Job Posting Title:
Senior Director of Donor Relations and Engagement
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Hiring Department:
University Development Office
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Position Open To:
All Applicants
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Weekly Scheduled Hours:
40
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FLSA Status:
Exempt from FLSA
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Earliest Start Date:
Immediately
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Position Duration:
Expected to Continue
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Location:
UT MAIN CAMPUS
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Job Details:
General Notes

Purpose

Reporting to the Executive Director for Donor Relations, the Senior Director of Donor Relations and Engagement provides strategic leadership for donor engagement programs that advance university priorities, strengthen philanthropic relationships and support fundraising success. The position oversees engagement strategies and experiences for assigned presidential boards and councils, giving societies, donor affinity groups and UDO events across campus-based, regional and international settings.

The Senior Director leads engagement strategy, team performance and campus partnerships to strengthen donor connections and support long-term giving and stewardship objectives.

Serves as the strategic lead for donor engagement, volunteer leadership and constituent experience programs within Texas Development. This position leads the Engagement team, establishes priorities and performance expectations, and ensures strategies, communications, events and partnerships align with university priorities and Texas Development fundraising objectives and donor relations goals.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Engagement Team Management

• Partner with the Executive Director to establish long-range plans, performance measures, operational improvements and resource allocation recommendations that advance Donor Relations objectives and support university and fundraising priorities.
• Serve as a member of the Donor Relations leadership team and contribute to planning, resource allocation and cross-functional decision-making.
• Represent Donor Relations and Texas Development in work groups/committees, cross-functional initiatives and external engagement opportunities, as appropriate.

Volunteer Leadership Strategy and Governance

• Provide executive oversight and strategic direction for the Development Board, presidential boards and councils, and other volunteer leadership organizations.
• Develop governance, membership and succession strategies for volunteer leadership organizations, giving societies and donor affinity groups.
• Establish governance frameworks, membership expectations, succession planning practices and operating standards that support effective volunteer leadership and institutional alignment.
• Advise and partner with board chairs, committees and university leaders to strengthen volunteer engagement, philanthropic advocacy and institutional impact.
• Advance stewardship and recognition strategies that strengthen donor relationships and philanthropic participation.

Staff Leadership and Organizational Development

• Lead, develop and mentor Engagement team leaders and professional staff, providing coaching and accountability to foster high performance and professional growth.
• Establish performance expectations, accountability measures, professional development plans and succession strategies that support individual growth and organizational continuity.
• Recruit, retain and develop a high-performing team capable of advancing engagement priorities and delivering exceptional constituent experiences.
• Evaluate staffing structures, workload distribution and team capacity to ensure organizational effectiveness and sustainable operations.
• Foster a collaborative, welcoming and donor-centered culture that promotes innovation, accountability, professional growth and continuous improvement.
• Encourage knowledge sharing, collaboration and the adoption of best practices to strengthen team and department effectiveness and service delivery.

Communications and Engagement Experiences

• Direct strategy, planning and execution of donor programs, volunteer leadership experiences and constituent-facing events.
• Oversee strategic communications supporting donors, volunteer leaders and participants across campus-based, regional and international programs.
• Direct the development of executive briefings, reports, presentations, newsletters and communication materials supporting donor and volunteer engagement activities.
• Provide oversight for a portfolio of campus-based, regional and international programs that enhance constituent experiences and advance fundraising and stewardship objectives.
• Ensure constituent experiences reflect institutional priorities and stewardship standards.

Assessment and Strategic Insights

• Analyze SPUR CRM data, participation metrics, giving trends and constituent feedback to evaluate program effectiveness and stewardship outcomes.
• Identify, in partnership with SPUR and technology business analytics, configuration opportunities in SPUR that will provide increased visibility into engagement outcomes and support new projects and programs.
• Explore technological tools, including those available to UT Austin employees to increase efficiency and effectiveness of engagement activities.
• Develop and maintain performance dashboards, reporting frameworks and key performance indicators that support organizational accountability.
• Provide strategic recommendations informed by data, constituent insights and performance trends to support decision-making and advance fundraising priorities.

Campus and Advancement Partnership

• Serve as a strategic advisor on volunteer leadership and donor engagement best practices.
• Partner with development officers, advancement leaders, faculty, staff and university leadership to identify and advance meaningful donor opportunities.
• Promote standards, resources and best practices that strengthen donor and volunteer engagement across Texas Development.

Additional duties as assigned.

Salary

OPEN

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in donor relations, stewardship, advancement, or nonprofit fundraising.
• Demonstrated success managing individual and programmatic stewardship for major/principal-level donors.
• Strong writing skills, including experience drafting executive-level correspondence.
• Experience using CRM/donor database systems to analyze data and inform strategy.
• Excellent relationship management and cross-functional collaborations skills.
• Proven ability to manage multiple high-priority initiatives, meet deadlines, and maintain accuracy and service quality.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in higher education advancement or a comparable large, complex institution.
• Prior supervisory experience, including leading and developing team members.
• Familiarity with advancement CRM platforms.
• Experience building dashboards or reporting frameworks to track program performance.
• Experience managing presidential/vice-presidential-level donor communications.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and diplomatically with institutional colleagues and external partners on sensitive and complex matters, while exercising sound judgment and discretion.

Working Conditions

• This position is based in Austin, Texas.
• Must be eligible to work in the United States on a full-time basis for any employer without sponsorship.
• Works in standard office conditions, in a shared office environment, with repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation.
• Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM on-site work is the standard expectation for this position.
• May require additional hours during peak periods and special events.
• Regular and consistent attendance is required in this job.

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• Three work references with contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of Interest

Working Conditions

• This position is based in Austin, Texas.
• Must be able to travel frequently, overnight and weekends as necessary.
• Must be eligible to work in the United States on a full-time basis for any employer without sponsorship.
• Works in standard office conditions, in a shared office environment, with repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation.
• Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM on-site work is the standard expectation for this position.
• May require additional hours during peak periods and special events.
• Regular and consistent attendance is required in this job.

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Importantfor applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

Employment Eligibility:
Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

Retirement Plan Eligibility:
The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length. This position has the option to elect the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) instead of TRS, subject to the position being 40 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.