Alumni Relations Director, Durham Campus

CLASSIFICATION TITLE: Alumni Relations Officer, Senior Level

DEPARTMENT: Division of External Relations

POSITION LOCATION: Durham, NC

POSITION NUMBER: 60087839

POSTING DATE: Friday, August 23, 2024

CLOSING DATE: Friday, September 6, 2024 5 p.m.

POSITION TYPE: Permanent, 12 months, EHRA EPS (Exempt Professional Staff), FLSA Exempt, 1.0 FTE

HIRING SALARY RANGE: $60,000 – $73,848

Hiring salary will be determined based on education, experience, equity, budget, and market considerations.

NCSSM and the Division of External Relations foster an environment of collaboration across departments and divisions and support community-engaged service and research. NCSSM is proud of the diversity of its student body and we seek to attract an equally diverse application pool for this position. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as an individual with a disability, or status as a protected veteran or national guard. If you are an individual with disabilities requiring accommodations in the application and interview process, please contact us at hr@ncssm.edu.

The NCSSM Division of External Relations functions to advance the educational mission of the institution through constituent engagement that cultivates a positive climate supportive of the institution, generating meaningful and material support consistent with operational, tactical, and strategic objectives. Examples of such activities include alumni programs, parent programs, community relations initiatives, board relations, and government relations all engaged by interpersonal interactions as well as strategic and targeted communications. Impacts include constituent affinity/satisfaction, volunteer effort, in-kind charitable donations, financial donations, state appropriations, and policy implementations such as the tuition grant program and guaranteed admission policies with the University of North Carolina system.

Description of Duties:

Reporting to the Vice Chancellor for External Relations, the Alumni Relations Director works closely with division colleagues and the institution’s executive and management teams. The position is primarily responsible for engaging alumni constituencies in the life of the school.

This role collaborates closely with multiple business units, including Communications, Academic Programs, Counseling, Admissions, and Foundation teams, to convey important and timely information, support events, and communicate calls to action.

This liaison role independently fosters and directly supports the work and goals of the NCSSM Alumni Association, especially the Executive, Communications, Engagement, Scholarship and Reunion Committees. This role also works with, and sometimes leads, division peers and colleagues throughout the institution and across multiple locations, to implement dozens of initiatives that can only be accomplished with actively facilitated funding, resources, and effort volunteered by alumni and other close constituents.

Examples of essential job functions include:

• Independently foster and directly support the work and goals of the NCSSM Alumni Association, especially the Executive, Communications, Engagement, Scholarship and Reunion Committees


• Collaborating with members of the executive and management teams to address matters of importance and concern to the alumni constituency


• Design and implementation of special programming and events, including meaningful volunteer opportunities, for the alumni constituency (approximately 18 such instances were planned and produced in 2023-2024)


• Collaborating across business units including Communications, Academic Programs, Student Life, Admissions and Development to craft and disseminate clear information and calls to action among alumni constituencies that facilitate smooth operations and a positive climate of support for our mission (approximately 36 such communications targeted the alumni constituency in 2023-2024)

Personal presence is often required on the Durham Campus and occasionally on the Morganton Campus, including on evenings and weekends. Flexible/Hybrid work options are also available at the discretion of management.

A valid driver’s license is required to accommodate periods of intensive travel within North Carolina (in a state or personal vehicle). A safe driving record with no serious driving-related convictions is required to accommodate occasional student transport in a state vehicle.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

This role requires

• Strong project management skills


• Analytical skills


• Superlative communications skills – written, oral, and interpersonal – including public speaking


• Volunteer management skills


• Constituent services orientation


• Ability to work effectively with a diverse community of constituents, exercising sound judgment in rapidly shifting situations


• Discretion, integrity and professional conduct


• Self-motivation, superior leadership and organizational skills


• Ability to work independently with minimal direction and minimal administrative support


• Ability to work well and collaboratively with others


• Ability to work flexibly and handle multiple tasks


• Attention to detail


• Ability to accommodate occasional periods of intensive travel within North Carolina


• Expert working knowledge of popular social media platforms such as Facebook, virtual meeting and event platforms such as Zoom Meeting and Webinar and Google Meet, and office productivity software such as MS Office and Google Docs


• Ability to set-up, attend and break-down special events

Preferred Skills and Abilities:

• Working knowledge of Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT


• Working knowledge of Almabase

Minimum Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s degree and 2-3 years of related experience. All degrees must be received from appropriately accredited institutions.

Team NCSSM Benefits

Free On-campus Parking

Vacation: EHRA EPS (Exempt Professional Staff) employees receive 24 days per year. Leave accruals for part-time and less than 12 month employees are pro-rated. Leave is earned monthly.

Sick Leave: 12 days per year. Leave accruals for part-time and less than 12 month employees are pro-rated.

Additional Leave: Family Medical Leave (FMLA), Paid Parental Leave (PPL), Civil Leave, Personal Observance Day, Extended Illness, Short/Long Term Disability, Family Illness Leave, Military Leave, Community Service Leave, Voluntary Shared Leave and Leave Without Pay.

Holidays: 12 days per year

Benefits: The University System offers eligible employees a flexible and comprehensive benefits package, including but not limited to University-provided group life insurance, various retirement savings options, group health plan coverage, dental, vision, critical illness, cancer, flexible spending accounts, accident, disability coverage, educational assistance, and more. These programs can help employees achieve retirement savings and career goals, as well as assistance with meeting everyday health and educational needs. The benefits programs are designed for employees to tailor a benefits package that best meets their needs.

Health Insurance: Employee only coverage under the State Health Plan (PPO) is provided to employees that work 30 or more hours a week. The cost is determined by the type of coverage elected by the employee. Dependent coverage is available by payroll deduction.

Retirement: Required participation for all employees working 3/4 time or more. Option (1) Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS) requires 6% of gross salary. Employees are vested for retirement after 5 years. Option (2) The Optional Retirement Program (ORP) requires 6% of gross salary. Employees in ORP are vested after 5 years of participating in ORP. As a participant in either retirement program, you are automatically covered for short-term disability (eligible after 1 year of service/no cost), long term disability (eligible after 5 year of service/no cost). Death benefit of minimum $25,000/maximum $50,000 based on previous 12 month salary (eligible after 1 year of service/no cost).

Supplemental Retirement Plans: Supplemental retirement plans provide an additional opportunity to help you reach your retirement goals. Supplemental Plan offerings such as a 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) on a Roth (after-tax) or pre-tax contributions.

Tuition Waiver: Three courses per academic year tuition free (at any of UNC 17 campuses that offer courses) for permanent full-time employees.

State Employees Credit Union: Membership welcomed. Contact the SECU Credit Union for information.

Community Service: 24 hours leave credited each calendar year (prorated for part-time) unless you choose the Mentoring/ tutoring option – 1 hour each week up to a max of 36 hours that schools are in session as documented by the elected board of the local education agency or the governing authority of any non-public school.

Facilities: Library & Gymnasium – other athletic facilities available at no cost to employees. Cafeteria on site.

About NCSSM:

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) is a world-class public high school with statewide reach empowering academically talented students from diverse backgrounds from every corner of the state to design their own future. We offer residential high school programs in Durham and Morganton for juniors and seniors or virtual high school courses and programs that students can take alongside their local curriculum, all tuition free. Our wide array of summer offerings for rising 5th- through 12th-graders includes free opportunities for in-state students alongside paid options for students from anywhere in the world. NCSSM Extended Learning partners with communities and regions to advance student learning and outcomes.

Specializing in science, technology, engineering, and math, and embracing the fine arts and humanities, NCSSM has become the model for 18 such specialized schools around the globe since its founding in 1980 and is a full constituent of the University of North Carolina System. NCSSM’s Ignite Transform comprehensive campaign seeks to raise $50 million in private support for our mission.

The new NCSSM-Morganton campus opened in 2022 for summer programs and its first fall academic term. NCSSM-Morganton focuses on the booming fields of data science and artificial intelligence, preparing the leaders of tomorrow to navigate a future driven by data and machine learning, with emphasis on the humanistic implications and ethical use of these tools.

Nearly two-thirds of NCSSM graduates earn a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field — over three times the national average, including 58 percent of our underrepresented minority graduates, which is nearly four times the national average. Nearly three-quarters have earned or are seeking a graduate degree. A 2020 economic impact study found that 54 percent of our alumni continue to live and work in North Carolina, catalyzing nearly $1.3 billion in annual economic activity. NCSSM values the diversity in our student body, and all members of the NCSSM community are expected to foster a safe environment of respect and inclusion for all faculty, staff, and students.

For more information, please read the NCSSM strategic plan and visit ncssm.edu.