College of Architecture and Design

Regular Full-time, Market Range 10

The University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design is looking for an Assistant Director of Annual Giving and Stewardship. The Assistant Director will lead the college’s annual giving initiatives, such as contacting alumni for donations, managing stewardship activities, and assisting with the coordination of alumni and donor events. The person in this role must be able to work independently and be self-directed to manage job responsibilities, exercise good judgement, remain organized, manage multiple tasks simultaneously, and be able to analyze and respond to complex situations and tasks. The work and information handled is of a nature regularly requiring confidentiality and the exercise of discretion. This position is one of responsibility and trust, with high standards of integrity and professionalism.

The successful candidates will possess a high level of organizational ability, be creative and self-directed in their approach to projects and tasks. The Assistant Director must be able to manage multiple simultaneous tasks/projects requiring follow-through, make critical judgements and timely decisions about their workload, and meet deadlines once established. Candidates must be able to communicate effectively with multiple audiences including donors, alumni, students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Additional duties and qualifications are listed below.

The College of Architecture and Design is committed to excellence in design education, creative activity, research, and outreach missions. The College is comprised of Schools of Architecture, Design, Interior Architecture, and Landscape Architecture. These four schools contribute to an engaged community of 745 undergraduate and graduate students, 47 full time faculty, 15 part time faculty, and 20 members of the administrative staff. The College of Architecture and Design is one of 11 academic colleges at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a Research-1, land-grant university that houses 900+ programs of study.

Through this job search, the college aims to further establish a professional, well-functioning, and strategic administrative team; one whose members are given professional development and career support while they are encouraged to take ownership of their responsibilities. Team members look for ways to improve the administrative approach as they become subject matter experts and effective project managers for the college’s advancement team.  College leadership is interested in building an environment around the college’s goal of making design education for our students as vivid as possible

 Assistant Director Duties

Annual Giving:

• Effectively manage a portfolio of annual and mid-level donor prospects, complete a determined number of donor visits and contacts (in-person, phone, email & Zoom) per year to meet outreach and dollar goals, and building/strengthening relationships resulting in progressively increased engagement and giving levels.
• Identify key opportunities for volunteer cultivation and engagement, determining key relationships to build, and matching interest with need and ability; the officer will also focus on solicitations, retention and increased level of giving to and within the leadership levels.
• Provide support as COAD’s point person for UTK annual giving initiatives such as; Big Orange Give, Big Orange Family Give, Senior Impact.

Stewardship:

• As the primary touch point for stewardship activities, such as endowment reports, scholarship recipient/donor lunches and use of fund reports; the Assistant Director works with COAD faculty and staff to steward donated funds in a timely manner and make sure funds are used appropriately as agreed upon in the gift agreement.
• Responsible for preparing and implementing individualized stewardship plans for high level donors, in coordination with the office of stewardship, as well as creating and managing specialized stewardship initiatives.

Event Coordination

• Collaborates with the college’s event manager to provide support for events on behalf of the College of Architecture and Design, including alumni tailgates, special receptions, luncheon meetings, etc.
• Provides planning and management for college-wide alumni events, including event logistics (room reservation, catering arrangements, facility and media setup) and administrative support, including but not limited to, name badges, presentation materials, etc.
• Provides support and coordination of other events in which advancement participates.
• Provides briefing material for dean with background information and data related to all donors in attendance.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required
• Three years, or more, of relevant experience in alumni affairs, donor relations, event coordination or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• High level of understanding of the most recent technology to effectively utilize university systems.
• Relevant experience in multiple specialty areas, including extensive experience working collaboratively with other office professionals, faculty, staff, students, guests, and external partners.
• Exceptionally strong oral and written communication skills, including editing and writing experience across long- and short-form pieces.
• Strong project management skills with proven ability to meet deadline in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree preferred
• Expertise in multiple specialty communications areas (design, writing, strategy, etc.)
• Experience in alumni affairs, donor relations, or event coordination at an institute of higher-education, government agency, or company.

Screening of applicants will begin immediately and will continue until the position has been filled. For full consideration, interested individuals should provide a cover letter addressing professional experience relevant to the required minimum qualifications, a resume, and complete contact information for three professional references.

The salary for this position will be commensurate with experience. The University also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including reduced tuition for employee’s dependents that attend college in the University of Tennessee system.

The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admission without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, and parental status.