Director of Stewardship & Donor Relations

The Hun School of Princeton seeks a dynamic and creative Director of Stewardship & Donor Relations. This position is 12-months, full-time and reports to Director of Development and collaborates closely with the Development Operations, Leadership, and Planned Giving Directors.

The Director of Stewardship is responsible for leading and executing a comprehensive donor stewardship program that enhances relationships with alumni, parents, trustees, and friends of The Hun School of Princeton. This role ensures that donors receive meaningful acknowledgments, are consistently informed about the impact of their contributions, and are engaged through thoughtful experiences that strengthen their connection to the School.

Responsibilities and Essential functions:

Donor Stewardship Strategy – 40%

• Develop and manage a comprehensive stewardship strategy to strengthen donor relationships and support long-term philanthropic growth;
• Design and implement an annual stewardship plan aligned with the school’s fundraising priorities;
• Develop donor segmentation strategies to tailor stewardship for annual, leadership, major, planned, and campaign donors;
• Partner with the development team to create individualized stewardship plans for key donors and prospects;
• Establish stewardship calendars, workflows, and best practices to ensure consistency and excellence;
• Track stewardship activity and engagement metrics to evaluate effectiveness and improve strategy;
• Support donor retention and upgrade strategies through intentional stewardship planning.

Acknowledgment, Recognition, and Reporting – 30%

• Ensure all donors are thanked appropriately, recognized consistently, and informed about the impact of their gifts;
• Oversee timely and personalized gift acknowledgments for all donors;
• Manage donor recognition programs, including annual report, giving societies, and donor recognition spaces;
• Coordinate naming opportunities and ensure compliance with donor agreements and School policies;
• Produce annual and customized impact reports for scholarships, endowment funds, capital projects, and restricted gifts;
• Partner with business and academic departments to ensure accurate reporting on fund usage and impact;
• Collaborate with the Marketing Communications team to highlight donor impact through storytelling;
• Maintain accurate donor recognition and stewardship records in Raiser’s Edge NXT.

Donor Engagement Experiences and Events – 30%

• Create meaningful opportunities for donors to connect with the School community and deepen their philanthropic relationship;
• Plan and execute donor engagement events, including stewardship receptions, donor appreciation events, and recognition ceremonies;
• Coordinate campus visits, student interactions, and faculty engagement opportunities for donors;
• Partner with Development colleagues to design donor experiences that support cultivation and retention.

To support the School's mission and community values, employees are expected to actively participate in the life of The Hun School in meaningful and profession-appropriate ways beyond their specific roles. Such involvement fosters a deeper understanding of the student experience and the School's academic, co-curricular, and residential programs. Employee engagement will also be considered during annual performance reviews.

The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree required, advanced degree a plus;
• 7-10 years of prior experience managing stewardship, donor relations, and/or fundraising;
• Excellent interpersonal skills including responsive customer service and strong oral and written communication;
• Strong organizational and time management skills with ability to coordinate multiple concurrent projects with attention to detail and adhere to deadlines;
• Value collegiality and teamwork;
• High degree of flexibility, agility and adaptability to changes, and unafraid of challenges;
• Outstanding technical skills, and an aptitude and willingness for learning new software and systems;
• Outstanding technical skills, and an aptitude and willingness for learning new software and systems;
• Ability to perform tasks which are supportive in nature to the essential functions of…