Assistant Director of Donor Relations - Events

The CU System Office of Advancement provides excellent customer service strategy expertise and efficiency to our partners on CUs campuses and at the University of Colorado Foundation. We support CUs fundraising and engagement goals through advancement operations that include constituent research anddevelopmentdatamanagement business intelligence technical architecture annual giving planned giving gift administration marketing and communications IT budget and finance and believe that a healthy office culture is foundational to our success. We create this by bringing together a diverse team of colleagues and infusing our core valuesWork Together Think Big Be Good and Have Funinto our work every day.

The Assistant Director of Donor Relations Events plays a key role in advancing donor engagement and stewardship efforts across the University of Colorado System. This position supports consistent thoughtful recognition of donors in alignment with campus-specific strategies and industry best practices.

This role is responsible for the planning and execution of high-quality events and donor society engagements that foster meaningful interactions with donors across the CU system. Key responsibilities include oversight and implementation of:

• System-wide giving societies and related engagement events including a signature gala
• Complex system-wide athletics donor engagement
• CU Trustee receptions hosted across all four campuses
• Recognition and training events for the Advancement team

As a member of the Donor Relations team within the Front-Line Support Services group at CU System Advancement the Assistant Director collaborates closely with the Director of Donor Relations and serves as a trusted partner to advancement leadership across the CU system. This includes working with the President of the University members of the Presidents leadership team the Board of Regents campus Chancellors and CU Foundation leadership including the Board of Directors and Trustees. The Assistant Director helps deliver impactful experiences that celebrate donor contributions and fundraising achievements.

This position reports to the Director of Donor Relations within the Central Advancement division and is exempt from the State of Colorado Classified Staff System.

Duties:

Event Planning & Execution

• Plan and manage logistics for a variety of advancement-related events including:
  • System-wide giving societies and related engagement events including a signature gala for donors of over $1M lifetime to CU with the highest level of university leadership in attendance and an estate donor annual luncheon with 400 donors.
  • Complex system-wide athletics donor engagement including organizing a season long football suite ticketing process with a ranking system various multi-campus coordination and direct donor communication with highly personalization and intricate instructions.
  • CU Trustee receptions hosted across all four campuses with coordinating partners on each campus with unique opportunities and elements to manage for programming and physical space.
  • Recognition and training events for the Advancement team including the 400 person All-Hands annual gathering.
• Coordinate event timelines budgets vendor contracts catering A/V and venue arrangements with diverse scopes across the portfolio of events.
• Ensure events align with institutional branding budget appropriateness and advancement goals.
  

Stakeholder Engagement

• Collaborate with Advancement leadership and donor relations colleagues to design events and experiences that support cultivation and stewardship strategies.
• Manage complex calendars for leadership attendance.
• Act as the central hub for all responsible event activities.
• Serve as a liaison to campus partners and external vendors to ensure seamless execution and alignment.

Communications & Marketing

• Develop and manage event invitations registration platforms and follow-up communications.
• Work with the creative team to create promotional materials and digital content for engagements.
• Align all event assets on brand.

Data & Reporting

• Track attendance engagement metrics and post-event feedback.
• Maintain accurate records in the universitys donor database.
• Partner with campus partners in leveraging data in meaningful ways for increased fundraising and engagement productivity.

Salary: The anticipated hiring range has been established at $107800-$125000.

CU System Administration takes into consideration a combination of the selected candidates education training and experience as it relates to the position as well as the positions scope and complexity internal pay equity and external market value when determining a salary level for potential new employees.

Benefits: With our unparalleled range of benefits including top-notch healthcare comprehensive wellness programs enriching professional development and a dynamic work-life balance we ensure your holistic growth and happiness.

Minimum Qualifications:

Please ensure your resume includes any and all relevant experience to be accurately assessed against these qualifications. You must meet all minimum requirements listed at the time of application to be considered for this role.

• Bachelors degree from an accredited institution of higher education in communications or field of study related to the work performed or equivalent professional experience (the educational requirement may be substituted for professional experience on a year for year basis).
• Six (6) years of professional experience which also includes:
  • Three (3) years of experience in leading and executing large scale (200 people) events
• Two (2) year of experience in a lead or supervisory role which may include assigning and reviewing the work of others providing guidance to internal and external team members and/or assisting management with performance reviews.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Seven (7) years of professional experience as indicated above.
• Two (2) years of experience in a supervisory role as indicated above.
• Experience working in higher education or at a nonprofit.
• Experience managing external vendors or internal clients.
  

Knowledge Skills and Abilities:

To be successful in this position candidates should demonstrate the following:

• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to craft and edit professional correspondence reports event materials and donor communications.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills with the ability to build effective relationships and collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders including donors executives academic leaders and colleagues.
• Proven project and event management skills including the ability to plan execute and evaluate complex high-profile events across multiple campuses.
• Strong organizational time-management and problem-solving abilities with the capacity to manage multiple priorities and adapt to changing demands.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team demonstrating initiative accountability and flexibility in a fast-paced environment.
• Attention to detail and accuracy particularly in event planning donor communications and data entry.
• Ability to prioritize tasks effectively manage fluctuating workloads and meet deadlines with minimal supervision.
• Willingness and ability to work occasional evenings and weekends in support of events and donor engagement activities.
• Knowledge of general office procedures professional protocols and administrative best practices.
• Understanding of donor relations and communications principles especially within higher education or philanthropic contexts.
• Ability to develop and implement strategic donor engagement and communication plans including consistent messaging audience targeting and content calendars.
• Familiarity with higher education fundraising and annual giving trends with a willingness to learn and apply data insights to engagement strategies.
• Proficiency in using communication channels such as email websites print materials events and social media.
• Experience managing budgets and vendor relationships including preparing and supervising event budgets and aligning expenditures with strategic goals.
• Ability to analyze and report on financial data including donor engagement metrics and event ROI.
• Data entry and record-keeping skills with the ability to maintain accurate and detailed files and reports.
• Knowledge of compliance standards including audit practices and confidentiality protocols.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite including Outlook Word Excel and PowerPoint.

For full consideration please attach the following as separate documents to your application:

1. A cover letter identifying the job specific minimum qualifications you possess
2. A resume including any and all relevant experience to be accurately assessed against the qualifications listed in the posting.

Please ensure you check the Job Specific Attachments box next to each document on the Required Documents page of the application for the appropriate documents to be attached.

Per the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act you are not required to provide your date of birth dates of school attendance or dates of graduation on your resume or cover letter. If an application requires additional materials such as a transcript or certification you may redact identifying information relating to your date or birth dates of school attendance or dates of graduation.