Director of Alumni Affairs

Louisburg College; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 1 - 2; Full time

Job summary

The Director of Alumni Affairs at Louisburg College leads a comprehensive program to engage alumni, strengthen volunteer leadership, and connect graduates with institutional priorities. This role oversees annual giving, donor stewardship, and alumni communications across events, newsletters, and social media to deepen lifelong involvement.

Success hinges on building strong relationships with alumni, volunteers, and campus partners, traveling for regional activities, coordinating Homecoming

Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain strong relationships with alumni, volunteers, donors, students, faculty, staff, and community partners.
• Excellent written and verbal communications for alumni appeals and stewardship materials.
• Strong event and program management skills coordinating multiple activities, volunteers, and deadlines.
• Willingness to travel and participate in occasional evening and weekend activities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive annual alumni engagement strategy aligned with the College's advancement priorities.
• Serve as the primary point of contact between Louisburg College and its alumni community.
• Plan and coordinate Homecoming activities, reunions, regional gatherings, and donor recognition events.
• Coordinate alumni donor stewardship and annual giving activities and track engagement and fundraising performance.

Skills

Relationship building

Verbal communication

Event management

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

CRM systems

Email platforms

Social media

Job description

Summary

The Director of Alumni Affairs is a key member of the Louisburg College Institutional Advancement team responsible for building and sustaining lifelong relationships between the College and its alumni. The Director will lead a comprehensive alumni engagement program that reconnects graduates with Louisburg College, increases participation in the life of the College, strengthens volunteer leadership, and creates meaningful opportunities for alumni to support students and institutional priorities.

The Director will also lead alumni annual giving efforts, using engagement as the foundation for increased participation, recurring support, donor retention, and identifying alumni with greater philanthropic potential. The successful candidate will be an energetic relationship builder who values personal contact, thoughtful stewardship, and the traditions that connect generations of Louisburg College alumni.

Essential Functions

Alumni Engagement and Relations

Develop and implement a comprehensive annual alumni engagement strategy aligned with the College's advancement priorities. Serve as the primary point of contact between Louisburg College and its alumni community, building relationships through personal visits, telephone calls, correspondence, digital communication, events, and regional activities. Work closely with the Louisburg College Alumni Association, Golden Anniversary Club (GAC) Board, volunteer boards, committees, and class/regional leaders to strengthen volunteer leadership and participation, and develop alumni affinity programs based on graduating class, interests, and geography. Plan and coordinate Homecoming activities, reunions, regional gatherings, GAC activities, and other engagement initiatives that connect alumni with students, faculty, and campus leadership. Partner with College marketing and communications staff to develop alumni stories, newsletters, and social media/web content, and maintain accurate alumni records in the College's CRM system.

Alumni Giving and Annual Giving

• Develop and manage a comprehensive alumni annual giving program with measurable goals for participation, acquisition, renewal, reactivation, recurring gifts, and revenue. Develop targeted alumni appeals through direct mail, email, digital fundraising, telephone outreach, and personal solicitation, including special giving initiatives tied to reunions, class years, athletics, and other areas of alumni affinity. Promote participation in college giving societies and donor recognition programs, and identify alumni with increased philanthropic capacity for referral to the Vice President for Institutional Advancement.
• Coordinate alumni donor stewardship and recognition activities, and track engagement and fundraising performance, providing regular reports on participation, retention, and dollars raised.

Additional Responsibilities

Represent Louisburg College professionally at alumni, campus, community, and advancement events, including periodic evening and weekend programs, and provide alumni insight for major College initiatives and campaigns. Maintain confidentiality, follow professional fundraising ethics, comply with college policies, and perform other alumni relations and annual giving responsibilities as assigned by the Vice President for Institutional Advancement.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain strong relationships with alumni, volunteers, donors, students, faculty, staff, and community partners. Excellent verbal communication, interpersonal, presentation, and customer-service skills, with the ability to write clear and engaging alumni communications, appeals, and stewardship materials. Strong event and program management skills, including the ability to coordinate multiple activities, volunteers, and deadlines, using constituent databases, CRM systems, email platforms, and social media. Demonstrated initiative and ability to work independently while contributing to a collaborative advancement team, with willingness to travel and participate in occasional evening and weekend activities.

Required Experience and Education

Minimum

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Three to five years of progressively responsible experience in alumni relations, annual giving, higher education advancement, nonprofit development, constituent engagement, or a related field.

Preferred

Experience in higher education alumni relations or advancement, with demonstrated success increasing alumni engagement, volunteer participation, or annual giving. Experience working with alumni associations, boards, volunteer leaders, and reunion committees on Homecoming, reunions, or recognition events, and with donor stewardship, annual appeals, and alumni data management.

Related by faith to the Methodist Church, Louisburg College is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications of all qualified individuals.

It is the policy and practice of the College to provide equal opportunity to all persons. The College does not discriminate against its employees or applicants for employment because of race, color, national origin, age (as defined by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act), religion, gender, disability, veteran's status, or sexual orientation. This policy applies to all aspects of the employment relationship including, but not limited to, recruitment, selection, advancement, compensation, benefits, transfer, and termination.