Director of University Relations

The Office of the Vice President for University Relations seeks a highly motivated, highly organized, dynamic, intellectually curious, and process-oriented professional to join our team. The Director of University Relations (UR) will play an integral role in promoting an outstanding professional reputation for the office, the division, and the university among many of the institution’s high-value constituencies, including donors, volunteers, alumni, and strategic internal and external partners.

The Director will partner with the Assistant Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer (AVP-CAO) to offer strategic support to the UR division leadership, including the Vice President (VPUR) and the division’s senior leadership team, executing initiatives and projects that underpin the division’s fundraising and engagement strategy.

The Director will also work closely with the AVP-CAO to proactively anticipate how UR staff, the VPUR’s senior leadership team, and other internal and external constituents contribute to activities, both within the division and in partnership with various campus units. This includes support for advancement activities by the university president, vice presidents, and deans as well as other campus and volunteer leaders. The Director will help to identify and orchestrate opportunities for leadership to cultivate and steward volunteers and donors while independently establishing and enforcing timelines for action items and deliverables.

The Director will take an active role in advancing high-level priorities and initiatives within the Office of the VPUR, and for the UR division, as well as enhancing the office’s complex routine operations. In addition, this role will drive strategy for access to the president’s and VPUR’s athletics suites by key constituencies; supervise the delivery of presidential and vice presidential briefings in partnership with the Office of Principal Gifts, Office of University Development, Office of Prospect Management & Research, Office of Special Events and more; lead the gathering, analysis, and synthesis of reporting data as requested by university, University System of Maryland, and industry authorities; and curate content and manage logistics for up to six (6) UR divisional gatherings and professional development activities each year.

The Director will reflect the reputation of the VPUR, AVP-CAO, Office of the VPUR team, UR division, university and UMCP Foundation (of which the VPUR is president) in developing correspondence and messaging, reports, spreadsheets, and presentation materials for consumption by internal and external audiences. These deliverables will require skills such as critical thinking, interpretation and distillation of data, formatting and design in addition to a high degree of autonomy, initiative and creativity, as well as interpersonal communication and diplomacy.

The Director will demonstrate a commitment to the university’s values of innovation, collaboration, diversity and inclusion.

Education (include licenses, certifications, etc.):
Bachelor’s degree required.

Experience:
A minimum of 7 years of full-time professional experience.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills
• Ability to maintain confidentiality; general awareness, diplomacy regarding sensitive topics
• High degree of comfort in initiating and maintaining professional relationships
• Demonstrated exceptional attention to detail and superior customer service skills
• Strong writing and editing skills, as well as document or slide formatting and design skills
• Ability to meet tight deadlines and juggle multiple responsibilities
• Ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community
• Strong command of building and optimizing processes and systems
• Must be able to work independently and in a team environment
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Proficiency with Gmail and Google Suite applications