Associate Director, Donor Relations & Hospitality

Kansas Athletics; Lawrence (KS); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Kansas Athletics Development in Lawrence, Kansas seeks an Associate Director of Donor Relations to support daily hospitality, donor stewardship, and event operations. You will plan communications, manage inventories, and supervise student staff while coordinating with internal and external partners to provide top-notch donor experiences.

The role requires managing multi-sport hospitality programs, overseeing communications, and contributing to fund-raising initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• Minimum 3 years of experience with event management, communications, and fundraising/non-profit work or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Ability to work well both independently and in collaboration with staff as a team member.
• Excellent organizational skills with strong attention to detail and time management.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively under multiple, strict deadlines in a fast-paced office environment with the capacity to adapt quickly to major and minor changes in projects and outcomes.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability and willingness to work an irregular schedule, including evenings, weekends, and holidays.
• Experience and knowledge of existing social media platforms (Facebook, X, etc.).

Responsibilities

• Lead MBB and WBB hospitality operations, including VVIP support, donor hospitality areas, and end-of-year basketball banquets.
• Lead stewardship efforts, including donor acknowledgements, thank-you notes, donor bios, staff/donor gear management, and tracking systems.
• Manage all OVG food & beverage operations across sports, including menu planning, pricing, hospitality counts, approvals, and feedback.
• Supervise, train, and schedule student workers and interns, providing game-day oversight and ongoing development.
• Serve as liaison with internal and external partners to ensure seamless, high-quality donor and guest experiences.
• Support Football and Baseball hospitality operations, including planning, execution, and evaluation of premium donor and guest experience initiatives.
• Support Annual Fund and K Club initiatives, including donor engagement, stewardship, communications, and membership fulfillment.
• Plan and execute large-scale specialty and signature events under the direction of the Director of Donor Relations.
• Track and manage inventory for donor gifts, hospitality supplies, and promotional/marketing materials.
• Support marketing and communications efforts for Kansas Athletics Development, including social media, email campaigns, web content, and Rising Jayhawks programming in collaboration with the Assistant Director of Annual Fund.
• Manage digital and physical communication platforms, including event registration systems, web forms, and graphic design assets.
• Perform additional duties as assigned by the Director of Athletics or designee.

Skills

Event management

Fundraising

Communications

Team collaboration

Social media management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Paciolan software

Salesforce

Advance

Job description

Kansas Athletics Development in Lawrence, Kansas seeks an Associate Director of Donor Relations to support daily hospitality, donor stewardship, and event operations. You will plan communications, manage inventories, and supervise student staff while coordinating with internal and external partners to provide top-notch donor experiences.

The role requires managing multi-sport hospitality programs, overseeing communications, and contributing to fund-raising initiatives.