Reporting to the Executive Director Annual Giving and Volunteer Experience, the Senior Director of Direct Marketing and Participation is a forward-thinking, highly innovative partner who leads a team of professionals to develop and execute sophisticated multi-channel, university-wide, direct marketing fundraising strategies. This role creates, oversees, and drives the strategy to increase and diversify the number of donors and philanthropic dollars to WashU, with an emphasis on support of the annual fund. Additionally, the Senior Director will manage a team of individuals focused on the WashU Engagement Center’s efforts to strategize and implement initiatives utilizing our student advancement ambassadors to increase involvement, pride, and loyalty between the university and its community.

The ideal candidate is a data-driven, strategic thinker with a passion for leveraging modern fundraising and annual giving marketing practices in support of higher education. This person is a collaborative team player and will have experience in direct marketing, emerging fundraising technologies, and staff management.

• Develops a strategic plan to segment and solicit alumni, parents, and friends to increase donors to the Annual Fund and the university. This includes strategic analysis of past performance of appeals and solicitation methods, acquisition rates, retention rates, and industry trends. Closely monitors return on investment and makes data-based decisions to guide future fundraising strategies. Reports on overall results to internal and external constituencies, as needed.
• Develops key strategies for retention, acquisition, and stewardship of donors to the Annual Fund based on affiliation, class year, and interest. Serves as the final approver on all direct marketing materials and confirm that recommended messages and graphics align with the strategies for each appeal. Verifies that all WashU audiences are appropriately included in the direct marketing schedule.
• Collaborates closely with key departments in University Advancement including by not limited to Advancement Communications, Analytics, Data and Reporting, Advancement Systems, and Donor Relations, on fundraising projects and campaigns including but not limited to WashU Giving Day, Loyalty Society, Engagement Center, License Plate Program, Matching Gift Program and emerging technologies.
• Works closely with other colleagues in University Advancement to align program goals with the overall philanthropic goals of the university.
• Oversees the technology used to support direct marketing efforts for all university constituents including engagement center system/vendor, and the data analytics system/vendor. Assists with the development of websites, including online gift forms. 
• Manages data as it relates to direct marketing, including responsibility for data hygiene, segmentation, and other issues related to ensuring accurate and useful data for direct marketing including editing and proofreading publication content.
• Manages professional staff responsible for the WashU Giving Day, Loyalty Society, Engagement Center, premium fulfillment, License Plate Program, and Matching Gift Program.
• Stays up-to-date on the latest fundraising trends, technologies, and strategies and implement them as appropriate.
• Additional duties as assigned and in support of the EAGP team.

Required Qualifications

Education:

Bachelor’s degree

Certifications:

No specific certification is required for this position.

Work Experience:

Relevant Experience (6 Years)

Skills:

Not Applicable

Driver’s License:

A driver’s license is not required for this position.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability and flexibility to work outside of the normal workday/office hours including evenings and weekends.

Education:

Master’s degree

Skills:

Analyze Information, Annual Giving, Contract Development, Detail-Oriented, Diplomatic Approach, Donor Communications, Donor Development, Donor Management, Email Marketing, Interpersonal Communication, Marketing Campaign Development, Marketing Campaign Strategy, Multi-Media Marketing Campaigns, Multitasking, Oral Communications, Program Implementation, Project Management Software (PMS), Relationship Building, Salesforce (Software), Social Influence, Sound Judgment, Supervisory Management, Volunteer Leadership, Workload Prioritization, Written Communication

Salary Range

$96,000.00 – $169,300.00 / Annually