Director, Advancement Communications

The Director of Advancement Communications provides strategic leadership for the university’s advancement communications program, overseeing the development and execution of integrated communications strategies that advance fundraising, alumni engagement, donor stewardship, and institutional priorities. Reporting to the Vice President for Communications and Public Relations, the incumbent serves as a strategist and partner with University Advancement leadership and ensures advancement priorities are thoughtfully integrated into the university’s broader communications, marketing, public relations, executive communications, and brand strategies. The Director leads a high-performing communications team responsible for developing compelling, integrated, multi-channel communications that strengthen constituent relationships, inspire philanthropy, and advance the university’s mission. The incumbent cultivates collaborative partnerships across the institution and fosters a culture of accountability, creativity, innovation, continuous improvement, and service excellence.

Specific Responsibilities/Accountabilities Lead the development and implementation of comprehensive advancement communications strategies in support of University Advancement priorities and objectives. Support university-wide communications initiatives focused on fundraising, campaign communications, donor pipeline development, advancement operations, and board relations. Implement and support an integrated visual identity system, communications and social media schedules, and production calendar for all advancement communications activities. Partner with University Advancement Operations and appropriate university technology, data, and digital teams to leverage constituent data, communications platforms, automation, and emerging capabilities in support of integrated advancement communications strategies. Direct a team of communications and creative professionals. Hire, supervise, and train personnel, freelance, and contracted partners and students to provide services necessary to fulfill responsibilities. Coach team members to maximize creativity, productivity, and effectiveness. Create a culture of accountability, experimentation, and continuous improvement through evidence-based decision-making, outcome assessment, testing, and process improvement, where individual and team progress, deadlines, and results are reported and evaluated regularly. Maintain overall accountability for the quality, effectiveness, coordination, and successful execution of Advancement Communications initiatives, ensuring work aligns with institutional priorities and fundraising objectives. Produce, edit, and approve print and digital communications and marketing collateral that support advancement activities, fundraising campaigns, and philanthropic initiatives, and engage identified target audiences and prospective donors. Develop and deliver video productions, event promotions, fundraising communications, social media strategies, and awareness and engagement campaigns. Lead campaign communications strategy, including campaign messaging, audience segmentation, constituent journeys, and integrated communications across print, digital, web, email, social media, and events. Develop personalized communications strategies across the donor and alumni lifecycle, including principal gift cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and engagement of high-priority prospective donors and other key constituencies. Use constituent insights, audience data, testing, and communications analytics to continually optimize segmentation, channel strategy, messaging, personalization, engagement, and fundraising outcomes. Assure successful outcomes by adopting best-practice project management methodologies, quality assurance metrics, and risk mitigation plans. Ensure projects are completed by identified deadlines. Assure the integrity, accessibility, high quality, and consistency of the