Job Details

Director of Donor Relations

Position Number: 7328027
Location: Claremont, CA
Position Type: Development and Fund Raising

Director of Donor Relations
Harvey Mudd College

Full Time
REQ-8275

NOTE TO APPLICANT: Some positions require a resume, cover letter and/or other documents to be submitted with your application. Please submit these as one attachment in the My Experience section of the application under the "resume/CV" upload section. Once you submit your application, you will not be able to attach additional documents.

Job Posting Title:
Director of Donor Relations

Job Description:

Title of Job: Director of Donor Relations

POSITION SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Assistant Vice President of Advancement Operations and Campaigns, the Director of Donor Relations is a strategic leader responsible for architecting a world-class donor experience.

This role bridges the gap between operations and front-facing engagement. As the College targets ambitious growth (targeting $25M+ annually), the Director will design the systems, data-driven workflows, and personalized stewardship frameworks necessary to sustain a high-velocity fundraising program. This role will lead the transition from traditional stewardship to a comprehensive donor experience model: ensuring every supporter feels the impact of their investment in our students and faculty.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Principal Donor Stewardship and Relationship Management

Develop and execute individualized stewardship plans for the College's most significant donors at $1M+ ensuring each donor experiences a highly personalized and meaningful connection to Harvey Mudd College.
Manage a portfolio of principal, major, and legacy donors in stewardship phases of the donor lifecycle. Conduct regular donor visits, campus meetings, virtual briefings, and strategic outreach designed to deepen engagement and strengthen long-term philanthropic relationships.
Serve as the primary institutional relationship manager for select donors whose commitments have been fulfilled or are in active stewardship, maintaining momentum between solicitations and ensuring readiness for future philanthropic conversations.
Design customized stewardship experiences that connect donors directly to the impact of their giving through faculty engagement, student interactions, research updates, campus visits, and special programs.
Partner closely with Philanthropic Advisors to ensure seamless transitions between cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and renewed investment.
Serve as a central point of coordination for select principal donors and families, ensuring a thoughtful, seamless, and highly personalized donor experience across the College.

Strategic Stewardship Planning and Donor Experience

Lead the College's comprehensive stewardship strategy, creating differentiated engagement plans for annual, major, principal, and planned giving donors.
Develop individualized stewardship roadmaps for the College's highest-priority donors, coordinating engagement opportunities across academic departments, leadership, students, trustees, and alumni.
Create signature stewardship experiences that reflect Harvey Mudd's distinctive culture and demonstrate the impact of philanthropy on students, faculty, research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Evaluate and enhance donor recognition programs, giving societies, and engagement opportunities to strengthen donor retention and long-term loyalty.
Design and oversee a comprehensive acknowledgment strategy that ensures timely, personalized, and meaningful donor recognition at every level.
Oversee strategic stewardship events and donor experiences, identifying opportunities for meaningful engagement that deepen donor connection to the mission and future of the College.

Campaign, Capital Project, and Naming Strategy

Partner with Advancement leadership, campus stakeholders, and frontline fundraising staff to develop comprehensive stewardship and recognition strategies for major campaign initiatives, including capital projects, endowed programs, faculty positions, and transformational philanthropic investments.
Contribute to campaign planning by establishing stewardship frameworks, donor recognition strategies, naming opportunity guidelines, and long-term engagement plans that support campaign success and donor retention.
Lead the development and refinement of tiered stewardship models that define engagement, reporting, recognition, and experiential opportunities across donor segments, with particular emphasis on major, principal, campaign, and legacy donors.
Oversee stewardship commitments associated with naming agreements and major gift commitments, ensuring recognition obligations are documented, fulfilled, and maintained over time.
Advise Advancement leadership on stewardship considerations related to new facilities, campus improvements, endowed funds, and campaign priorities, helping ensure a donor-centered approach throughout the gift lifecycle.
Collaborate with campus partners to develop meaningful dedication ceremonies, milestone celebrations, donor briefings, and other engagement opportunities tied to campaign investments and institutional priorities.

Principal Gift Strategy and Pipeline Development

Serve as a member of the College's prospect strategy team, contributing donor intelligence and stewardship insights to support campaign and fundraising priorities.
Monitor donor engagement, satisfaction, and stewardship outcomes to identify opportunities for renewed giving, increased investment, planned gifts, and campaign participation.
Develop and implement formal stewardship-to-cultivation transition plans that position donors for future solicitations while preserving relationship continuity.
Identify highly engaged donors whose stewardship experience indicates readiness for principal gift, endowment, campaign, or planned giving conversations.
Provide strategic recommendations to Advancement leadership regarding donor retention, donor lifetime value, and principal donor engagement strategies.

Endowment, Scholarship, and Impact Stewardship

Oversee the College's endowment and fund stewardship program, ensuring donors receive transparent, compelling, and accurate reporting regarding the impact of their philanthropy.
Lead annual stewardship reporting for endowed funds, scholarships, faculty positions, programs, and special initiatives.
Partner with Advancement Services, Finance, Academic Affairs, and other campus stakeholders to ensure donor intent is honored and stewardship reporting reflects meaningful outcomes and measurable impact.
Utilize stewardship systems and reporting tools to track fund utilization, donor engagement, stewardship deliverables, and key performance metrics.
Oversee the College's scholarship stewardship program, including student engagement opportunities, scholarship impact reporting, and signature events such as scholarship and student support luncheons.

Memorial, Tribute, and Legacy Stewardship

Provide strategic oversight of the College's memorial, tribute, and legacy stewardship program, ensuring donors, families, classmates, and friends experience thoughtful, personalized, and meaningful engagement following commemorative gifts and legacy commitments.
Oversee the development and execution of stewardship plans for memorial funds, tribute scholarships, endowed funds, and other philanthropic gifts established in honor or memory of members of the Harvey Mudd College community.
Guide institutional strategies that celebrate and preserve donor and alumni legacies through meaningful recognition, impact reporting, student connections, and commemorative opportunities.
Partner with Academic Affairs, Alumni and Family Engagement, and Advancement Communications to ensure memorial and tribute donors receive coordinated stewardship and appropriate opportunities for continued engagement with the College.
Supervise the administration and stewardship of memorial and tribute funds, ensuring donor intent is honored, stewardship commitments are fulfilled, and families receive periodic updates regarding the enduring impact of their philanthropy.
Advise Advancement leadership and frontline fundraisers on opportunities to deepen relationships with families, classmates, and friends whose philanthropic engagement may lead to future major gifts, planned gifts, volunteer leadership, or long-term support of the College.

Stewardship Analytics and Compliance

Develop and manage a comprehensive stewardship framework that supports donor engagement, retention, accountability, and campaign readiness.
Partner with Advancement Services to oversee stewardship systems, reporting infrastructure, donor engagement tracking, stewardship analytics, and the optimization of donor relations technologies.
Establish key performance indicators and dashboards to measure stewardship effectiveness, donor retention, engagement levels, stewardship completion rates, and long-term donor satisfaction.
Monitor stewardship obligations associated with endowed funds, restricted gifts, naming agreements, scholarships, faculty positions, and campaign commitments, ensuring compliance with donor intent and institutional policies.
Identify stewardship risks and areas of concern, partnering with Advancement leadership, Finance, and Academic Affairs to proactively address issues related to donor expectations, fund utilization, or reporting commitments.
Establish and maintain service standards for gift acknowledgments, donor reporting, stewardship deliverables, and engagement activities, fostering a culture of responsiveness, accountability, and excellence across the Advancement division.
Evaluate emerging stewardship practices, technologies, and donor engagement strategies, recommending innovations that strengthen donor relationships and support future philanthropic investment.

Executive Engagement, Strategic Communications, and Leadership

Develop and manage a coordinated engagement strategy for the President, Vice President for Advancement, trustees, faculty leaders, and other institutional partners involved in donor stewardship.
Prepare customized donor briefings, impact updates, stewardship plans, and engagement strategies for institutional leadership.
Partner with Advancement Communications to create personalized stewardship materials, donor impact reports, and strategic communications for principal and major donors.
Ensure the College's highest-level donors receive proactive, coordinated, and consistent engagement from institutional leadership.
Build and promote a campus-wide culture of stewardship by partnering with faculty, academic leaders, administrators, and frontline fundraisers to integrate donor engagement into the life of the College.
Develop resources, training, and best practices that help faculty and staff understand their role in cultivating meaningful donor relationships and demonstrating philanthropic impact.
Serve as a strategic advisor to Philanthropic Advisors and College leadership on donor experience, stewardship strategy, principal donor engagement, and campaign relationship management.
Supervise and mentor the Assistant Director of Donor Relations, establishing clear goals, performance expectations, and professional development opportunities while fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and service.
Represent the College at donor meetings, campaign events, stewardship gatherings, and other high-profile engagement opportunities as an ambassador for Harvey Mudd College and its philanthropic priorities.

Culture of Philanthropy:

As a key campus leader and leader within OCA, support OCA's objective to cultivate and sustain a robust culture of philanthropy that reflects belief and confidence in HMC's leadership and mission. Reinforce that every gift supports people and programs across campus, inspiring shared pride and a collective commitment to the College's future. Promote a sense of hospitality, giving and generosity, ensuring that individuals understand the vital role of philanthropy in contributing to the College's success.

Campus Collaboration:

Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with key offices and partners across campus, including the President's Office, the Dean of Faculty Office, Admission, Financial Aid, Student Affairs, Financial Affairs, academic departments and centers, and Career Services, to coordinate and amplify engagement opportunities.

Qualifications

Experience: 7 to 10+ years of progressive advancement experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership role specifically focused on donor relations, advancement operations, or high-level stewardship.
Strategic Mindset: Proven track record of scaling a stewardship program from manual processes to sophisticated, system-driven donor journeys.
Operational Proficiency: Deep experience with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, Blackbaud, Fundminer) and specific experience in endowment tracking and reporting (experience with FundMiner or similar fund-management software is highly preferred).
Cultural Fit: An appreciation for the rigorous academic environment of Harvey Mudd College and the ability to communicate the value of a liberal arts-based STEM education.
Communication: Exceptional writing and presentation skills; ability to translate technical academic successes into compelling donor-centric narratives.

Remote Work Eligibility:

Category B:
All staff positions, regardless of remote work eligibility, require an initial 30-calendar-day on-campus work period. Based on an evaluation by the supervisor and area Vice President, this position is classified as Category B as defined in the College's Remote Work Policy, with occasional ad-hoc remote work flexibility (as needed). Your approved remote work arrangements under Category B allow for up to one remote work days per week during the academic year and up to one remote work days during the non-academic year. Please note these days may vary depending on departmental and College needs.

Your standard working hours will generally be from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, though these hours may vary depending on departmental and College needs. All remote work arrangements, including ad-hoc remote work, must be approved by the direct supervisor, area Cabinet member, and Human Resources, and are subject to periodic review based on institutional needs. These arrangements are neither guaranteed nor considered entitlements and may change due to factors such as employee performance, evolving business needs, or changes to the position.

Physical Requirements:

While performing the duties of this job, the staff member is regularly required to sit; stand, use hands and fingers and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms. The individual must regularly lift and/or carry up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Hours:

Regular office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. However, days and hours may vary due to the needs of the department or the College.

Classification:

This is an exempt, full-time, regular, benefits eligible, position.

Compensation:

135k-145k per year.

Reports To:

This position reports to the AVP of Operations and Campaigns

Additional Information:

This job description defines the essential job duties of the position. Harvey Mudd College expects that employees hired for this position can perform the essential functions of the job without imposing risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of themselves or others. It may also include marginal functions, generally defined within Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Regular employment at the College is for no specified period; conditions and status of employment (hours, pay, title, duties, etc.) are subject to change at any time. Employment is at-will and employees, and likewise the College, are free to end the employment relationship at any time, for any reason, with or without notice or cause, unless otherwise prohibited by law.

Harvey Mudd College is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will be given consideration for employment without regard to age, race, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, protected veteran's status, disability, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law.

Please note that in order to be considered an applicant for any staff position at Harvey Mudd College you must apply for each position for which you believe you are qualified.

To apply, visit https://theclaremontcolleges.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/HMC_Careers/job/Kingston-Hall/Director-of-Donor-Relations_REQ-8275