Assistant Director of Donor Engagement

Careers At Sidwell Friends School

Welcome to the Human Resources Department at Sidwell Friends School. Sidwell Friends prides itself in offering a high quality educational experience to those who will lead the next generation. To that end, we are seeking qualified individuals with the knowledge, skills and abilities to enhance the student experience at Sidwell Friends. We encourage you to review the job postings below and to contact us for additional information.

Assistant Director of Donor Engagement Department: Office of School Advancement Location: Washington, DC
Position Start Date: January 2022
Status: Full-Time


REPORTS TO: Director of Donor Engagement

Sidwell Friends, a coeducational Quaker day school, seeks a full-time Assistant Director of Donor Engagement to work with the Advancement Department, located on its DC campus. The Assistant Director of Donor Engagement supports the planning, implementing, and managing the comprehensive recognition and stewardship program for donors at all levels. Reporting to the Director of Donor Engagement, this position facilitates thoughtful engagement opportunities to strengthen the School’s relationships with its donor community. Working collaboratively to advance the goals of the department, the Assistant Director of Donor Engagement has a demonstrated track record of writing skills, creativity, organization, and dedication to donor-centered philanthropy and its best practices.

Key Responsibilities:

Donor Engagement and Stewardship

• Assist in supporting a comprehensive recognition and stewardship program for donors at all levels.
• Collaborate with the Senior Director of Engagement to move forward personalized, impactful stewardship plans that ensure thoughtful engagement opportunities and high-level touch points.
• Support the execution of special events designed to support engagement, stewardship, and fundraising initiatives.
• Coordinate and track donor recognition signage across the campus including exterior and interior signs, donor plaques, and other recognition mediums.
• Develop and sustain productive cross-functional relationships (individual giving, development operations/analytics, and communications/brand marketing) to advance donor engagement goals.
• Ensure effective tracking of engagement activity.

Donor Communications

• Facilitate the production of key stewardship donor communications, includingReport on Philanthropy(annual report) andAdvancing Friends(philanthropy newsletter).
• Coordinate, produce, and regularly refresh donor engagement correspondence.
• Support annual fund and endowed funds data management and impact reporting.
• Prepare specialized donor communications, as needed.

Qualifications:

A Bachelor’s degree is required with three to five years of experience in donor relations, stewardship or alumni engagement, preferably in a higher-education or independent school setting. The successful candidate will be a strategic thinker who has an understanding of sustained relationship management, fundraising, stewardship, and engagement programming. Professionalism, discretion, creativity, and the ability to deal with confidential information are vital in this role.

Skills and Abilities:

Required

• Must be a self-motivated, highly dependable, independent worker with the ability to effectively prioritize work and problem solve.
• Able to work in a fast-paced environment and handle multiple tasks simultaneously, prioritize projects to meet deadlines.
• Knowledge of fundraising principals and best practices in stewardship.
• Skill in project and event management, both in-person and virtual.
• Excellent research, writing, editing, and proofreading skills.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage complex, multi-phase projects from inception to completion.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with ability to work cooperatively and collaboratively colleagues.
• Ability to represent the School with internal and external constituents in the community by attending events and social gatherings as needed.

Desired

• Experience using The Raiser’s Edge NXT in a non-profit setting.

As a condition of employment, all employees hired after August 1, 2021 are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and able to provide proof of such vaccination. To make application for a medical or religious exemption, please contact the Human Resources Department.

Candidates should upload a resume, cover letter, and contact information for three professional references via our online application.