Senior Associate Director - YLS Donor Relations

Yale Cancer Center; New Haven (CT); Hybrid; USD 82,000 - 132,000; Full time

Job summary

Yale Law School seeks a Senior Associate Director of YLS Donor Relations to enhance stewardship and deepen donor engagement. Based in New Haven, this hybrid role reports to the Executive Director of Advancement Services and collaborates with AED to craft impactful stories of giving and recognition.

The role requires strategic thinking, superb writing and project management, plus the ability to lead stewardship programs, reports, and communications across funds and donors.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and six years of related experience.
• Experience in donor relations and fundraising programs.
• Strong communication, organization, and project management skills.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate stewardship communications and activities with internal/external colleagues.
• Create stewardship materials for key donor segments.
• Produce narrative impact reports for funds and document impact.
• Develop customized stewardship materials with fundraisers.
• Track stewardship activities in Hopper CRM.
• Maintain SPR list and ensure current reporting.

Skills

Team leadership

Supervision

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Travel availability

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in related field

Six years of related experience

Tools

MS Office

Excel

PowerPoint

Canva

Databases

Job description

Senior Associate Director - YLS Donor Relations

Department: Law School - Donor Relations

Working at Yale means contributing to a better tomorrow. Whether you are a current resident of our New Haven-based community, eligible for opportunities through the New Haven Hiring Initiative, or a newcomer, interested in exploring all that Yale has to offer, your talents and contributions are welcome. Discover your opportunities at Yale!

Overview

The Senior Associate Director is a member of the Alumni Engagement and Development (AED) team and is responsible for ensuring meaningful recognition of donors at all levels, fostering long-term relationships between donors and the School, and cultivating a culture of philanthropy within the School and among its graduates. The Senior Associate Director reports to the Executive Director of Advancement Services and plays an integral role in the School's fundraising efforts and the work of the AED team.

The successful candidate will be a collaborative, innovative, strategic, creative and intellectually curious/broad thinker who has a demonstrated track record of inspiring a culture of giving. This individual will create and execute new communication and stewardship plans and materials that build on the University and School's strong tradition of philanthropic giving and committed alumni base.

Primary Responsibilities

• Coordinates and executes stewardship communications and related activities by collaborating with internal and external colleagues to ensure donors are informed of the impact of their philanthropic support in a timely and meaningful manner.
• Creates stewardship materials and broad-based communications tailored to key donor segments.
• Produces narrative impact reports for current-use and endowed funds, including documenting how funds have been used; partners with fund beneficiaries and recipients to develop compelling stories of impact; compiles information into donor reports; writes accompanying narrative; and designs digital reports.
• Proactively partners with fundraisers to develop customized stewardship materials that advance donor cultivation and solicitation strategies.
• Ensures all stewardship activities are tracked and managed in the University's CRM (Hopper).
• Maintains the master Stewardship Program Report (SPR) list, ensuring new records reflect current reporting requirements and historical records remain accurate.
• Manages Yale Law School's inventory of named spaces and recognition opportunities, including developing proposals, documenting activity in Hopper, and coordinating with University partners on plaque design, production, and installation.
• Coordinates ad hoc stewardship communications and post-event gift mailings.
• Generates regular reports and presentations on stewardship plans, timelines, and activities.
• In partnership with the Director of Gift Administration, provides backup support for endowed fund financial reporting, gift processing, and the preparation of gift agreements, as needed.
• Assists in producing the Yale Law School annual Philanthropy In Action report by collaborating with AED colleagues to compile and review data, develop compelling content and impact stories, shape messaging strategy, identify stories for inclusion, and provide feedback on report drafts.
• Supports the planning and execution of donor recognition opportunities to ensure high-quality donor engagement and appropriate acknowledgment.
• Develops and maintains Yale Law School website content that supports donor stewardship, ensuring content is engaging, current, and effectively advances donor relations and AED goals.
• Identifies proactive donor stewardship opportunities by collaborating across the School and the AED team to ensure key donors receive timely and meaningful updates.
• Stays informed about initiatives and activities across the School to identify content and storytelling opportunities for stewardship projects.

Evenings: Occasionally

Weekends: Occasionally

Required Skills and Abilities

• Must be able to work in a team-based environment, and have the ability to direct and motivate staff and volunteers. Prior experience in supervision and management is preferred. Excellent communication, interpersonal, presentation, and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated success in developing and executing strategic donor relations materials, events, and plans.
• Must have strong computer software skills including MS Office, excel, power point, Canva or similar software, databases and networked information systems. Excellent analytic skills to ensure data-driven results.
• Ability and willingness to travel and work some weekends and evenings as needed.
• Commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Preferred Skills and Abilities

• Experience in a complex, matrixed university setting working with alumni and donors.
• Familiarity with Yale University.

Principal Responsibilities

• Directs, monitors, and assesses needs and directs the application of resources of an administrative University office dealing with one or more major functional areas.
• Directs and implements solutions to problems that are routine to complex in nature and that affect multiple functional areas of responsibility.
• Plans and/or participates in planning University activities on a long-term basis to comply with University goals and objectives.
• Establishes and implements consistent university-wide policies in multiple functional areas of responsibility.
• Ensures that University office policies and procedures are in compliance with federal, state, and local laws and ordinances.
• Develops and monitors goals and objectives for managerial and professional staff in compliance with University strategies.
• Directs a staff of exempt and non-exempt employees.
• May perform other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience

Bachelor’s Degree in related field and six years of experience or an equivalent combination of education and related experience.

Job Posting Date

10/01/2026

Job Category

Manager

Bargaining Unit

NON

Compensation Grade

Administration & Operations

Compensation Grade Profile

Manager; Program Leader (25)

Salary Range

$82,000.00 - $131,500.00

Benefits

A general description of the benefits to be offered with this Managerial & Professional position is available at:

Yale Benefits

Time Type

Full time

Duration Type

Staff

Work Model

Hybrid

Background Check Requirements

All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks basedon the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.

Health Requirements

Certain positions have associated health requirements based on specific job responsibilities. These may include vaccinations, tests, or examinations, as required by law, regulation, or university policy.

Posting Disclaimer

Salary offers are determined by a candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education in relation to the position requirements, along with the role’s grade profile and current internal and external market conditions.

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties throughtheir hiring department.

The University is committed to basing judgments concerning the admission, education, and employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities and seeks to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified persons from a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives. In accordance with this policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.

Inquiries concerning Yale's Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment may be referred to the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA).

Note

Yale University is a tobacco-free campus.