Duties:

SUNY New Paltz invites applications for the position of Director of Alumni Relations. Reporting to the Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations, the Director of Alumni Relations is a senior member of the Development team. We are seeking an experienced, dynamic and creative professional who will plan and implement a comprehensive program of activities that establishes and maintains relationships with the approximately 64,000 New Paltz alumni worldwide.

Serving as an ambassador, the Director of Alumni Relations is charged with strategically engaging alumni, securing commitments from them to provide professional expertise and volunteer service. This position also requires working closely with colleagues across key administrative offices, including but not limited to Admissions, Development, Communication and Marketing, and Student Affairs. The successful candidate must develop and maintain relationships with the Deans and faculty departments at each school in order to create and maintain pathways for alumni participation.

The Director will plan and implement a comprehensive program of activities that establishes and maintains relationships with alumni and the College and provides tangible benefits to alumni and current students. The Director chairs the Alumni Advisory Council, plans class reunions and implements special events to recognize outstanding alumni, coordinates the alumni network which spans the U.S. and abroad. S/he serves as an editor of the Connect e-newsletter and the alumni bi-annual New Paltz Magazine. The Director contributes ideas, story suggestions, copyediting, writing, and organizational input, serves as liaison between development and the editorial staff and maintains the alumni relations website and alumni social media pages.

The Director manages the Alumni Relations budget, supervises two full-time and one part-time employees (the Alumni Relations Secretary, Alumni Relations Officer, and part-time Special Projects Manager), along with several student workers and numerous volunteers. The Director serves as liaison to the Director of Athletics, guiding alumni outreach to those affiliated alumni.
This position requires high professional and ethical standards for handling confidential information, including personal alumni information, institutional budget and financial information.

This position also requires travel and attendance at evening and/or weekend activities, meetings, events, seminars and workshops.

Responsibilities Include:

• Work closely with the Alumni Council, arranging its meetings, staffing its committees and ensuring strong and productive relationships between its members, the Alumni Association (alumni body), and the academic and administrative leadership
• The successful candidate will plan, implement, and promote alumni programs that support the College’s iterative strategic plan, a portion of which is to “Engage alumni in the life of the College.” They will develop and submit for approval by the VP annual strategic and operating plans within this framework.
• Plan and supervise all activities and events associated with Reunion, ensuring that all of the College’s constituencies are recognized and involved, including alumni, students, faculty and staff, and retired faculty. Develop a program of Reunion volunteer chairs to build engagement and the return by alumni to campus. Ensure that the Alumni Association Awards program reflects positively on the College and recognizes outstanding alumni by researching the records of prospective candidates, preparing background materials for consideration by the Alumni Council, President, or other selection committee. Coordinate with selectees for their participation in recognition ceremonies.
• Educate graduating students about alumni benefits and engage them in programs, participating in Convocation and Commencement activities, among others
• Help guide the College’s work in becoming an anti-racist campus by soliciting alumni perspectives and facilitating activities that directly further this work.
• Partner with the Department of Admissions to spearhead the introduction of alumni involvement in the admissions process; partner with Student Affairs and Center for Career Services to plan the growth and accessibility of career networking services for students and alumni
• Establish and build relationships with a wide range of alumni, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally; maintain regular communication with alumni via direct contact, email blasts, alumni web pages, social media, and print publications
• Ensure accurate and complete alumni database records; capture contact, biographical and career information of alumni via surveys, projects (e.g. alumni interviews), correspondence, website, postal returns, etc.
• Manage the Orange and Blue Network, the online alumni engagement platform, and seek ways to build a robust and engaged online community.
• Other duties as assigned by the Vice President

Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s degree is required, Master’s degree preferred
• At least five years working in college or university alumni relations required, although relevant experience in fields such as external affairs that involve strong constituency relations will be considered
• A minimum of three years of supervisory experience and a successful record of supporting and motivating staff as well as student workers is required. Work experience that demonstrates knowledge of and familiarity with higher education will be viewed as especially relevant to this position.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills are required, with public speaking experience preferred. Excellent interpersonal skills are required. Experience with writing or editing publications is a plus.
• The ability to establish strong and effective personal and professional relationships particularly with volunteers and volunteer leadership and to develop knowledge of, and respect for, individuals of diverse cultures, experiences and backgrounds is required.
• The ability to work effectively with various technologies including but not limited to the Microsoft suite of products, knowledge of complex relational database applications is required.
• The position requires demonstrably strong planning, organizational skills and project management skills, attention to detail and ability to effectively manage multiple and competing deadlines.
• The successful candidate will demonstrate flexibility, initiative and the ability to work independently as well as part of a team to achieve institutional goals.
• The demonstrated ability to strategize, implement and build constituency programs and activities, along with a talent for motivating volunteers
• Ability to organize and complete multiple tasks simultaneously with close attention to detail and prioritization to meet deadlines