Assistant Director, Donor Engagement and Communications

The Tufts University Advancement Division (UA) is a comprehensive development and alumni engagement enterprise with a staff of approximately 200 FTEs. Functional units within UA include development/fundraising, alumni engagement, stewardship and donor relations, special events, gift processing, research and prospect management, gift planning, corporate and foundation relations, and information systems and management. UA's mission is to build strong, lifelong relationships with Tufts University's constituents, match donors' interests with the university's needs and priorities, and secure the financial resources necessary for Tufts to achieve excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship.

The newly formed Principal Gifts team facilitates top university prospect strategy in collaboration with principal gift development officers, tracks top prospects, and supports the cultivation and solicitation of principal gift prospects for professional school and university priorities. Select staff members oversee cultivation and solicitation strategies for cross-school donors and key university programs.

To ensure strategic, meaningful, and robust relationships with donors, UA must create effective communication and engagement strategies that bring donors closer to the university and our professional schools. As donors consider principal gift commitments and ultimately invest in the institution, the Principal Gifts team establishes and maintains a donor-centered communications program that inspires, celebrates, and strategically communicates with donors about their meaningful support, and ensures that such activities are aligned with institutional priorities and adhere to institutional protocols.

The Assistant Director of Donor Engagement and Communications will report to the Director of Donor Engagement and Communications and will serve as one of the donor engagement point-persons for the Principal Gifts team. This person will partner with principal gift development officers and colleagues to drive a comprehensive donor communications strategy for the Principal Gifts team. S/he will draft custom proposals for high-level prospects, create proposal templates, prepare cases for philanthropic support of priority areas, and craft ad-hoc donor and prospect communications. This person will also collaborate closely with the Principal Gifts Executive Director to develop multidisciplinary big ideas and related proposals/cases for support.

The Assistant Director of Donor Engagement and Communications will be responsible for driving timely communications to facilitate the solicitation process, including researching, developing, writing, and editing proposals and other written/visual materials. S/he will work with principal gift development officers, faculty and school leaders to craft compelling cases for philanthropic support and identify funding opportunities. S/he will collaborate with colleagues in Central Donor Relations to coordinate high-level stewardship touch points - including impact reports, gift anniversary videos and notes, stewardship events (in consultation with the office of special events) and individualized stewardship plans for top donors. This person will help develop and execute high-level engagement programs and communications for principal gifts prospects, relevant Trustees, members of the President's Council, and key pipeline programs. S/he will facilitate strategy sessions with gift officers to proactively assess and manage communications needs for principal gift donors.

Essential Functions:

Prospect Strategy:

• Accompany principal gift development officers to engage with faculty and other senior leaders to position appropriate funding opportunities in written proposals. This may include developing new content and/or strategic messaging for emerging campaign priorities.
• Help to manage and update a cloud-based proposal library and toolkit, which is an inventory of principal-gift proposals for internal use across the university, and provide guidance related to best practices for these communications.
• Work with principal gift development officers to implement strategic plans for the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of top prospects.
• Monitor progress of top donor solicitation strategies and tactics to inform proposal development and donor engagement.

Donor Engagement and Communications Strategy:

• Assist with the development and implementation of custom communications for the university's top donors. This includes monitoring for consistent engagement touchpoints for the top donors cultivated by members of the Principal Gifts team.
• Assist with the creation of engaging, donor-friendly documents that align with university branding.
• Engage in professional development opportunities.
• Work with various faculty and staff and UA's donor relations and stewardship teams on donor relations projects such as recognition events and personalized stewardship.

Special Projects:

• Assist in the management of special projects as needed.

Please include a cover letter with your application.

Basic Requirements:

• 3+ years professional experience with a strong focus on writing, preferably in development, alumni relations, marketing or public relations.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent years of relevant experience
• Proficiency in MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint is required.
• Excellent writing and proofreading skills are required. Candidates must have a strong customer service orientation and be extremely detail oriented.
  Must be able to work collaboratively, organize, manage and prioritize multiple projects while meeting defined deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills required.
• Must be poised and able to interact and respond appropriately to donors and senior officers in an academic setting, as well as interact with University staff and administrators at all levels.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Familiarity with Salesforce or similar complex database is desirable.
• Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite a plus.