The Placement Exchange Job Board

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range: $99,000 - $115,000

Position Summary

The Director of Partnership Initiatives serves in a leadership role on the alumni relations team and is responsible for the oversight of several key programs and activities that advance the School???s engagement priorities. Reporting to the Senior Executive Director of Alumni and Corporate Relations, the director will implement a comprehensive alumni engagement framework to improve operations for special events and programs and create the strategic direction for student-to-alumni transition. The director will be responsible for the execution of the annual awards dinner, quarterly corporate gatherings, and serve as strategic partner to the Office of Student Affairs, Career Management Center, and Executive Education.

The director???s team will serve as a primary liaison for students and recent alumni through their fifth reunion and will develop a cyclical engagement and fundraising strategy for alumni 0-5 years post-graduation, in partnership with the annual fund team. The director will supervise a team of two officers and co-manage the Young Alumni Board.

Responsibilities

1. Serve as lead organizer for the signature annual awards dinner, including all event logistics, and manager of the overall project. Works closely with Vice Dean, Senior Executive Director, and Major Gift Officers to develop fundraising strategy. Works closely with the Marketing and Communications team on all design elements.
   
   
2. Works closely with Sr. Executive Director and Director of Alumni Programming/Engagement to create and curate priority-aligned programming for DAR, by identifying and cultivating a high-level slate of diverse alumni and faculty, working with various stakeholders to feature in signature and regional events, and communication pieces.
   
   
3. Serve as the primary DAR liaison to the Office of Student Affairs, CMC, and Executive Education, providing strategic direction and engagement opportunities for alumni during new student orientation, recognition and graduation, large-scale student interfacing events, and large-scale student/alumni interfacing events. Recruit top-level alumni speakers and program participants for student club conferences.
4. Develop programming aimed toward strengthening students??? ties to the School and alumni network. Create and facilitate communications strategy for student-to-alumni transition via targeted outreach. Identify opportunities to partner with Student Affairs to educate and encourage a culture of giving among graduating students, with the goal of increased participation toward their class gift campaign.
   
   
5. Along with the Associate Director, serve as a co-liaison to the Young Alumni Board, and set broad strategic direction for recent alumni.
   
   
6. Direct the corporate gathering program, in partnership with MG officers and the Career Management Center. Execute 3-4 events per year. Cultivate new alumni relationships and strengthen existing corporate partnerships that parlay into increased alumni connection and/or student conference support.
   
   
7. Provide oversight and strategic guidance of the corporate club sponsorship program. Work closely with Assistant Director to implement strategy for student clubs reliant on corporate support.
   
   
8. Serve as lead organizer or collaborator on any school-wide affinity or identity-based anniversaries or recognition events, as needed.
   
   
9. Collaborate with key stakeholders within DAR and at CBS to achieve goals and engagement outcomes.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree desirable. 5-7 years related experience required, preferably in Alumni Relations, or another loyalty marketing driven communications and customer service field.

Excellent written, oral and interpersonal communication skills necessary, as well as organizational, design, and data management expertise. Proven proficiency with Microsoft Office suite programs (Access, Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Adobe Creative Suite programs, HTML, and CSS.

Ability to prioritize work under deadline pressure and to deal effectively with frequent changes and last-minute problems. Should be poised, thoughtful and graceful under pressure and be a good team player. Must be available to work evenings and some weekends.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.

About Columbia University

Columbia University is one of the world's most important centers of research and at the same time a distinctive and distinguished learning environment for undergraduates and graduate students in many scholarly and professional fields. The University recognizes the importance of its location in New York City and seeks to link its research and teaching to the vast resources of a great metropolis. It seeks to attract a diverse and international faculty and student body, to support research and teaching on global issues, and to create academic relationships with many countries and regions. It expects all areas of the university to advance knowledge and learning at the highest level and to convey the products of its efforts to the world.

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