and meaningful stewardship that demonstrates the impact of their philanthropy.Collaborate effectively with senior leadership and all departments across the division in fulfilling reporting objectives and goals; write and edit narrative reports as required by gift agreementsResponsible for the creation, accuracy, timeliness, and quality of a wide variety of donor relations and stewardship communications, including personal and leadership communications, as well as custom and targeted impact reports that convey messages of impact and gratitude to donors.Utilize data strategically to inform reporting and project planning.Routinely monitor and assess donor relations and stewardship processes to improve procedures, reports, tools, and fund management.Works closely with donor relations and other teams on events.Ensure that the stewardship-related details for endowed funds and other applicable gifts are accurately reflected in Raiser’s Edge; work with Advancement Operations to report on data and segment data accurately for reporting and mailing purposes.Position Qualifications Minimum Qualifications:Must be able to work additional hours for events or during busy periods, including evenings and weekendsExceptional written and oral communication skills across a variety of audiences requiredExcellent abilities to manage projects and organizational skills including experience independently overseeing complex projects and programs; attention to detail is criticalEducation and/or experience:Bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in education and experienceAssociate Director: Minimum of 3-5 years of advancement experience within an institution of higher education preferredAssistant Director: Minimum of 1-3 years of advancement experience within an institution of higher education preferredPreferred Qualifications or Skills:Ability to interact with high-level donors, prospects, trustees, and College officials with comfortability, tact, diplomacy, and discretionDemonstrated ability to work independently and balance multiple responsibilities effectivelyProven track record in project management and execution,mm impact communications, event conceptualizing, and engagement strategiesWillingness to take a deep dive into historical or academic topics and a sense of curiosityUnflappable when working on multiple projects with numerous deadlines, highly motivated, disciplined work ethic, and a growth mindsetExperience with Raiser’s Edge or comparable relational database preferredStrong skills in Google Suite, Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word and PowerPoint) required; experience with Adobe Creative Suite, especially InDesign, a plusAbility to work collaboratively as a member of a diverse community and make an impact in a complex, fast-paced, and team-oriented environment.Physical/Mental DemandsThe physical demands and work environment characteristics described herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this position and/or may be encountered while performing essential functions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.To successfully perform the essential functions of this position, an employee must be able to maintain appropriate confidentiality with regard to employee data, documents, issues, etc., and respect privacy needs of employees and past employees with regard to the same.The ability to comply with highly inflexible deadlines is required to successfully perform the essential functions of this position; there will be multiple occurrences of sudden, urgent task completion required.There may be occurrences of employees, past employees, members of the general public, and others who express opinions, may exhibit strong emotions, which will require the employee to interact professionally, diplomatically, and appropriately in such situations.While performing the essential duties of this position, an employee would frequently be required to move around the office space as well as within hallways, meeting rooms, and other parts of the campus facilities. There may be multiple/daily instances of prolonged personal computer use which would include keyboard and/or mouse usage as well as viewing a computer monitor.An employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 35 pounds to perform essential position functions.Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and ability to adjust focus.The overall work environment requires the mental ability to shift focus quickly due to interruptions; an employee must be able to mentally track multiple projects and tasks as well.The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate; however, there may be unexpected instances of somewhat loud sounds.