Program Manager; Development Office Annual Giving (69021BR)
position focus
Under the direction of the Associate Dean of Development and Alumni Affairs, the Program Manager is responsible for encouraging financial engagement of alumnae/i and friends with YSN, especially through the YSN Alumnae/i Association (YSNAA) and Yale School of Nursing Annual Fund. The successful candidate must manage complex institutional relationships and processes, as well as coordinate the efforts of alumni volunteers, staff, faculty, and students. This position is vital to YSN’s development effort as it must expand and deepen the donor pool by increasing the number of annual donors, and increasing their level of annual giving. The incumbent will be assessed on activity level related to the fund, including dollars raised, alumni participation, and the number of leadership annual fund gifts.
The incumbent will assist in the design and implement a compelling alumni relations plan with a significant emphasis on giving, healthy involvement, and volunteerism, and initiate and support alumni involvement of all types.
In all work, supports YSN diversity and inclusion values and commitments.
A cover letter and resume are required with this application.
Essential Duties
- Tracks all program activities and regularly informs leadership of progress on each initiative. Recommends structural or programmatic adjustments, changes or additions based on full knowledge of missions, goals, and objectives. Develops metrics to identify and measure the success of the program.
- Develops revenue and donor goals; develops and implements effective fundraising programs for each assigned class or constituency, including external personal visits, personalized written campaigns, phonathons, social media, direct mail, and email.
- Recruits, trains, and manages a substantial group of alumni volunteers; creates communications to large number of volunteers; supervises mass mailings to volunteers; informs volunteers of updated information and deadlines; evaluates individual donor and volunteer needs and provides other personal support. Has the authority to represent the university to alumni donors and volunteers.
- Advises, educates, and solicits potential alumni donors through external face to face meetings, phone contacts, and written communications.
- Monitors, on a weekly basis, annual giving solicitation strategies as well as participation and dollar goals for all supported classes. Identifies opportunities/needs to adjust strategies in order to reach fund raising goals. Implements new and modified strategies as needed.
- Continually reviews alumni donor profiles to identify potential top annual donors and determines individual solicitation strategies.
- Develops, fosters, and maintains positive alumni relations to keep alumni engaged and disposed to give back to the university.
- Coordinates special annual programs with a targeted focus.
- Plans and attends meetings and events on and off campus.
- Serves as a resource to the unit director in managing her/his prospect portfolio, including regularly-scheduled meetings to document all initiatives with the donors/prospects assigned to her/him.
- May perform other duties as assigned.
required education and experience
Bachelor’s Degree in a related field and two years of direct fundraising, marketing, communications or volunteer management experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
preferred education and experience
- Professionalism, maturity, and an understanding of the often confidential nature of fundraising.
- Demonstrated knowledge of Excel and Word; familiarity with fundraising/marketing databases.
required skill/ability 1:
Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Outstanding interpersonal skills, necessary for working with donors, volunteers and colleagues, including tact, diplomacy, discretion, and the ability to maintain confidentiality inside and outside the Office of Development.
required skill/ability 2:
Ability to understand the objectives of annual giving and the overall university fundraising priorities, and to integrate goals with those objectives.
required skill/ability 3:
Strong organizational skills, including attention to detail. Demonstrated ability to handle diverse, simultaneous tasks and attend to follow-through. Highly motivated and energetic; must possess initiative. Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team.
required skill/ability 4:
Outgoing personality and ability to initiate and enjoy direct communication with alumni; customer-service orientation.