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The Director, Alumni Engagement at Emerson College serves as a strategic leader within the Office of Institutional Advancement, responsible for deepening relationships and fostering engagement among alumni. This senior role focuses on cultivating lifelong connections with the College, driving volunteerism and philanthropic support, and advancing the institution’s mission through meaningful alumni experiences and touchpoints, in collaboration with the advancement team and campus partners.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES

• Lead the planning and execution of alumni engagement initiatives and events aligned with Emerson’s unique creative and communication-centered mission.  This includes playing a key part in planning alumni weekend, ensuring events will resonate with alums.
• Design programs that enhance alumni participation, including regional events, professional networking, affinity-based communities, and lifelong learning opportunities. Initiatives to include:  Programs for establishing relationships with current and graduating students, as well as young alumni by actively engaging them in alumni programs before and immediately after graduation to ensure seamless transition from student to engaged alum.
• Coordinate and strategically support the network of Emerson College regional alumni chapters and affinity groups, specifically focusing on the targeted reactivation of dormant groups and the establishment of new chapters in emerging markets. Provide essential leadership, resources, and guidance to ensure all chapter activities and programming robustly align with the College's mission and institutional goals.
• Participate in development of CASE-model engagement metric system to track and evaluate the success of alumni engagement efforts, and evaluate alumni feedback. 
• At the strategic direction of the AVP, strengthen relationships with the Alumni Board and collaborate on annual goals, volunteer recruitment, and advocacy. 
• Partner with Annual Giving and Donor Relations teams to support alumni giving campaigns and stewardship strategies. 
• Manage a designated engagement portfolio ensuring the alumni stay connected to Emerson in a meaningful way.
• Leverage digital tools (email, social, CRM) to communicate effectively with alumni audiences and measure impact
   

QUALIFICATIONS – Qualifications are deemed required or preferred and represent what is needed to effectively perform job.

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred. 
• Minimum 8-10 years of progressively responsible experience in alumni relations, parent/family engagement, advancement, or related field—preferably within higher education required.
• Proven success in volunteer management, program development, and event execution. 
• Experience managing advisory councils or boards.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES – May be representative, but not all-inclusive, of those knowledge, skills, and abilities commonly associated with the job. 

• Proficiency with CRM systems (e.g., Raiser’s Edge NXT, Salesforce) and digital engagement platforms.
• Self-starter with excellent interpersonal communication skills and the ability to communicate across diverse constituencies
• Ability to strategically and practically work with a range of collaborators to cultivate and maintain productive long-term relationships
• Ability to influence diverse constituencies with commitment to equity and inclusion
• Strong customer service and problem-solving skills
• Good organizational skills with the ability to maintain multiple competing projects simultaneously and to prioritize tasks

• Strategic and systems-level thinking
• Inclusive and relationship-centered approach
• Cross-departmental collaboration
• Data-informed decision-making
• Strong sense of initiative and follow-through
   

PHYSICAL ABILITIES – Activities commonly associated with the performance of the functions of this job. The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• Requires ability to lift and move objects that are light
• Requires ability to move materials occasionally
   

WORK ENVIRONMENT – Environmental or atmospheric conditions commonly associated with the performance of the functions of this job.

• Usual Office Conditions
• Availability for evening/weekend events and periodic travel.
   

Compensation: $113,800.00 - $142,350.00 annually, commensurate with experience.

 

Grade of Position: 23-13E

Scheduled Weekly Hours: 36.25

Division:

In addition to a competitive salary, Emerson College is committed to the health and well-being of our employees and family members. We offer a generous benefits package to regular staff scheduled to work 20+ hours per week. 

Benefits include outstanding health plans with limited out-of-pocket expenses, dental plans, generous time-off programs, and a 403(b) retirement benefit with a 9% employer contribution once eligible. Additional benefits such as life and disability coverage as well as commuter offerings are available.

Please refer to our benefits website for a full list of benefits and eligibility requirements.