Job Details

Director, Alumni Engagement and Donor Relations, A&S

Position Number: 6541661
Location: Boulder, CO
Position Type: Alumni Associations and Services

Director, Alumni Engagement and Donor Relations, A&S

Requisition Number: 67100
Location: Boulder Colorado
Employment Type: University Staff
Schedule: Full Time
Posting Close Date: 14-Sep-2025
Date Posted:

Job Summary

Advancement at CU Boulder encourages applications for a key leader at the College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School, and Libraries, a Director of Alumni Engagement and Donor Relations! This role plays a significant part in strategizing, leading and driving alumni engagement and donor relations efforts. This position supervises a team of four full-time employees to engage alumni, donors, and other constituents, promote the reputation of the College, Graduate School and Libraries, and increase philanthropy for CU Boulder.
Reporting to the Assistant Dean for Advancement, the Director of Alumni Engagement and Donor Relations will bring visionary leadership and expertise in alumni and donor relations in higher education to inspire confidence and drive impact. Our team thrives on the energy, passion and school pride that comes from interactions with students, alumni, volunteers, and donors. The Director will develop and lead the strategy to substantially engage our constituents in innovative ways, across a variety of platforms.
As CU Boulder embarks on its first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign, the Director will be instrumental in positioning the college for unprecedented success, building innovative engagement strategies that elevate the alumni and donor experience.
The Director will:

Lead a Strategic Vision: Develop and lead unit implementation of a best-in-class strategic plan for alumni engagement, donor stewardship and fund compliance using innovative initiatives.
Champion Significant Connections: Create dynamic opportunities for alumni and donors to engage through diverse platforms, while cultivating a culture of lifelong connection, philanthropy, and engagement.
Strengthen Partnerships: Partner with internal stakeholders-including the dean's office and advisory board, academic leaders, central donor relations, the CU Boulder Alumni Association and campus entities-and external constituents such as board members, alumni, volunteers, donors, and corporate partners. These collaborations will develop professional opportunities, important partnerships, and a strong network that benefits current and future alumni.
Meaningfully Steward Donors: In conjunction with unit partners, develop individualized stewardship plans for major and principal gifts. Create unique strategies that deepen a donor's relationship with CU Boulder and create substantial, lasting connections.

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Who We Are

At CU Boulder Advancement, we are committed to fostering an environment where everyone matters and all can thrive. This dedication is rooted in our core values and our mission to drive impactful fundraising and engagement. Our team actively engages in learning, reflection, and the transformation of systems, policies, and practices that perpetuate oppressive ideologies-including racism, sexism, ableism, and heterosexism. We recognize our responsibility to lead by example in building a supportive and inclusive culture for both internal colleagues and external partners. We hold ourselves accountable through individual and divisional goals that continuously assess our progress, growth, and outcomes-ensuring alignment with our mission and values every step of the way.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

Strategy and Execution

Lead and manage implementation of strategy to engage, cultivate and involve constituents in ways that support the school's vision and strategic direction. Set and measure goals, including CASE metrics around alumni engagement in collaboration with the Arts and Sciences Advancement team.
Ensure advancement events consistently represent the school's standards of excellence, while serving as impactful platforms for alumni and constituent engagement. Create strategy for 5-10 high-impact annual events for donor stewardship and alumni engagement.
Collaborate with the Arts and Sciences Communications team to create and deliver initiatives support alumni and donor engagement goals, including storytelling, alumni profiles, podcasts, video series, newsletters, the annual alumni magazine, and event promotions to inspire pride and enhance alumni visibility.
Propose, collaborate, and pilot new projects as needed with feedback loops from alumni to refine engagement efforts, ensuring the program remains responsive to alumni needs and interests.
Collaborate with Donor Relations to brainstorm, organize, and pilot new donor relations projects that support donor stewardship and engagement.
Lead the unit to identify, promote, and support opportunities to celebrate and recognize alumni and volunteers. Examples may include alumni awards and alumni publications.
Supervise strategy development, process and measurement of fund usage and compliance on 1,800+ funds across three central college units including the College of Arts & Sciences, Graduate School, and University Libraries.
Serve as the lead liaison to the College of Arts & Sciences Dean's Advisory Board (DAB). Manage and organize annual meetings, including board books, meeting agenda and programs.

Team Management and Leadership

Complete all aspects of managing and leading a team of individuals responsible for donor stewardship, fund compliance, alumni engagement, events, board engagement.
Provide coaching and mentorship, especially to new team members.
Carry out administrative personnel actions (performance management, hiring, training, onboarding, offboarding, etc.)
Set the overall direction for the team engagement activities annually. Define metrics, set goals and develop processes for metrics reporting. Keys to success include leading the team to develop priorities and schedules prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, and clarifying roles, responsibilities and expectations.
Cultivate an environment that encourages creativity and innovation and empowers the team to experiment with new engagement strategies without fear of failure.
Be responsible for the team's budget and ensure alignment with strategic priorities, optimizing resources to improve impact.

Other Duties as Assigned

Attend and be an influential member of the campus community of alumni and donor relations directors across campus to share information, discuss standard processes and identify potential partnerships and joint initiatives.
Work with CU system, CU Foundation and CU Boulder Advancement staff to assist with the effective identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of donors.
Meet annual engagement metrics.
Ensure unit execution of campus donor relations strategic framework, stewardship matrices and standard processes.

What You Should Know

This position will occasionally require you to work evenings/weekends.
This position can work a hybrid schedule with some days on campus and some days remote.
This position may require local, regional, and out-of-state travel to engage with university constituents.

What We Can Offer

The salary range is $107,814 - $130,000 annually. Relocation assistance is available within Advancement guidelines.

Benefits

The University of Colorado offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO Pass. The University of Colorado Boulder is one of the largest employers in Boulder County and offers an inspiring higher education environment. Learn more about the University of Colorado Boulder.

Be Statements

Be ambitious. Be innovative. Be Boulder.

What We Require

Education: Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Experience: 4+ years of professional, job related experience including 1+ years of team lead or supervision experience.
Experience developing, planning and rolling out strategy.
Program and event management experience.

What You Will Need

Ability to strategize plans for employee retention and satisfaction.
Proficiency in situational leadership to discover what motivates individual team members to achieve goals.
Strong interpersonal skills, to establish relationships, including the ability to coordinate and manage volunteers.
Knowledge of fundraising, donor relations, and alumni engagement standard methodologies.
Expert communication skills including the ability to participate in public events and represent Advancement and the university in a professional manner.
Analytical skills to evaluate information, data, and situations to solve problems.
A high degree of tact, discretion, and collaboration to work with a diverse range of constituents including employees, students, volunteers, alumni, donors, and campus colleagues.
Keen organizational skills to manage multiple projects/tasks simultaneously; ability to work independently and on a team and adapt to changing priorities.
Solid knowledge of current issues facing public universities and interests of assigned school, students, faculty, and alumni.
Ability to champion the shared values of the Office of Advancement.

Special Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials:

A current resume.
A cover letter that specifically tells us how your background and experience align with the requirements, qualifications, and responsibilities of the position.

We may request references at a later time.

Please apply by September 14, 2025 for consideration.
Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, please apply through CU Boulder Jobs.

In compliance with the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

To apply, visit https://jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDetail/Director-Alumni-Engagement-and-Donor-Relations-A-S/67100