Assistant Director of Advancement for Alumni Engagement

Awty International School; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical plans

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Flexible spending accounts

Retirement plans

Job summary

The Awty International School in Houston seeks an Assistant Director of Advancement for Alumni Engagement to lead a comprehensive alumni program, expand engagement, and grow philanthropic support as part of the Advancement team.

Reporting to the Director of Development, you will manage the Alumni Board, plan events, cultivate major gifts, and collaborate with College Counseling, Development, and school leadership to connect alumni with current students.

Qualifications

• Minimum of three years in alumni relations or related field.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with editorial judgment.
• Proven ability to build relationships across diverse groups.
• Experience with events from concept to evaluation.
• Familiarity with donor databases and reporting queries.
• Willingness to work evenings/weekends and travel.

Responsibilities

• Oversee and grow a comprehensive Alumni Program.
• Develop multi-year growth plan for alumni engagement.
• Manage Alumni Board and recruit volunteers.
• Plan local and regional alumni events.
• Cultivate alumni philanthropic support for Awty Annual Fund.
• Design and execute alumni communications plan.
• Maintain data integrity and update alumni records.
• Serve as liaison to the Awty Alumni Association.
• Track metrics and report on engagement.
• Coordinate career panels, mentorships, and internships.

Skills

Alumni relations

Event planning

Communication skills

Intercultural competence

Donor communications

Data management

Tools

Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT

Veracross

Job description

Assistant Director of Advancement for Alumni Engagement

About Awty

The Awty International School is Houston's premier international school, serving more than 1,700 students from PK3 to 12th grade. Our diverse student body hails from more than 50 countries, and about a third of our students hold citizenship from a nation other than the United States. We offer students a rigorous path to graduating with either the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma or the French Baccalauréat (FB) Diploma , and Awty is the only school in Houston to be fully accredited by the French Ministry of Education.

At Awty, we believe students learn best and faculty perform best in a culture of vibrant diversity. Diversity is an essential quality of our school environment; our commitment to learning and the pursuit of excellence can occur only in such a context. It helps us guide our students to become responsible world citizens. Our commitment to learning about and respecting one another’s diversity brings distinct richness to the Awty experience for students, alumni, employees, and parents.

In addition to a challenging curriculum, we emphasize social-emotional learning and character development, empowering students with resilience, empathy, and problem-solving skills as they grow to become responsible world citizens. We have two adjacent campuses located in Houston featuring dedicated designated science and computer laboratories, music studios, indoor and outdoor athletic facilities, dining halls, two playgrounds, learning gardens, and outdoor decks for class activities.

About the Role

The Assistant Director of Advancement for Alumni Engagement role is a critical member of the Advancement Department. Reporting to the Director of Development - Corporate and Leadership Giving, this role will be responsible for the growth and implementation of a comprehensive alumni engagement program that fosters lifelong connections, leverages alumni expertise, and cultivates philanthropic support to advance the school’s mission. As Alumni is an identified priority in the strategic plan, this is an exciting time in Awty’s future. This role will have the opportunity to expand upon an existing foundation with the resources and support to build a world-class program.

Reports To:

Director of Development - Corporate and Leadership Giving

Responsibilities

Essential job functions may include, but are not limited to:

• vision, direction, and oversight of a comprehensive Alumni Program
• creation and execution of a multi-year growth plan for the program
• in partnership with the Director of Development - Corporate and Leadership Giving and Alumni Board President, manage the Alumni Board, set meeting agendas, and recruit, onboard, and ensure proper succession planning for the Alumni Board
• develop a full events program serving both local and regional concentrations of the alumni population
• partner with Advancement leadership to identify alumni with philanthropic capacity
• responsible for cultivating and soliciting alumni as donors to grow participation in The Awty Annual Fund and identify major gift prospects
• design and execute a comprehensive communication plan including but limited to email updates/newsletter, invitations, social media, website, and alumni program platform
• ensure creation and execution of a differentiated social media strategy for each platform (Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn) that builds consistent engagement, voice, cadence, and reach
• lead ongoing efforts to ensure data integrity, collect and verify contact, career, education, and family milestone information
• serve as school liaison to the Awty Alumni Association
• engage a broader base of alumni volunteers to support programming and engagement
• develop and manage a campus visit program
• track metrics and report frequently on alumni engagement for the Director of Development - Corporate and Leadership Giving, Executive Director of Advancement, Head of School, and Board of Trustees
• sustain and grow programming connecting current students with alumni and alumni with one another, including career panels in coordination with College Counseling, mentorship/internships, and networking
• maintain a visible, welcoming presence in the life of the school
• other duties as assigned by department leadership

Required Qualifications

• a passion and dedication to Awty’s mission
• minimum of three years of progressively responsible experience in alumni relations, advancement, development, membership, or a closely related field
• excellent written and verbal communication skills, with strong editorial judgment
• demonstrated intercultural competence and success building relationships across a wide range of ages, backgrounds, and cultures
• proven event planning and project management experience, from concept through execution and evaluation, including solo execution of events
• familiarity with a constituent relationship management or donor database (Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT, Veracross, or comparable) and the ability to learn database skills including queries and reports
• sound judgment and absolute discretion with confidential constituent and donor information
• willingness to work evenings and weekends as the event calendar requires, and to travel as needed

Preferred Qualifications

• strongly prefer independent school or higher education experience
• strongly prefer five or more years of progressively responsible experience in alumni relations, advancement, development, membership, or a closely related field

The Awty International School provides salaries commensurate with qualifications and experience, plus excellent medical plans and other benefits, including medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts (FSA), 403(b) plans, EAP, life insurance, long-term disability and additional voluntary benefit options.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Awty International School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, ethnic or religious beliefs, disability, or any basis protected by federal, state, or local law in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, athletic programs, other school-administered programs, or in its employment practices.