Assistant Athletic Director, Annual Giving and Premium Seating

University of Colorado Boulder; Boulder (CO); On-site; USD 115,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Benefits package

On-site role

Job summary

The University of Colorado Boulder seeks an Assistant Athletic Director of Annual Giving and Premium Seating to lead donor relations, alumni engagement, events and annual giving programs within CU Athletics. A team of three full-time staff will report to this role to deliver premier donor experiences.

The position reports to the Deputy Athletic Director and collaborates with the Office of Advancement to steward donors, promote CU Athletics, and increase overall donor support.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 4+ years of professional experience, including 1+ year in supervision.
• Experience developing, planning and rolling out donor engagement strategy.

Responsibilities

• Lead initiative planning for programs to grow Buff Club membership and donor engagement.
• Oversee programmatic donor relations, alumni engagement, events and stewardship.
• Set team goals, metrics and build annual priorities with clear roles and timelines.
• Collaborate with senior leaders to evolve engagement activities and communicate outcomes.
• Supervise staff responsible for donor relations, events, and engagement activities.
• Represent Advancement in internal and external partnerships and meetings.

Skills

Team leadership

Donor relations

Alumni engagement

Strategic planning

Event planning

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Job Summary

The Office of Advancement encourages applications for an AssistantAthletic Director of Annual Giving and Premium Seating! This roleplays a significant role in strategizing, leading and executingprogrammatic donor relations and alumni engagement efforts for theCU Athletics. This position is critical to the engagement effortsfor the Office of Advancement at CU Boulder and manages a team of 3full-time staff responsible for donor relations, alumni engagement,events, and annual giving programs and premium seating sales andservice.

Reporting to the Deputy Athletic Director, this position and itsteam are tasked with stewarding donors, engaging alumni and otherconstituents, promoting the reputation of the CU Athletics, andincreasing overall donor support for CU Boulder. This position willsuccessfully navigate the complexity of working with variousinternal and external constituents and balancing the needs ofseparate entities while still fulfilling the strategic needs of theunit and the Office of Advancement.

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with allapplicable federal, state, and local laws governingnondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating aworkplace where all individuals are treated with respect anddignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds toapply, including protected veterans and individuals withdisabilities.

Who We Are

CU Boulder Advancement is committed to a culture of joy, motivated by collaboration, passionate about excellence and drivenby impact. These four values define the culture and driveengagement and fundraising success.

We are committed to fostering an environment where everyone mattersand all can thrive. This dedication is rooted in our core valuesand our mission to drive impactful fundraising and engagement. Ourteam actively engages in learning, reflection, and thetransformation of systems, policies, and practices that perpetuateoppressive ideologies—including racism, sexism, ableism, andheterosexism. We recognize our responsibility to lead by example inbuilding a supportive and inclusive culture for both internalcolleagues and external partners. We hold ourselves accountablethrough individual and divisional goals that continuously assessour progress, growth, and outcomes—ensuring alignment with ourmission and values every step of the way.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

Strategy and Execution

• Lead initiative planning for programs that grow the overallBuff Club membership, enhance donor stewardship, engagement andevents.
• Lead implementation of programmatic strategy to engage andcultivate donors and alumni in ways that support the unit’s visionand strategic direction.
• Supervise the development of team goals and metrics to:
  • Increase and measure donor retention, satisfaction, andengagement.
  • Increase donor engagement.
• Create strategy for 5-10 high-impact annual events for donorstewardship and alumni engagement. Oversee events to ensure theyare consistently providing an excellent experience for our donorsand alumni.
• Regularly collaborate with senior leadership team to developstrategies, processes and procedures that will evolve ourengagement activities to better demonstrate outcomes and produceresults to move the organization forward.

Team Management and Leadership

• Implement all aspects of managing and leading a team ofemployees responsible for alumni engagement, events, boardengagement, compliance and donor relations. Examples include:
  • Provide coaching and mentorship, especially to new teammembers.
  • Carry out administrative personnel actions (performancemanagement, hiring, training, onboarding, offboarding, etc.).
  • Serve as a member of the Advancement Management Team. Attendscheduled meetings and collaborate with colleagues on a regularbasis.
  • Set the overall direction for the team engagement activitiesannually. This includes defining success metrics, setting goals anddeveloping processes for metrics reporting. Keys to success includeleading the team to develop priorities and schedules prior to thebeginning of the new fiscal year, being clear on roles,responsibilities and expectations, setting overall timelines andproviding the needed processes to support the staff work.
  • Develop a team culture which encourages innovative ideas forengagement and cultivates a sense of confidence in trying newactivities without the fear of consequences from failure.

Other Engagement Duties as Assigned

• Partner with colleagues within athletics and across advancementto engage, steward and manage important donors, volunteers andallies to the Buff Club.
• Attend and be an influential member of the monthly meetingswith alumni directors across campus to share information, discussstandard practices and identify potential partnerships and jointinitiatives.
• Attend and be an influential member of monthly meetings withdonor relations staff across campus to share information, discussstandard processes and collaboration opportunities.
• Work with CU system, CU Foundation and CU Boulder Advancementstaff to assist with the effective identification, cultivation,solicitation and stewardship of donors to the Buff Club.
• Meet annual contact metrics.

What You Should Know

• This position is working on-site.
• This position will require local, regional, and out-of-statetravel to meet with donors.
• This position will occasionally be required to workevenings/weekends.

What We Can Offer

The salary range for this position is $115,000 - $135,000 annually.

Relocation assistance is available within Advancement guidelines.

Benefits

At the University of Colorado Boulder, we arecommitted to supporting the holistic health and well-being of ouremployees. Our comprehensive benefits package includes medical,dental, and retirement plans; generous paid time off; tuitionassistance for you and your dependents; and an ECO Pass for localtransit. As one of Boulder County’s largest employers, CU Boulderoffers an inspiring academic community and access to world-classoutdoor recreation. Explore additional perks and programs throughthe CU Advantage program.

Be Statements

Be dynamic. Be impactful. Be Boulder.

What We Require

• Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination ofeducation and experience.
• Experience: 4+ years of professional, job related experienceincluding 1+ years of team lead or supervision experience.
• Experience developing, planning and rolling out strategy.
• Program management experience.

What You Will Need

• Ability to strategize plans for employee retention andsatisfaction.
• Ability to practice situational leadership and discover whatmotivates individual team members to achieve goals.
• Ability to establish and enhance interpersonal relationships,including ability to coordinate and manage volunteers.
• Solid knowledge of fundraising, donor relations, and alumnirelations standard processes.
• Expert communication skills including the ability toparticipate in public events and represent Advancement and theuniversity in a professional manner.
• Solid ability to analyze information/situations and solveproblems.
• Ability to exercise a high degree of tact, discretion, andcollaboration in working with a diverse range of constituentsincluding employees, students, volunteers, alumni, donors, andcampus colleagues.
• Solid ability to organize and manage multiple projects/taskssimultaneously; ability to work independently and on a team andadapt to changing priorities.
• Solid knowledge of current issues facing public universitiesand interests of assigned school, students, faculty, andalumni.
• Solid knowledge of annual giving standard processes.
• Strong attention to detail and to visual appeal of presentationmaterials.
• Growth mindset, resilience and perseverance.
• Ability to champion the shared values of the Office ofAdvancement.

What We Would Like You to Have

• Experience in donor relations and/or development/fundraisingenvironment.
• Experience in constituent relations/relationshipmanagement.
• Experience in a higher education environment.
• Event management experience.
• Experience in an Athletics environment.