Simmons College

PROCEDURE FOR CANDIDACY 

To explore this opportunity further, please send your resume in confidence to:

Wendy Wilsker | 781.572.5703 | wwilsker@boyden.com

Beth Parsons | 617.592.0473 | bparsons@boyden.com

Please visit the Boyden website listing for more information.

About Simmons

Located in Boston’s historic Fenway area, Simmons has a strong tradition of empowering women and challenging traditional gender roles. Simmons University was one of the first higher education institutions to prepare women to become leaders and has evolved to become a university offering a women’s undergraduate program and graduate programs open to all. 

You’re joining our community at an especially exciting time as one of our strategic goals is to become the most inclusive campus in New England. You’ll find that people who work here are truly committed to our mission of preparing students to become champions of social justice and leaders in their professions and their communities. This commitment and pride make for a dynamic workplace. Simmons University is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual’s community experience.

As a university committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Simmons encourages applications from all under-represented groups. Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices–at all levels, for all positions–ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.

About the Office of Advancement

Under the direction of Vice President of Advancement, Beth Kramer (she/her), the Advancement team is in a time of growth and expansion. This department offers an incredible opportunity to be entrepreneurial and creative in a fast-paced, collaborative, and collegial environment. The team had a record-breaking fundraising year in Fiscal Year 2022 and is focused on increasing revenue through alumnae/i-driven engagement strategy.

The Advancement team is closely connected with the University’s Strategic Priorities and plays a key role in supporting the current priorities and the long-term success of Simmons.

JOB SUMMARY

Reporting to the Director of Alumnae/i and Volunteer Engagement, the Associate Director of Affinity Engagement and Individual Giving (“Associate Director”) will serve as an integral member of the Office of Advancement (“Advancement”) team. The Associate Director will strategically advance programs, activities, and communications which connect and engage alumnae/i across various affinities and deepen the connection between Simmons and its more than 50,000 global graduates. Through the development and refinement of an integrated affinity strategy, relying heavily on volunteer recruitment and management, as well as cross-campus collaborations, the Associate Director will develop a robust culture of philanthropy amongst alumni groups with shared interests and connections.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

Volunteer Management

• Create and bolster affinity programs to drive engagement of—and philanthropy among—alumnae/i and friends in key areas and targeted constituencies, such as professional and industry-based programs or regional, athletic, identity and interest-based affinities, and more. This will include both deepening the engagement within historic affinity groups and discovering new affinity opportunities.
• Identify lead volunteers within signature affinity groups—including Black Alumnae, community engagement and social justice initiatives—and build out committees in support of fundraising around key events/initiatives.
• In collaboration with the Associate Director of Alumnae/i and Volunteer Engagement, develop, lead, and participate in training opportunities for volunteers. This includes leading conference calls/webinars and creating written materials.
• Communicate regularly with volunteers to support their work and share outcomes and results.
• Create a robust plan to ensure affinity-based volunteers are cultivated and stewarded.

Fundraising

• Contribute to and execute departmental strategy for sustaining, growing, and building affinity groups in collaboration with the Associate Director of Volunteer and Alumnae/i Engagement. Develop metrics to track and measure effectiveness of affinity engagement and giving efforts.
• Lead select affinity-based fundraising campaigns, including volunteer advocacy and messaging for outbound communications. Partner with Advancement colleagues, the Office of Student Engagement, Success and Diversity (SESD), and other student-facing organizations across campus to promote within their portfolios/constituency groups.
• Curate and maintain a portfolio of volunteers for cultivation and solicitation in support of Advancement’s participation goals.
• Create and execute a digital engagement strategy to introduce and advance fundraising opportunities such as crowdfunding efforts and specific affinity giving priorities.
• Direct affinity volunteers to engage fellow alumnae/i as both donors and ambassadors in support of Simmons’ annual signature fundraising campaigns, including Reunion and Giving Day.
• Collaborate with volunteer committees to amplify philanthropic outreach and encourage donor participation for all members.

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Other duties as assigned

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• A Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent work experience.
• A minimum of four (4) years of professional experience, or equivalent or transferable skills and experience; experience in higher education, alumni relations, and/or development preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in constituent engagement and/or volunteer management.
• Strong interpersonal skills, demonstrating the ability to be aware of, coordinate, instruct, negotiate with, and be in service to others.
• Strong time management skills and attention to detail, organizational, oral, and written communication skills.
• Ability to envision, propose, and develop new initiatives that support Advancement’s goals, specifically around donor participation and engagement.
• Must be able to handle sensitive information confidentially.
• Some evening and weekend work is required, including staffing/attending specific events throughout the year.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Knowledge of annual giving processes, metrics, and systems.
• Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, designing forms. And other office procedures and terminology.
• Knowledge of communication and dissemination techniques and methods, including alternative techniques and methods.
• Knowledge of and skill with navigating and utilizing spreadsheets, presentations, word processing, databases, the internet, and other key computer and technical applications and related software
• Knowledge of and skill with navigating and utilizing customer relations management applications (Raiser’s Edge/NXT in particular) a plus.
• Strong communications skills, demonstrating the ability to effectively communicate and understand information and ideas across multiple stakeholders and constituencies, demonstrating active listening and learning.
• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to look at data and draw conclusions to inform strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to work with individuals across different identities, backgrounds, and abilities.
• Strong ability to work effectively in an outcomes-focused, team environment, with demonstrated ability to take responsibility for assigned tasks and take initiative.
• Ability to recognize and identify problems of varying complexity and develop, implement, and evaluate creative solutions as appropriate. Ability to manage oneself and others as appropriate.
• The ideal candidate will be positive, extremely service-oriented, and have a demonstrated ability to build strong working relationships with a variety of different individuals and groups.

PROCEDURE FOR CANDIDACY 

To explore this opportunity further, please send your resume in confidence to:

Wendy Wilsker | 781.572.5703 | wwilsker@boyden.com

Beth Parsons | 617.592.0473 | bparsons@boyden.com

Please visit the Boyden website listing for more information

Salary Grade

S08

Instructions to Applicants: Please upload all applicable application materials (e.g. resume/cv, cover letter, writing sample, teaching philosophy, etc.) in the Application Materials box on page 2 ("My Experience") of this application. Documents can be uploaded individually or as a combined document (e.g. PDF).

Simmons University is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual’s community experience. As a university committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Simmons encourages applications from all under-represented groups. Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices–at all levels, for all positions–ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.