Assistant Director Of Engagement
Duke University
- Durham, NC
- Permanent
- Full-time
- Lead efforts to evolve Duke Forest's development program, and specifically, to update the current Duke Forest Development Plan; this plan includes objectives and activities around the following responsibilities:
- Create and implement annual work plans based on the development plan that include goals, targets, and timeline and identifies opportunities for collaboration across Duke; focus on fundraising activities that achieve targets for special projects, e.g., New Hope Creek Restoration Projects and Duke Forest Cabin.
- Play the primary role in solicitation strategies for smaller gifts ($1 - $100K) and partner with major gift officers for gifts at or above $100K; in both scenarios, serve as the content expert and facilitator to assist with proposals, faculty/ED engagement, tours, stewardship, impact reports, events, etc.
- Maintain valued and mutually beneficial relationships with development colleagues at Duke, especially within the Office of Climate and Sustainability, the Nicholas School's Office of Development and Alumni Relations, and Duke's Office of Alumni Engagement and Development.
- Engage and manage an internal group of development advisors, as appropriate, to guide development and implementation of plans and to ensure mission fidelity.
- Lead efforts to strategically leverage communications for the purposes of advancing development plans and fundraising activities; identify/develop/implement new communications or events to enhance donor and pipeline engagement.
- Manage baseline communications including the website, social media, and email newsletter; create content, develop story ideas, and engage other Duke Forest staff to implement and improve these communications.
- Manage timeline, story structure, graphic design, and layout for the annual Duke Forest LOG publication; collaborate with the Duke Forest Executive Director and direct other Duke Forest staff to develop story ideas, write content, and copy-edit; create the final design and oversee the printing and distribution process.
- Stay current on Duke Forest management, research, and strategic projects to incorporate into communications to constituents and donors.
- Evaluate success of communications and events (e.g., tracking open- and click-through rates and general readership statistics for online and print communications); maintain and regularly update email newsletter and LOG subscribers; maintain archive of past communications and events.
- Maintain valued and mutually beneficial relationships with communications and marketing colleagues at Duke, especially within the Office of Climate and Sustainability, the Nicholas School's Office of Marketing and Communications, and Duke's Office of Communication and Marketing. General Administration and Team Engagement
- Lead collaborative and collective problem-solving on issues related to development and communications; advise ED upon request in responding to emerging internal, university, or external issues; implement/support response and communications as needed.
- Support regular assessment of and updates to the Duke Forest Strategic Plan, especially where goals, objectives, or actions intersect with development and communications.
- Advise the ED regarding the fiscal requirements for programs and operations across the realm of engagement.
- Supervise/manage temporary staff, permanent staff, consultants, and/or students that are involved in engagement activities; this may include monthly check-ins, performance reviews, etc.
- Participate in all-team field efforts, as needed, such as annual deer spotlight surveys, recreational monitoring, and prescribed burns.
- Bachelor's degree required; master's degree preferred.
- A minimum of 5 years of successful fundraising and communications project management experience, including meeting numerous deadlines and objectives and managing multiple concurrent projects with limited resources.
- Demonstrated success in creating genuine relationships and engagement opportunities with a wide audience in a variety of settings.
- Proven success in fundraising and developing/maintaining constituent relationships.
- Proven success in communications; ability to differentiate audiences and create targeted, audience-specific messaging using the appropriate vehicle (with the aim of building donor pipeline or maintaining constituent relationships preferred).
- Experience and proficiency with relationship or fundraising management software.
- Experience and proficiency with social media platforms, web content management, and email distribution systems.
- Experience with and ability to master SAP-based and cloud-based database tools such as Airtable.
- Excellent people skills, sound judgment, and experience managing confidential information.
- Excellent teamwork and collaboration skills; creativity, adaptability, and sense of humor.
- Excellent writing and editing skills.
- Strong work ethic in a fast-paced, purposeful team environment.
- Proficiency with Word, PowerPoint, Excel; Adobe Creative Suite.