Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations

Founded in 1917, Providence College (PC) is a premier Catholic liberal arts institution steadfastly committed to academic excellence through a dynamic core curriculum, a distinctive Development of Western Civilization Program, and abundant experiential learning opportunities. The only U.S. higher education institution administered by the Dominican Friars, PC is committed to providing a variety of opportunities for intellectual, social, moral, and spiritual growth in a supportive environment. Providence College believes that cultural and intellectual pluralism is essential to the excellence of its academic programs, and strives to foster an academic culture and campus community reflecting the global environment in which we live and work.

The approximately 105-acre campus is situated in Rhode Island’s capital city and is close to the many cultural and educational offerings of Rhode Island’s “renaissance city.” Additionally, Providence is located an hour from Boston and just a few hours from New York City.

For years, Providence College has been recognized in the U.S. News & World Report “Regional Universities – North Category” and has been commended by several other ranking publications.

Posting Details

Position Information

Position Title Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations Overview
Develop, implement, and assess a comprehensive stewardship program that acknowledges, celebrates, and strategically communicates with donors at all levels and forges long-term relationships that advance the College’s philanthropic and engagement goals. Essential Duties:

• Design, document, and execute a strategic and comprehensive stewardship program for the College’s top benefactors. In consultation with Major Gift and Principal Gift teams, create and execute individualized annual stewardship plans for leadership donors, enhancing current stewardship outreach with creative, layered, and beneficial communications. Consult with the Director of Planned Giving in planning stewardship touches for members of the Harkins Society, recognizing individuals who have named PC in their estate plans. Develop and lead, in consultation with OIA colleagues, campaign stewardship strategy to ensure proper recognition of top benefactors.
• In collaboration with College Events, plan, execute, and support several advancement stewardship events annually ranging in size from approximately fifty to several hundred guests. Develop customized stewardship elements for events, including recognition gifts for new inductees to the 1917 Society, and touch points for donors at various levels. Analyze post-event surveys and other reports to assess donor satisfaction, return on investment of stewardship programs, and to recommend improvements based upon feedback.
• Provide strategic guidance to inspire and enable members of the team to execute a top foundational stewardship and donor relations program. Provide ongoing guidance on technical support needed to complete projects on schedule and as efficiently as possible. Identify and develop talents of staff members. Advocate for additional training and professional development opportunities. Set clear goals and expectations, complete performance check-ins, and conduct annual performance evaluations to ensure goals and department needs are met.
• Direct the process for the College’s annual donor gratitude report. Work with the Assistant Director to define project workflow, timeline, technical needs, reports, and enhancements. Vet recommendations to highlight donors and initiatives. Direct and manage the process for the annual endowment reports for reportable endowment funds. Develop and execute customized annual reports for top principal gift prospects and special current-use gifts as needed. Oversee and review highly customized presidential and other leadership level thank you letters. Oversee the tracking system for named spaces on campus.
• Educate OIA colleagues and others regarding best practices in donor engagement and recognition. Provide guidance and recommendations to the Director of Annual Giving regarding stewardship of annual giving societies. Evaluate the effectiveness of stewardship programs annually and develop strategies that align with OIA and institutional fundraising priorities. Establish metrics to assess return on investment of stewardship efforts. Define and represent the technology needs of the stewardship functions to OIA colleagues.

Marginal Duties:

• Perform all other duties as assigned.

Education and Experience Required

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution required.
• Five to seven years’ of progressively responsible experience in donor relations or closely related field in institutional advancement, preferably within a higher education environment, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Excellent interpersonal, teamwork, oral and written communication skills, including the ability to draft creative and inspiring narratives into insightful stories that personify the Providence College experience.
• Strong organizational, project management, and decision-making skills to direct concurrent, time-sensitive stewardship projects with meticulous attention to detail.
• Ability to use technology to gather, interpret, organize, and present data, and to communicate creatively with benefactors.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite applications, database systems, and social media, and donor communications software (e.g., ThankView, Vimeo, Animoto). Familiarity with Affinaquest/Salesforce preferred.
• Availability for evening and weekend events and for occasional travel.

Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Sitting in a normal seated position for extended periods of time
• Reaching by extending hand(s) or arm(s) in any direction
• Finger dexterity required to manipulate objects with fingers rather than with whole hand(s) or arm(s), for example, using a keyboard
• Communication skills using the spoken word
• Ability to see within normal parameters
• Ability to hear within normal range
• Ability to move about

Employee Status Full Time Union Status Shift: If other, please enter regular schedule. EEO Statement
Providence College does not discriminate against any person because of race, color, national and ethnicorigin, sex, gender, except where gender is a bona fide occupational qualification, sexual orientation,gender identity, religion, disability, age, veteran status, or genetic information. The College will develop,and from time to time update, an affirmative action program and will insist on a good-faith effort on thepart of its employees to comply with the program. The College will request and expect its agents andthose with whom it conducts its affairs to meet the commitment of this important program.

Posting Detail Information

Requisition Number AS713P Closing Date Open Until Filled Special Instructions to Applicants Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Documents Needed To Apply
Required Documents

1. Resume
2. Cover Letter

Optional Documents

1. Letter of Recommendation