Alumni Engagement Director — Programs & Events

VCU is a public research university unlike any other. We're dedicated to serving the needs of students and patients and our passionate community isn't afraid to tackle difficult challenges others can't, or won't. We’re home to creativity, teaching, discovery and healing. Our location in the heart of downtown Richmond, Virginia, means the nonstop energy of our city ignites our innovation and provides unlimited opportunities.

Department
Summary: The mission of VCU’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) is to maximize philanthropic support by engaging stakeholders with our institution working in partnership with all VCU schools, programs and campuses as one development and alumni relations community and implementing the best practices and efficient strategies to achieve a comprehensive development program.

Reporting to the Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations, the Director of Alumni Engagement leads and manages alumni engagement for the assigned school(s). This position works in close collaboration and communication with the Development team within the school(s) to elevate the caliber of the alumni engagement opportunities within and outside of Richmond, Virginia. The Director of Alumni Engagement will develop and execute a strategy to increase alumni engagement for the schools through alumni engagement programming, meaningful volunteer opportunities, and annual alumni events.

This is a pooled posting for two Director of Alumni Engagement positions, with one role supporting school(s) on VCU’s academic campus, and the other supporting school(s) on VCU’s health sciences campus.

• Serve as the primary liaison between the VCU Office of Alumni Relations and school(s) to ensure mutual understanding and achievement of goals and priorities;

• Create and lead in-person and virtual lifelong learning, industry and affinity programming for alumni;

• Provide suggestions and content for alumni communications;

• Lead event logistics and recommend marketing messages and communication channels to promote events;

• Host academic webinars/in-person programs with faculty/alumni experts on current and timely topics;

• Create programming to support the transition from student to alumni, working to educate students and recent graduates about the power and importance of lifelong engagement with the school(s);

• Provide metrics and evaluation around all alumni initiatives to guide programming decisions and track all alumni interactions in the constituent database, including areas such as: ROI, attendance lists, number of active volunteers recruited.

• Provide quarterly alumni engagement metric reporting to the VCU Office of Alumni Relations;

• Serve as strategic leader for the school(s)’ regional alumni presence; support alumni volunteers who aim to connect the community in a region; and source alumni leaders for the VCU Alumni Council;

• Oversee and expand faculty involvement in programs, including recruiting faculty volunteers, stewardship of past faculty leaders, and collaborating with advancement colleagues to make best use of faculty resources for the school(s);

• Implement new programmatic initiatives and/or leverage existing activities within the college to grow alumni participation for the school(s);

• Plan, execute, communicate and assist with the success of alumni engagement events.

• Establish, cultivate, and maintain collaborative working relationships with internal partners.

• Demonstrate a commitment to the pursuit of excellence, high achievement, and ongoing professional development by proactively seeking opportunities to develop new capabilities, skills, and knowledge.

• Ensure work is completed accurately and within the deadline. Set high standards, exhibit a positive attitude, maintain strict confidentiality, and show exemplary work ethic.

• Demonstrate a commitment to the highest quality service to internal and external communities.

• Demonstrate an open-minded approach to understanding people from all backgrounds, identities, abilities, perspectives and experiences;

• Reflect DAR’s and VCU’s core purpose and values.