Senior Director, Donor Relations & Volunteer Engagement

The Senior Director of Donor Relations & Volunteer Engagement provides strategic leadership and vision for Scripps Research's donor stewardship and volunteer engagement strategy. This role unites donor relations, stewardship, and volunteer engagement within the Office of Development under a cohesive framework that strengthens relationships with donors, prospects, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends.

Reporting to the Associate Vice President of Development Services & Administration, the Senior Director leads a multidisciplinary team responsible for stewardship programming, impact reporting, donor recognition, and volunteer engagement, and prospect strategy that advance philanthropy across the institute. The Senior Director directly supervises the Manager, Stewardship & Reporting and the Associate Director, Volunteer & Donor Engagement, and partners closely with gift officers to ensure donor, prospect, and volunteer efforts are aligned, timely, and impactful.

• Create and implement a comprehensive donor relations and volunteer engagement strategy that strengthens constituent relationships and supports fundraising goals.
• Partner with senior leadership to ensure alignment with institutional priorities.
• Manage budgets and resources effectively, ensuring operational excellence and measurable outcomes across all stewardship and volunteer engagement efforts.
• Serve on the Office of Development Office Manager's Team to align priorities, develop culture, and lead with consistency and transparency.

• Directly supervise the Manager, Stewardship & Reporting, who oversees impact reporting, donor profiles, fund reporting, recognition content, storytelling, mass stewardship, and donor proposals.
• Oversee the Donor Relations and Stewardship function to ensure timely, personalized, and meaningful recognition of donors at all levels.
• Design, produce, and project manage impact and endowment reports, donor appreciation, and recognition events.
• Strengthen a culture of philanthropy through communications, including an annual stewardship report, that highlights the tangible outcomes of giving with key constituencies, including but not limited to alumni, faculty, and staff.
• Collaborate with gift officers to develop customized stewardship and reporting plans for donors and prospects.
• Manage personalized and broad-based donor stewardship, including targeted stewardship for Annual Giving, the Science Trust, and the Legacy Circle.

• Directly supervise the Associate Director, Volunteer & Donor Engagement, who serves as the primary staff liaison for the Global Ambassadors Council (GAC), the Alumni Board, and the Advancement Committee, as well as individual key volunteers and philanthropic partners.
• Ensure prospect strategy for top prospects is coordinated, implemented, and tracked in partnership with gift officers and leadership.
• Provide strategic oversight of annual engagement calendars, individual stewardship plans, and multi-year strategies for volunteer boards, key volunteers, and philanthropic partners.
• Guide the planning and execution of signature cultivation and stewardship events, including chair celebrations, donor appreciation event, fellowship recognitions, Front Row Dinners, faculty engagement opportunities, and salon dinners.
• Maintain the Office of Development's master engagement calendar and ensure it reflects coordinated priorities across stewardship and volunteer engagement.
• Details of established essential functions for this position will be addressed/discussed during the interview process.

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of progressively…