Bishop O’Dowd High School

Director of Alumni Giving and Engagement

Contract type - 11 month, exempt

Reports to: Senior Director of Development

Bishop O’Dowd Mission/Charism

Mission: Bishop O’Dowd High School is a Catholic college-preparatory community, guided by the teachings of Jesus Christ, that educates its diverse student body to build a more just, joyful and sustainable world.

Charism:

Finding God In All Things Calls Us to:

Community in Diversity,

Strength of Character,

Academic Excellence,

Kinship With Creation,

Social Justice,

Joy

Job Summary

Bishop O’Dowd High School is seeking an enthusiastic and experienced Director of Alumni Giving Engagement to advance the mission of the school by engaging the alumni constituent base in giving, campus involvement and volunteering.The Director will develop and implement engagement and fundraising initiatives to increase alumni philanthropic support and participation for a network of departmental programs, including class reunion, annual and campaign giving. 

This role involves identifying class reunion prospects for lead gifts, and developing class reunion giving goals, implementing multi-year reunion class giving programs, identifying and soliciting regional alumni, coordinating regional events, visits and fundraising programs, creating fundraising marketing initiatives, analyzing engagement data, and executing alumni meetings with 100 local and regional alumni constituents annually. 

This position reports to the Senior Director of Development and works closely with the Director of Annual Giving, the Director of Events, and the Communications team. 

Key Responsibilities

Alumni Giving

• Develop, execute, and maintain fundraising initiatives to increase alumni philanthropic support and participation, and for alumni engagement programming.
• Identify and foster alumni class representatives to serve as giving ambassadors for annual class reunions.
• Determine annual class goals and repeatedly implement reunion class giving programs.
• Partner with the Senior Director of Development and Annual Giving Director to create and implement strategies to encourage donor acquisition retention and increased giving.
• In close collaboration with the Senior Director of Development and the Director of Annual Giving and class agents, lead both non-reunion and reunion-based fundraising programs. Direct and hold accountable to plans for the reunion giving strategy, lead a Class Campaign including recruiting volunteer leadership, and monitoring class progress to ensure overall reunion financial goals are met.
• Develop and manage the alumni component of the reunion giving campaign and other initiatives as needed.
• Engage in 100 in-person visits with alumni per year to assess capacity and affinity, solicit gifts and deepen relationships. Meet annual fundraising goals for alumni and reunion giving developed each year in partnership with the Sr. Director of Development.
• Identify and engage potential alumni donors for cultivation and solicitation by senior fundraisers.

• Conduct prospect discovery to identify and solicit individual donations.
• Utilize various communication channels to promote fundraising initiatives and engage alumni.
• Continuously track and analyze reunion data to measure progress and inform strategy adjustments.

Alumni Engagement

• Work with the Development team to articulate a compelling vision for alumni engagement.
• Work with the Senior Director of Development to develop strategies and metrics for advancing and evaluating the School’s goals vis-à-vis alumni. 
• Steer strategy and execution for alumni events, including alumni reunion and the alumni happy hour. Ensure their alignment with broader team and school goals and partner with the Director of Events on planning and production.
• Work with other department staff to ensure that alumni demographic and contact information is continually improved and maintained to support departmental goals. 
• Discuss and create a plan for Alumni Data integrity with the Development Services Manager.
• Organize and manage volunteers, including support for alumni events and programs and partner with colleagues to identify alumni speakers for Career Day and other class or event speakers. 
• In consultation with the Senior Director of Development and Communications team, maintain and support a communications plan for alumni-related content for print and electronic publications, the school website, and social media (with a focus on leveraging the school’s LinkedIn platform to keep alumni engaged).
• Remain up-to-date on current methods and innovations to effectively communicate with alumni.

Additional Responsibilities

• Participate in department-wide efforts in support of the Parent Pledge Program, Fiscal Year End and Calendar Year End solicitation efforts and weekly stewardship calls.
• Assist with several weekend and evening development events throughout the year and attend schoolwide functions as needed to connect with constituents.
• Understand the school’s academic program and its campus culture.
• Demonstrate support and respect our mission, vision, core values, and Catholic identity.
• Ability to frequently travel locally.
• Perform other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree 
• Minimum of 2-3 years of successful experience fundraising. (Experience fundraising in a school or educational setting is preferred.)
• Ability to develop and implement programs consistent with department and school strategic plans, and to ensure that programs effectively address agreed-upon objectives and priorities.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills are required, both written and oral, and a high level of professionalism in social and professional settings is expected.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to effectively establish and maintain cooperative working relationships within a diverse multicultural environment and contribute to an office environment that is collegial, dynamic and fun.
• Excellent customer service and public relations skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects; flexible and comfortable in a fast-paced environment, with excellent follow through and accountability.
• Capacity to both work independently and thrive in a team environment.
• Willingness and ability to travel and work outside normal business hours as needed.
• A sense of humor is appreciated.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Additionally, all personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Please submit your cover letter, resume, references, and salary requirements.

Pre-employment background screening is required for all positions. For more information on Bishop O’Dowd High School, please see our website at: http://bishopodowd.org.

Bishop O’Dowd High School is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its employment policies and procedures. It follows the Diocese of Oakland's policies prohibiting illegal harassment, retaliation, or discrimination. However, as a Roman Catholic high school with a stated mission, goals, and objectives that clearly reflect the teachings and educational philosophy of the Diocese of Oakland, Bishop O’Dowd High School reserves the right to require all current and prospective employees to commit to carrying out their duties and responsibilities in a manner that clearly and unconditionally demonstrates support of and respect for the school’s mission and Catholic identity. Persons who in good conscience are unable to agree to this commitment should not seek or accept employment at Bishop O’Dowd High School. As a faith-based institution, we reserve the right to use religion as a criterion in hiring decisions, as permitted by law, as it relates to performing essential job duties.