Manager, Donor Stewardship and Alumni Engagement

Emily Carr University of Art + Design; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading design university in Canada is seeking a Manager for Donor Stewardship and Alumni Engagement. The role focuses on developing strategies to foster relationships with donors and alumni, enhancing community engagement, and ensuring compliance with regulations. The position requires strong communication and project management skills, alongside a commitment to diversity and inclusion. Competitive salary and benefits include health coverage and pension plan.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package

Membership in the College Pension Plan

Competitive vacation and professional development benefits

Qualifications

• Minimum five years of progressive experience in advancement or donor relations.
• Experience in the post-secondary or non-profit sector is an asset.
• Excellent communication skills for major gift proposals and presentations.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of strategies to strengthen donor and alumni connections.
• Manage alumni databases and maintain records.
• Develop and implement donor stewardship strategies.

Skills

Project management

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Data analysis

Fundraising principles

Education

Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, or business

Tools

Microsoft 365

Raiser’s Edge

MailChimp

Job description

Overview

Job Title: Manager, Donor Stewardship and Alumni Engagement

Job Description: Permanent Full-Time Excluded Position

Schedule: 8:30am to 4:30pm / Monday to Friday

Grade 10 ($85,711 to $114,281 per annum)

About Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Situated on unceded, traditional and ancestral xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territories in Vancouver, Canada, ECU is where creativity meets practice. Ranked among the world’s top 30 universities for art and design (QS 2024), ECU is recognized globally for its hands-on, practice-based teaching and learning environment that equips students to experiment, take risks and drive innovation.

Since 1925, ECU has championed bold ideas and emerging talent through a close-knit, studio-intensive setting that connects students with award-winning faculty, cutting-edge facilities, and real-world opportunities. Today, ECU serves more than 2,400 undergraduate and graduate students, along with thousands more through continuing studies, contributing to Canada’s cultural and creative sectors and shaping the future of art, media, design and research. As we mark our centennial in 2025, ECU continues to ask what art and design can make possible. 100 years in the making, we are shaping what comes next.

About the Role

The Manager of Donor Stewardship + Alumni Engagement leads the development and implementation of strategies that strengthen connections with donors and alumni. This role focuses on donor stewardship, engaging existing donors strategically to strengthen relationships and support retention. By fostering meaningful connections, the manager helps ensure continued contributions, supporting the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the fundraising cycle. This role oversees alumni engagement initiatives that build a sense of community, pride, and lifelong connection to the institution. They are responsible for designing and executing stewardship plans that recognize and retain supporters at all giving levels. Working collaboratively with the Advancement team, and a variety of internal and external partners, the Manager will design and implement creative and innovative engagement programs, events and strategic communications to continue to engage alumni and donors in meaningful ways that support the University’s Mission and Mandate.

Benefits of Joining the Emily Carr Community

• Enrollment in a comprehensive benefits package, including Dental Coverage, Extended Health, Disability Coverage and Life Insurance.
• Membership in the College Pension Plan.
• Competitive vacation and Professional Development benefits.

Typical Responsibilities

• Creates and implements effective alumni engagement strategy to strengthen relationships with alumni and ultimately to support the University’s strategic initiatives.
• Manages alumni databases and maintain records of alumni communications and interactions. Leads a data strategy for alumni in the fundraising database.
• Develops policies and procedures, and systems to ensure compliance with all relevant regulations, laws, and privacy requirements. This position will be responsible for the management of the audit trail of all donations and receipts in accordance with the Canada Revenue Agency and the Auditor General of British Columbia.
• Ensures compliance with Freedom of Information / Protection of Privacy (FOI / POP) legislation regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of alumni information. Advises alumni and other internal and external partners on compliance matters as needed.
• Generates surveys, reviews data, and creates reports to evaluate the effectiveness of engagement activities and major events and support data-driven decisions regarding future initiatives.
• Leads the planning and execution of engagement events and opportunities for alumni and donors, in collaboration with Advancement, Events, and senior staff and faculty members.
• Attends alumni and university events in the role of ambassador of the University.
• Liaises with the ECU alumni community to identify community needs and gather data to guide future planning. Leads on related process reviews. Leads the development and implementation of new initiatives that support the strategic direction of ECU by maintaining awareness of new developments in alumni relations.
• Develops donor stewardship strategy with supporting annual plan of activities and communications.
• Collaborates closely with the Advancement Assistant, Development Officer and the Executive Director to ensure that donor communications and outreach events are aligned with the fundraising strategy.
• Manages the creation of engaging content, such as videos and web content, for use across a variety of platforms, as well as solicitation packages, newsletters, and social media calendars for both the Advancement + Alumni offices, in collaboration with the Marketing and Communication team.
• Conducts primary and secondary research on prominent alumni. Prepare reports and provides recommendations to the Executive Director, identifying alumni who may be interested in supporting the university.
• Partners with Communications + Marketing, IT Services, and other internal partners to support the implementation of digital solutions for the ECU Foundation + Alumni website and related digital properties.
• Manages reporting staff, including recruitment, coaching, mentoring, development, performance management and all other people-management practices
• Leads, schedules, and oversees the work of external and contract service providers to ensure projects goals and objectives have been met on time and on budget.
• Recruits and oversees alumni volunteers to support engagement initiatives, including special events, reunions, campus tours, alumni communications, mentoring, and other opportunities.
• Works closely with the Executive Director, Advancement to ensure a strong environment of collaboration and cooperation between the advancement, events, and alumni relations teams.
• Participates as a key contributor to the department’s budget planning process. Develops and monitors budget and expenditure plans. Implements the necessary controls to monitor and identify financial and other operational risks.
• Fosters a culture of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) by remaining current in JEDI trends that impact their field of work and make recommendations to the Executive Director, Advancement, for improvements in support of the ECU community, and the strategic goals of the University.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, business or a related field.
• Minimum five years of progressive experience in advancement, donor relations, alumni engagement, or a related area.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.
• Demonstrated success in developing and implementing plans / strategies that build meaningful relationships.
• Proficiency in project management and communication tools, including Microsoft 365, Raiser’s Edge, social media platforms, MailChimp, web content management systems (CMS), Hive, etc.
• Knowledge of fundraising principles, donor lifecycle, and alumni engagement trends.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a focus on relationship building.
• Experience working in the post-secondary sector and / or non-profit settings an asset.
• Experience working with internal and external partners including Boards, volunteers, and donors is an asset.
• Knowledge of best practices in fundraising, market research, social media, volunteer management and web analytics.
• Demonstrated strategic and technical experience in planning and managing projects,
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, including major gift proposals, presentations, newsletters, website stories and appeal letters.
• Proven management and administrative skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build effective relationships with diverse partners.
• Ability to exercise tact, diplomacy, and cultural sensitivity when interacting with people who hold a diverse range of perspectives, worldviews, and experiences.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities, manage deadlines, and work collaboratively across departments.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Proficiency with survey management, data analysis and reporting.
• Demonstrated commitment to justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation.

Preferred Qualifications & Additional Information

Emily Carr University especially invites those who have demonstrated a commitment to upholding the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion and will assist us to expand our capacity for diversity in the broadest sense. In addition, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment in Canada, we encourage applications from members of groups that have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized. These include women, persons with diverse gender expressions and identities, persons of all sexual orientations, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, and First Nations, Metis, Inuit and Indigenous persons. All qualified people are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority. While we thank all candidates for their interest, only those short-listed will be contacted.