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AFP TorontoJob BoardDirector, Alumni Engagement & Services
Trent University

Director, Alumni Engagement & Services

Posted On: July 10, 2023
Closing On: August 6, 2023
Location: Peterborough
Effective: As soon as possible
Employment Type: fulltime
Level: senior
Salary Range: $101,664 - $135,552 per annum i.e. $3,910.17 - $5,213.52 bi-weekly
Website: https://www.trentu.ca/humanresources/careers/non-academic/director-alumni-engagement-services
File: Download

JOB PURPOSE

The Director of Alumni Engagement & Services is responsible for promoting and enhancing lifelong relationships between Trent University and its more than 60,000 alumni, relatives, and retired staff and faculty. The Director collaborates with Trent’s Internal Departments to encourage and enhance alumni engagement consistent with broad goals, including such areas as the Colleges, Careerspace, International, Recruitment & Academic programs. The Director is responsible for leading pan University alumni engagement opportunities at both the Symons and Trent Durham GTA campuses.

In close collaboration with Trent University Alumni Association (TUAA) and Trent University Alumni Advisory Council (TUAAC) leaders and volunteers, the Director develops, implements and evaluates a multi-year strategic plan to engage alumni in the life of the university through strategic relationship development, broad based and targeted communications, and innovative programming.

Reporting to the Associate Vice-President, Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement, and as a member of the External Relations & Development (ER&D) senior management team, the Director is a highly visible leader who serves as a senior adviser to university leadership and departments on alumni matters.

Key Activities:

Alumni Engagement

  • In collaboration with the TUAA, develops, implements, and evaluates an annual/multi-year alumni relations strategy to maximize engagement and involvement, including budget and resource management. Sets, tracks, and reports on key performance indicators.
  • In collaboration with TUAA, builds awareness, support and cooperation with administration, staff, faculty, Board, and students to raise the profile of alumni within the University, while maximizing engagement opportunities.
  • Encourages and supports the work of the Alumni Council and its committees through meetings, retreats, and strategy sessions.  Assists the Council in identifying and recruiting excellent volunteers to maintain the vitality of the organization.  Advocates on behalf of the association and its mission to alumni, Trent, and other audiences at every opportunity. Ensures that the TUAA has diverse representation as well as global and cross-country participation, whenever possible.
  • Ensures we have a robust chapter system across the country and around the world.  Engages local volunteers to lead the chapters and assist with hosting events: both in-person and virtual.
  • Engages alumni through a variety of volunteer opportunities:  alumni awards, mentoring services, special interest groups, chapters, and personal outreach. Ensuring strong volunteer management practices. Develops plans to nurture life-long relationships that respond to life-stage, interests, demographics, and location. Supervises staff to create and implement highly successful annual events including convocation and homecoming.
  • Engages our young alumni through offerings such as Life After Trent and Mentoring opportunities.
  • Ensure that our Trent Durham GTA alumni can engage in programming in their region.

University Collaborations

  • Working closely with the Senior Integrated Engagement Manager to ensure robust and effective regular communications with alumni throughout the world.
  • Is an active member of the Trent Magazine editorial board. Provides feedback on the two annual magazines: including content suggestions and alumni experts based on the theme of each issue. Ensures that alumni are well-represented on the alumni social media channels and e-communications.
  • Ensures high visibility on our campuses of our alumni activities, programs, and services.
  • Working closely with the Senior Integrated Engagement Manager to ensure alumni communications are robust and strategically aligned with the University’s priorities and the Alumni strategic plan.
  • Work closely with members of our portfolio to regularly update the alumni website to promote both alumni success stories and alumni benefits. Ensure the alumni website is easy to use and is intuitive.
  • Work closely with College Principals to increase mutually beneficial alumni engagement opportunities.
  • Working closely with Director, Portfolio Operations & Digital Philanthropic Strategies to ensure robust data collection and coding/tracking systems to manage and measure communications and engagement efforts, and to increase the number of contactable alumni.
  • Work closely with International Recruitment to encourage international alumni engagement.
  • Ensures robust opportunities for alumni to return to campus to celebrate University events such as athletic events, reunions, and anniversaries.
  • Work highly collaboratively across the institution when leading Convocation. Responding directly to input provided by the President and Vice President’s group. Working closely with our Trent Durham partners to support that campus’s convocation ceremony.

Revenue Generation & Alumni Benefits

  • Negotiate affinity partnerships that provide significant revenue for the alumni programs. Includes negotiating contracts and delivering outcomes on those contracts. Proactively seeks opportunities to grow affinity revenue, sponsorship, and other revenue streams to expand programming.
  • Ensures robust offerings of benefits to our alumni and Trent Community. Includes travel, commercial and entertainment benefits that could provide additional funding opportunities.

Retiree Engagement

  • Engages retirees through programs, services and events that support their continued involvement with the University, with alumni, and their local community.

Cultivation & Stewardship

  • In collaboration with the advancement team, strengthen Trent’s philanthropic reach by engaging high capacity and profile alumni.  Proactively secures meetings with alumni to discuss their links, interests and opportunities to engage with Trent thus developing a robust pipeline of prospects for our philanthropy team.
  • Work collaboratively with the Manager, Philanthropic Stewardship to aid in stewarding Trent’s top alumni supporters where appropriate.
  • Maintain a strong knowledge of the University’s programs, plans and priorities to ensure alignment and to surface emerging opportunities for engagement.

Managerial, Administrative, & Staff Leadership Responsibilities

  • Develops, implements, monitors, and reports on Alumni Affairs strategic and operating plans and budget, and leads the team in accomplishing these objectives, with a constant view to cost efficiencies.
  • Hires, trains, develops, reviews, supervises, and directs the Alumni Affairs. Assigns responsibilities and revises job descriptions as required. Makes recommendations to AVP on changes to portfolio staffing mix in consideration of performance issues, changing and emerging needs, within budget constraints. Ensure that all staff have an opportunity to engage in professional development.
  • Sets and monitors high standards for customer service, accuracy, and confidentiality.
  • Provides input for the development of portfolio objectives and short and long-term strategies/plans, and for budget preparation and administration.
  • Maintains an active understanding of trends and best practices in Alumni. Liaises regularly with other universities and non-profit sector organizations to exchange information about best practices, policies, procedures, and system processes.

Education Required:

  • Master’s Degree.
  • Trent Alum is preferred.

Experience/Qualifications Required:

  • Minimum eight (8) years’ experience in community relations, association or membership management, volunteer management, marketing, or communications, preferably at the director level with a large public sector organization, corporation, or agency; four (4) years in a leadership position responsible for staff oversight.
  • Demonstrated strengths in creating and successfully executing strategic plans.  Includes setting ambitious yet achievable goals plus creating the critical path needed to accomplish these goals. Ensures that staffing is appropriate.
  • Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
  •   Demonstrated ability to interact, collaborate and negotiate comfortably, tactfully, professionally, and effectively with a wide range of internal and external constituencies and stakeholders, including alumni, volunteers, donors, faculty and staff, and community members.
  • Experienced in constituency relations and volunteer management.  Demonstrated ability to lead and motivate alumni, volunteers, and donors.  Understanding of complex stakeholder groups and diverse audiences.
  • Strategic innovative event design and project management experience
  • Excellent organizational, planning and time management skills, with demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks and flexibility in meeting shifting demands and priorities.
  • An entrepreneurial spirit and ability to think creatively to solve problems.
  • Judgement, initiative, tact, diplomacy, and discretion; experienced in managing confidential information.
  • Excellent customer service approach
  • Proficiency with MS Office (Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint), internet research, databases.
  • Flexibility to work evenings and weekends on a regular basis (weekly, or at least few times per month).
  • Must be willing and able to travel locally, regionally, and occasionally nationally.
  • Must have a valid class ‘G’ driver’s license to meet the travel requirements of the job.
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