• Job Description

  Req#: DIREC001394

  The Director of Stewardship is a senior member of the Rutgers University Foundation Central Engagement team, reporting directly to the Vice President for Central Engagement. This role leads the development and implementation of a high-performing, comprehensive, university-wide stewardship program to recognize donors and communicate the impact of their giving. In collaboration with the Central Engagement leadership team, the position will focus on executing a stewardship program designed to increase donor satisfaction and retention to drive fundraising growth. The Director will create and maintain essential relationships between the Foundation, the University, and its donors, alumni, and constituents. This role collaborates closely with fundraising units to determine effective gift stewardship strategies aimed at elevating the overall giving experience. The Director will oversee a team dedicated to donor stewardship, ensuring effective program implementation and regularly assessing evolving stewardship needs.

  Essential Functions

  • The Director of Stewardship manages a staff of professionals responsible for impact and scholarship reporting, donor recognition, and principal and planned gift donor engagement.
  • The Director will provide data-informed recommendations to leadership and fundraisers in donor recognition and experiences, develop collaborative reporting approaches with fundraising teams, and work to ensure all donors experience gratitude and understand the impact of their giving.
  • This position is responsible for conceptualizing and overseeing the implementation of a multi-faceted donor recognition program that touches all giving levels across all university campuses.
  • Collect and utilize qualitative and quantitative inputs from a wide range of collaborators across campuses to inform and develop highly customized stewardship plans for principal and major gift donors.
  • Provide leadership to gift stewardship and donor recognition initiatives for all donors, with an emphasis on effective management of existing recognition societies and the implementation of behavior-based donor programs.
  • Collaborate with Engagement Marketing and Communications to identify and activate areas of integrated opportunities to tell donor impact stories and emotionally connect donors.
  • The Director will partner with University and Foundation staff to identify stewardship needs and execute a responsive and inclusive stewardship program.
  • Develop annual departmental goals, objectives, key performance metrics, and associated budget.

  Competency Aptitudes

  Leadership

  • Lead a comprehensive donor stewardship strategy for the Central Stewardship Team.
  • Must have proactive thinking and ideas
  • Ability to manage and support a team, with a strong understanding of individual workloads and capacity planning.

  Autonomy

  • Manage projects with moderate supervision from leadership
  • Set goals and meet deadlines
  • Contribute to initiatives or projects that span multiple organizations or units

  Complexity

  • Partner with other peer directors and colleagues across the organization
  • Devise and execute increasingly complex projects
  • Adapt to changing situations and different fundraising partners
  • Responsible for a pan-University philanthropic initiative
  • Set direction and approach in partnership with the appropriate leadership in Rutgers University and/or Rutgers University Foundation.
  • Adapt to changing situations and leadership changes

  Strategy

  • Demonstrate the ability to set priorities and determine strategy for department/project/program
  • Develop and submit written plans, proposals, and content for materials as needed

  Education and/or Experience

  Bachelor’s degree and/or 6+ years of professional experience in fundraising, alumni relations, non-profit organizations, event planning, higher education, or related fields.

  Working Conditions

  This position requires clarity of focus while juggling complex projects or deadlines with little physical effort. Will work evenings, weekends, or odd hours to meet resource-raising commitments. Typical working conditions with an absence of disagreeable elements. This position requires some early mornings and late evenings to accommodate meetings, travel, events, and external constituents’ schedules.

  Workplace Arrangements

  This is classified as an office-centric hybrid position. Colleagues working under an office-centric hybrid arrangement have a primary workstation in a university or foundation location and are in the office between one and five days a week. The frequency with which they are present in the office depends on their role and function, and the interdependency of other functions.

  Compensation and Benefits
  The position is budgeted at a starting salary of $110,000/ year. Final offers are based on various factors such as the candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and other job-related reasons for the role. In addition to salary, Rutgers University Foundation offers:

  • Office-centric hybrid work schedule
  • Comprehensive medical
  • Comprehensive no cost dental, and no cost vision insurance for employee and dependents
  • 403(b) plan with matching employer contribution
  • Accrual of three weeks of annual vacation time, in addition to five wellness days and fifteen sick days per year
  • Nine holidays, as well as four floating holidays
  • Significant tuition reductions
  • Professional development is highly valued at the Rutgers University Foundation, where employees are encouraged to look across the organization to develop new skills and abilities for professional career progression.
  • $40 monthly cell phone reimbursement

  Equal Employment Opportunity

  It is Foundation policy to provide equal employment opportunities to all its employees and applicants. The Foundation prohibits discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, national origin, ancestry, marital status, familial status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, genetic information, and any other characteristics protected by applicable state, federal and/or local laws. Equal employment opportunity applies to hiring, placement, transfer, promotion, promotion, demotion, recruitment, advertising, or solicitation for employment, treatment during employment, rates of pay or other forms of compensation, selection for training, layoff, or termination.

  Equal Opportunity Employer
  This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.

• About the company

  The Rutgers University Foundation makes a big impact on students, faculty, and the community every day. The foundation is seeking talented, highly motivated individuals to join the team during this exciting moment at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

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