Senior Director of Engagement, Regional Advancement & University Initiatives

Job Details

Description

Rutgers University Foundation seeks a highly motivated and experienced Sr. Director of Engagement, Regional Advancement & University Initiatives with outstanding communication skills in various contexts. This position requires an entrepreneurial, collaboration-focused, and strategically minded professional to facilitate and serve Rutgers University stakeholders.

This role will identify, cultivate, and manage relationships with the Rutgers regional community. Developing and executing impactful and innovative initiatives with internal partners that benefit the community and advances Rutgers. This position requires travel and offers the opportunity to work with partners in key regions.

The ideal candidate thinks strategically and creatively in their efforts to build relationships and long-term engagement, applying cultural fluency, empathy, and high emotional intelligence. The candidate is a natural relationship builder with a purposeful approach and open mind to assess and pursue new avenues, offering an authentic and collaborative approach that builds trust and the professional maturity, respect, and intellectual curiosity to partner with units and colleagues at all levels. They must be a self-starter and be able to handle complex organizational details while multitasking.

Essential Functions

• In partnership with the AVP, Regional Advancement & University Initiatives develop and implement a comprehensive regional engagement strategy that identifies and engages national connections across various sectors, with a focus on creating value-added initiatives to advance Rutgers and its national community.
• Partner with the team to develop cutting-edge alumni engagement strategies and networking activities with advancement colleagues, including alumni engagement and donor relations, to establish international collaborative communities that scale and accelerate engagement.
• Manage and develop engagement opportunities for University and Foundation leadership to showcase Rutgers’ points of pride.
• Work closely with internal teams, including Alumni Engagement, Advancement Events, Communications, and Operations, to ensure engagement deliverables (events, high-level dinners, tailored introductions, content, brand-aligned materials).
• Manage and build a team of regional engagement professionals.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with existing internal partners while proactively identifying and engaging new partners that align with advancing Rutgers.
• Oversee (and / or deliver) the end-to-end engagement strategies and growth process, including due diligence, implementation, and ongoing relationship management.
• Maintain information about Rutgers connections / donors / prospects in Salesforce; draft meeting call reports for the University’s files.
• Work collaboratively with the leadership of the Rutgers University Foundation and colleagues throughout the organization to create systems, processes, and practices that include working at scale and facilitating bespoke engagement experiences.
• Track and analyze engagement performance, providing regular updates and recommending adjustments to the engagement strategy.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills and Abilities

Consistency

Contributions

Competencies

Leadership

Education / Qualifications

Bachelor's degree and / or 8 years of professional experience in fundraising, alumni relations, non-profit organizations, event planning, higher education, or related fields.

Mental Demands

Clarity of focus while juggling complex projects or deadlines.

Workplace Arrangements

This is classified as an office-centric hybrid position. Colleagues working under an office-centric hybrid arrangement have a primary workstation in a university or foundation location and are in the office between one and five days a week. The frequency with which they are present in the office depends on their role and function and the interdependency of other functions.

Working Conditions

This position requires little physical effort. Will work evenings, weekends, or odd hours to meet resource-raising commitments. Typical working conditions with an absence of disagreeable elements. This position requires some early mornings and late evenings to accommodate meetings, travel, events, and external constituent’s schedules.

Benefits

Equal Employment Opportunity

It is Foundation policy to provide equal employment opportunity to all its employees and applicants for employment regardless of their race, creed, color, national origin, age, ancestry, nationality, marital or domestic partnership or civil union status, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, disability status, liability for military service, protected veteran status, affectional or sexual orientation, atypical cellular or blood trait, genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing), or any other category protected by law. As an institution, we value diversity of background and opinion and prohibit discrimination or harassment based on any legally protected class in the areas of hiring, recruitment, promotion, transfer, demotion, training, compensation, pay, fringe benefits, layoff, termination or any other terms and conditions of employment.