Director, Donor Relations & Stewardship

Job no: 499037
Work type: Staff Full-Time
Location: Denver, CO
Categories: Alumni / Development / Fundraising, Business Operations / Services, Advancement
Division: Advancement

Position Summary

The Director, Donor Relations and Stewardship is a leader, thought partner, and subject-matter expert in the field of advancement, reporting directly to the Assistant Vice Chancellor, Principal Gifts, Donor Relations and Stewardship. This role provides strategic direction for donor relations and stewardship efforts, overseeing a team of 4-6 professionals and guiding the development and execution of high-touch strategies that deepen engagement and philanthropic commitment across the University's community of alumni, families, faculty, staff, students, and friends. The Director also serves as a key advisor to advancement leadership and campus colleagues, ensuring alignment, innovation, and continuous improvement in donor engagement practices.

The successful candidate for this position will have a keen eye for donor engagement and stewardship approaches that make members of the University of Denver community feel truly connected and appreciated thus increasing donor retention and additional support from existing donors. They will also serve as a strong manager, coach and mentor to the donor relations and stewardship team and will possess an unwavering commitment to the highest quality standards.

The position is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement with approval and will require attendance at occasional evening and weekend events.

Essential Functions

• Donor Relations and Stewardship
  • Serves as the University's subject matter expert on donor relations and stewardship, establishing policies, standards, and best practices that advance a culture of philanthropy and donor-centered engagement across the institution.
  • Develop strategies to improve the donor experience, increase retention, and promote future giving.
  • Lead and deliver a comprehensive and donor-centric donor relations and stewardship program for the entire University of Denver donor population through programming that thoughtfully appreciates the University's philanthropic community and ensures their gifts are stewarded timely and appropriately.
  • Develop standards for recognition and donor stewardship and provide guidance to campus on best-practices.
  • Foster a University-wide culture of donor relations and stewardship and work collaboratively with campus partners to craft and execute effective donor relations and stewardship programming.
  • Provide strategic direction, guidance and accountability for donor recognition, acknowledgements, correspondence and other activities that engage donors and advance philanthropic commitment.
  • Proactively support gift officers in design and execution of annual and multi-year stewardship plans and impact reports for donors and top prospects.
  • Annual stewardship reporting oversight and include endowment reports and other stewardship related financial reports on an annual basis.
• Leadership
  • Provide comprehensive leadership of the Donor Relations and Stewardship team within DU Advancement. This includes supporting the day-to-day functionality of the team, as well as facilitating the recruitment, hiring, training, mentoring, evaluation, and professional development of the team (4-6 FTEs).
  • Effectively manage the Donor Relations and Stewardship operating budget, including monitoring transactions and assisting in budget modeling and forecasting processes.
  • Represent Donor Relations and Stewardship in Advancement-wide and University-wide settings, ensuring the highest standards of donor care are taken.
• Donor Relations Events
  • Set and lead the strategic use of donor relations and stewardship events to deepen constituent engagement with the University.
  • Provide vision and strategy for approximately 10-12 high-impact donor events annually, ensuring each event is intentionally designed to strengthen relationships, reinforce institutional priorities, and advance long-term donor engagement and philanthropic outcomes.
  • Responsibilities include developing strategic invitation and audience segmentation approaches, shaping program content and messaging aligned with fundraising objectives, and leveraging event participation to build, sustain, and deepen relationships before and after each engagement. This role emphasizes strategic direction and outcomes rather than tactical event planning or logistics.
• Partnerships & University Citizenship
  • Serve as an active and collaborative partner to all advancement partners and other campus colleagues, to foster strategic, effective, and collaborative advancement practices.
  • Model "One DU" leadership.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated ability to lead, take action, create solutions, implement plans, analyze results and iterate for maximum positive effect.
• Advanced comprehension of financial reports including endowment reporting and familiarity with CRM systems.
• Track record of success in creating and executing donor relations and stewardship activities that escalate engagement; ability to develop, plan and implement short- and long-term goals based on program needs.
• Demonstrated success in managing and motivating a team.
• Passion for innovation and creative thinking; drive to deliver tangible results.
• Superior interpersonal skills for developing and maintaining relationships.
• Strong communications skills.
• Ability to manage time and meet deadlines.
• Flexible, highly organized and detail oriented.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, with expert proficiency in Excel.
• Demonstrated experience working with relational databases and enterprise information systems.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience.
• At least seven years of progressive professional experience.
• A minimum of five years of donor, constituent, or member relations experience.
• Two or more years of leadership or supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated experience in strategic planning and implementation.
• Proven ability to proactively prioritize work and effectively manage resources in a dynamic environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Five or more years of leadership or supervisory experience
• Program and event management experience in a higher education environment or similarly complex,mission-driven organization.
• Experience leading initiatives that advance engagement, stewardship, or relationship-based outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to balance strategic thinking with operational execution across multiple priorities.

Working Environment

• Standard open office environment
• Noise level is quiet to moderate
• Non-essential role. Note: essential employees are those individuals who must report to work, be "on call" to report to work, and/or work remotely if required in order to maintain the critical functions of the University during scheduled closures or an unscheduled suspension of normal operations due to emergencies, events, or other situations.

Physical Activities

• Ability to use a computer for an extended period
• Occasionally required to move about the office/campus with the capability of transporting objects up to 20 lbs. with assistance
• This role is not required to operate an Automobile, Passenger Van, UTV/ATV, or golf cart

Work Schedule
Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Application Deadline
For consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) October 19, 2026.

Special Instructions
Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.

Salary Grade Number:
The salary grade for the position is 14.

Salary Range:
The salary range for this position is $95,000 - $110,000

The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate's sex or any other protected status.

Benefits:
The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver.

Please include the following documents with your application:
1. Resume
2. Cover Letter

Advertised: September 28, 2026
Applications close: October 19, 2026

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