The UVA Health Development Office (UVAHD) seeks an Associate Director for Donor Communications to join our committed, collaborative, and results-driven Donor Relations & Strategic Engagement (DRSE) team in support of the continued success of the University’s Honor the Future Campaign.
The Associate Director for Donor Communications will play a key role in conceptualizing and preparing a variety of key stewardship communications on behalf of UVA Health leadership and in support of UVA Health’s development mission. The Associate Director will be responsible for preparing custom stewardship reports highlighting the impact of private support for delivery to UVA Health’s largest benefactors. The successful candidate will be a skilled written communicator who can adapt their writing style to different authors and audiences for a variety of communications, from deciphering scientific content to prepare in-depth stewardship reports to quickly drafting well-written and brief executive-level correspondence from UVA Health leadership. The Associate Director will also be a highly skilled editor, serving as lead reviewer of all leadership acknowledgements for gifts to UVA Health. They will work collaboratively and creatively with colleagues on other donor-facing stewardship communications projects designed to enhance UVA Health’s relationship with its donors. The incumbent will report to the Senior Director of Donor Relations & Strategic Engagement.
Responsibilities :
Stewardship Impact Reporting – 40%
- Develop customized stewardship reports and materials to showcase and communicate philanthropic impact to UVA Health’s principal and major donors. Collaborate with colleagues and faculty. Perform detailed editing of scientific content, tailoring each report to specific donor and making technical content understandable for a lay audience where needed.
- Collaborate with colleagues to leverage annual endowment reporting cycle and our online reporting platform, Ovrture, to demonstrate meaningful impact to donors. Work with reporting lead to leverage new opportunities to use platform for meaningful donor stewardship throughout the year.
Oversight of Gift Acknowledgement Program – 30%
- Provide leadership and daily oversight of UVA Health’s acknowledgement program.
- Supervise and provide direction to team member whose responsibilities include the weekly preparation of leadership acknowledgments and acknowledgements for lower-level gifts.
- Responsible for editorial review of all acknowledgment letters.
- Personally draft leadership acknowledgments as needed.
- Prepare and regularly refresh messaging for senior leadership acknowledgments
- Manage the annual refresh of printed acknowledgment collateral.
- Prepare briefing materials on select major gifts for Campaign leadership acknowledgment.
- Responsible for regular evaluation and enhancement of acknowledgment protocols/practices to meet current needs.
Leadership Correspondence -15%
- Draft meaningful and succinct executive correspondence to high-level donors/prospects on behalf of various members of UVA Health’s executive leadership to help advance individual donor relationships.
Targeted Stewardship Communications – 15%
- Provide guidance and support for event communications as needed, to include preparation of event collateral, talking points, leadership briefing materials; post-event communications.
- Serve as UVAHD administrator and point for the ThankView video platform, collaborating with colleagues to maximize this platform for 1:1 and segmented stewardship.
- Manage targeted holiday communications.
- Provide communications expertise and support for targeted stewardship initiatives for audiences such as planned giving donors, giving society members, etc.
- Produce content/stories highlighting select donors and demonstrating impact for both UVAHD and UVA development publications as requested.
- Manage freelance hires as needed for specific projects.
- Other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS :
- Bachelor’s degree in English or Communications or a related field and at least three years of experience in development communications or related work is required.
- Superior writing, editing and proofreading skills with the ability to tailor written copy to specific audiences while adhering to established University style guidelines. Direct experience with development writing strongly preferred.
- Ability to translate complex scientific concepts into compelling content that is understandable and accessible to lay audiences. Direct experience preparing and/or editing scientific content strongly preferred.
- Proven ability to prepare highly customized correspondence and other bespoke communications for executive leadership with minimal supervision and to the highest standards.
- Proven project management and organizational skills with ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while adhering to deadlines and working independently.
- Prior supervisory experience a plus, but not required.
- High level of initiative and ownership; ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
- Ability to prioritize work and pivot quickly in response to shifting priorities.
- Ability to work effectively in a complex environment.
- Excellent oral communication and interpersonal skills with a strong orientation to collaboration and teamwork.
- Highest ethical standards and attention to confidentiality when dealing with donor information.
- Digital communications skills/experience working in digital communications platforms preferred; general comfort with technology a must.
- Thorough knowledge of Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel required. Comfort navigating a CRM database to gather giving, donor data for work product preferred.
- Possess a command of cultural sensitivity and value and embrace cultural, political, and social differences. The incumbent will contribute to an environment that encourages diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Anticipated hiring range: $62,000-$72,000
Location: The UVA Health Development Office operates within a distributed teams model for work, offering a flexible and hybrid work space. All team members must have access to and maintain a secure home office environment with high-speed internet service and work collaboratively with others using a variety of technologies and tools. Shared office space is available to staff in Charlottesville, VA. Due to the nature of this position, qualified candidates will be considered for 100% remote work arrangements if desired; fully remote employees are still expected to travel to Charlottesville periodically to attend special staff events throughout the year such as team retreats, University Advancement’s Week of Learning, etc. Preference will be given to candidates on the East Coast to allow for alignment of business hours.
Application Materials: Please submit a cover letter to include your interest, knowledge, skills, abilities or experience related to the position as well as your interest, knowledge, skills, abilities, or experience that support excellence through diversity, equity, and inclusion (Inclusive Excellence – Statement Guidance for applicants can be found here, https://eocr.virginia.edu/Contribution-IE-Applicants )
This position will remain open until filled. This is an Exempt level, benefited position. This position will not sponsor applicants for work visas. This position is a restricted position and is dependent upon project need, availability of funding and performance. The University will perform background checks and a health screen on all new hires prior to employment. For questions about the position or the application process, please contact Daniel Strong, Senior Recruiter at das6zb@virginia.edu.
How to Apply:
Applications that do not contain all of the required documents will not receive full consideration, please note that multiple documents can be uploaded in the box.
Process for External Applicants: Please apply through Workday , and search for ‘ R0053134’ . Complete an application online and attach a cover letter, CV/resume, and contact information for three references (name, email address, telephone number, and address).
Process for Internal UVA Applicants: Please apply through your Workday Home page, search “Find Jobs,” and search for ‘ R0053134 .’ Complete an application online and attach a cover letter, CV/resume, and contact information for three references (name, email address, telephone number, and address).
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Education: Bachelor’s degree in English or Communications or a related field.
Experience: At least three years of experience
Licensure: None
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.
The University of Virginia, i ncluding the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician’s Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff. We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person’s perspectives and lived experiences. We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family medical or genetic information.