CRM Developer / Senior CRM Developer

All full-time university staff are eligible for VCU’s robust benefits package that includes: comprehensive health benefits, paid annual and holiday leave granted up front, generous tuition benefit, retirement planning and savings options, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs, employee discounts, well-being resources, abundant opportunities for career development and advancement, and more. Learn more about VCU’s benefits here.

At Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), we are UNlike any other.  With more than 300,000 students, faculty and staff, we are a mix of attitudes, styles and stories. Inclusion is our heartbeat and it drives us to tackle difficult challenges others can’t. Or won’t. Focused on impact, we pursue a future that is built by us rather than preserving a past that’s been left to us. We are home to creativity, teaching, discovery and healing, and we prove everyday that different works. VCU offers employees work flexibility, a generous leave package, career paths for advancement, competitive pay, and an opportunity to do mission-driven work.  To explore our benefits further, please visit https://hr.vcu.edu/current-employees/benefits/university-and-academic-professional-benefits/. So if you’re interested in blazing trails, then you too can be UNstoppable here.

The mission of VCU’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) is to maximize philanthropic support by engaging stakeholders with all VCU schools, programs and campuses as one development and alumni relations community. We implement best practices and efficient strategies to achieve a comprehensive development program. 

Role Description:

VCU’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) is seeking an innovative, resourceful and detail-oriented Developer to provide technical leadership and execution of CRM strategy during a pivotal transition in preparation for our upcoming comprehensive campaign. The CRM Developer/Senior CRM Developer will optimize and upgrade enterprise systems that drive fundraising and engagement for Virginia Commonwealth University. The Developer will work with a technical team, subject matter experts and vendor partners for continued development and optimization of the Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) technical ecosystem based on BBCRM and including systems for online fundraising, event registration, omni channel marketing strategies, and other interactive online and mobile systems. 

The Developer is a key practitioner who also provides technical mentorship to other developers and analysts as we all continue to refine our programming and development practices and workflows to ensure department standards and industry best practices are met. 

The Development & Alumni Relations team has the unique opportunity to make final determination of duties, working title and salary based on knowledge skills and experience of the candidate pool. Candidates with varying levels of experience are encouraged to apply for consideration.  

You are an ideal candidate if you:

•  Possess deep expertise in Blackbaud CRM functionality using the Blackbaud CRM SDK and can apply best practices for higher education or academic medical center fundraising and engagement. 
• Are able to quickly assess core business challenges and respond through the use of CRM strategy/tactics.
• Build robust technical processes, make best practice recommendations and contribute to robust system architecture planning.
• Collaborate effectively with a variety of stakeholders to achieve shared objectives including adapting communication style, timing, and content to audiences in order to effectively convey complex technical messages. 
• Can identify, implement, and drive the adoption of new technologies that enhance fundraising and alumni engagement processes in a centralized fundraising organization that is entrepreneurial, high-energy, and requires the ability to multi-task to implement high priority projects.  
• Lead and manage complex technology projects while allocating resources efficiently and managing stakeholder engagement and expectations. 
• Implement and maintain robust security measures to protect sensitive donor and alumni data, mitigate risks to infrastructure, and ensure compliance with data privacy regulations. 

In this role you will:

• Use the Blackbaud CRM SDK to support optimization of CRM functionality and integration of external systems.
• Contribute to and execute a technology strategy aligned with VCU DAR’s fundraising and alumni engagement goals.
• Refine, enhance, and maintain a robust data architecture to support fundraising, alumni relations, and constituent relationship management while implementing custom applications and integrations.
• Ensure the stability, performance, and security of fundraising and alumni engagement systems.
• Contribute to ensuring that the Data Warehouse is comprehensive and robust.
• Work with business units to ensure online data capture is optimized within the CRM environment and that our CRM resources are leveraged for maximum efficacy. 
• Develop and manage data connections from web-based solutions to support Development and Alumni Relations strategies for the engagement of alumni, donors, and other constituencies.  

Additional duties for Senior level:

• Provide technical leadership to the CRM project teams through complex integration and optimization projects.
• Provide technical guidance to leaders to plan, develop, implement, and support new or existing online and digital strategies.

Minimum Hiring Standards

•  Bachelor's degree in computer science, mathematics, statistics, information systems or a related field that prioritizes analytical thinking, problem solving, and logical reasoning or a demonstrated equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment and commitment to do so at VCU.
• Progressive and broad knowledge of fundraising and engagement best practices and how to integrate technology to co-developed strategies.  
• A minimum of three years of progressively responsible experience working with the Blackbaud CRM SDK
• A minimum of five years of relatable experience in application programming and api development 

Minimum Hiring Standards - Senior level 

• A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience working with the Blackbaud CRM SDK
• Demonstrated experience leading complex development projects using the Blackbaud SDK
• Demonstrated experience working with the Blackbaud Data Warehouse ETL framework

Preferred Hiring Standards

• Knowledge and understanding of omni-channel fundraising marketing techniques, concepts, data, and applications.
• Experience with integrating marketing automation software within the BBCRM environment. 
• Prior experience working in fundraising and engagement for a R1, higher education, or academic medical center. 
• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience working with the Blackbaud CRM SDK
• A minimum of five years of relatable experience in application programming and api development 
• Experience configuring and building ETLs in Snowflake

Preferred Hiring Standards - Senior level 

• A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience working with the Blackbaud CRM SDK
• Demonstrated history of successful optimizing and integrating vended solutions within the BBCRM environment, focused on end-user adoption, UX/UI
• Demonstrated expertise contributing to strategic technology planning or change management for enterprise IT systems and initiatives.

Interested candidates are encouraged to submit a resume and cover letter for consideration. Candidate review will begin in January 2025.

Izzy Kane
irkane@vcu.edu