Senior Associate Director of Stewardship

Senior Associate Director of Stewardship

The Senior Associate Director of Stewardship plays a vital role in Wellesley's Development Office, focusing on the management, execution, and continuous improvement of high-level stewardship strategies to deepen the College's most critical philanthropic partnerships. Reporting to the Senior Director of Donor Strategy and Engagement, the Senior Associate Director will partner closely with frontline fundraisers, senior leadership, the Provost's office, and academic units to implement personalized stewardship plans for major and principal donors and foundations.

This role manages day-to-day stewardship operations and ensures that the College's most significant supporters experience highly professional, narrative-driven touchpoints that clearly demonstrate the profound impact of their philanthropy.

Primary

Position Responsibilities:

• Bespoke Stewardship Management:
  Implement and manage individualized, high-touch stewardship plans for the College's most significant individual and institutional donors, providing responsive, discreet, and deeply professional service.
• Foundation Alignment:
  Partner closely with the Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR) staff and Office of Sponsored Research to ensure foundation grant reporting seamlessly aligns with institutional timelines and serves as an effective baseline for grant renewals and re-solicitation.
• Institutional & Academic Liaison:
  Act as a key liaison to faculty, department chairs, the Provost's office, and Career Education to gather complex metrics. Coordinate the stewardship and impact-reporting plans for major donors, tracking and sharing the full arc of the student experience, from landmark affordability initiatives and academic/research milestones to post-graduation career placement and outcomes.
• Recognition & Societies:
  Provide leadership and strategy for the College's signature recognition societies, and develop new giving societies to broaden donor engagement. Manage and maintain a cohesive system of donor recognition vehicles across all gift levels, including public announcements.
• Capital & Naming Stewardship:
  Manage naming opportunities, physical recognition signage, and milestone events associated with major capital projects and campus revitalization initiatives.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
  
  Partner across the Development office and the broader campus to ensure seamless, coordinated, and timely donor engagement.

Impact Reporting & Communications:

• Narrative & Metrics-Driven Reporting:
  Oversee the production of compelling, multi-channel stewardship communications, ranging from creative print/digital impact stories for individual donors to rigorous, metrics-driven grant impact reports for institutional foundations.
• Fund Stewardship:
  Monitor and support the strategic stewardship of philanthropic assets—including annual, major, principal, endowed, and restricted funds from both individuals and foundations.
• Compliance Coordination:
  Partner with finance, academic units, and legal/grants teams to ensure all endowed, restricted, and foundation grant funds are tracked and reported in strict compliance with donor intent, grant agreements, institutional policies, and CASE standards.
• Gift Documentation Support:
  Work with campus partners to review and ensure that gift documentation aligns with the gift acceptance policy and is executed properly.

Data, Systems & Operational Excellence:

• Team Supervision:
  Directly supervise, mentor, and evaluate the Assistant Director of Donor Relations and the Assistant Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, actively aligning their individual goals and professional development with the office's strategic priorities.
• Assessment & Analytics:
  Utilize donor data and analytics to evaluate the effectiveness of stewardship efforts, tracking metrics such as donor retention, reporting accuracy, and donor satisfaction to make data-driven recommendations for improvement.
• Process Optimization:
  Maintain and strengthen processes, workflows, and tracking mechanisms related to principal gift management, foundation reporting schedules, and overall campaign execution to ensure compliance deadlines are…