The Senior Director of Strategic Advancement Communications is a member of Yale Law School’s Alumni Engagement and Development (AED) team and oversees all communications in support of alumni engagement, volunteer engagement, donor engagement, recognition, and fundraising. The Senior Director will plan and execute communication strategies and produce messaging and materials that accelerate engagement and giving using print, digital, and social platforms. The Senior Director will have a demonstrat... more details
The Senior Director of Strategic Advancement Communications is a member of Yale Law School’s Alumni Engagement and Development (AED) team and oversees all communications in support of alumni engagement, volunteer engagement, donor engagement, recognition, and fundraising. The Senior Director will plan and execute communication strategies and produce messaging and materials that accelerate engagement and giving using print, digital, and social platforms. The Senior Director will have a demonstrated ability to effectively harness multichannel alumni communications; produce persuasive content; manage short and long-term projects; collaborate successfully with colleagues and stakeholders; mentor staff; meet goals and deadlines; and ensure the accuracy of all alumni communications. The Senior Director reports to the Executive Director for Advancement Services.
The Senior Director will:
Work with the AED leadership to identify strategic alumni communication needs and ensure the integration of communications efforts across the office; lead the development of a comprehensive strategic communications plan for AED, and the production of accurate, high-quality deliverables including marketing, solicitation, stewardship, and engagement materials.
Partner with colleagues in the school’s Office of Public Affairs to coordinate message and brand.
Collaborate with the Associate Dean, ED for Advancement Services, gift officers, and faculty leaders to develop and articulate a case for support and investment for funding needs. The Senior Director is responsible for writing and translating content into functional materials for fundraising, including proposals, white papers, marketing brochures, appeals, and web content.
Participate in the development and implementation of a comprehensive, tiered strategy stewarding Yale Law School donors at all giving levels including reports, donor societies, individual stewardship plans, bespoke donor recognition opportunities, correspondence with donors, events, and other mechanisms that demonstrate the impact of donor contributions.
Oversee all communications for alumni events and meetings including print/digital invitations/reminders, programs, remarks, signage, swag, marketing and meeting materials, and follow-up communications; serve as point of contact for alumni and donor event photography/video.
Implement an AED-wide system and calendar to coordinate the development and distribution of content and materials for our donors, prospects, and alumni.
Serve as communications partner and resource to the stewardship team for recurring messaging; provide support of weekly gift acknowledgement letter process, monthly birthday wishes, custom messaging on behalf of dean/assoc. dean, and annual financial/narrative reporting templates.
Oversee the development and production of communications for the volunteer engagement team such as membership directories, bios, and meeting materials.
Develop multi-year strategic plan to leverage the YLS website to reach and engage our graduates and donors; oversee creation of content and ongoing management of content to insure that website is leveraged to advance AED goals.
Manage Associate Director; develop annual performance goals and performance metrics for team. Provide regular performance feedback.
Lead project management of the annual donor report; develop messaging strategy, identify stories for inclusion and provide feedback on drafts.
Serve as liaison with outside communications partners.
Collaborate with stewardship team to acquire information on how the gift funds have been spent, working with fund beneficiaries and recipients to create compelling stories of impact, compiling information for narrative donor reports and creating content to curate for proposals.
Stay abreast of initiatives and activities at the school on an ongoing basis in order to provide content ideas for fundraising, engagement, and stewardship projects. Ability and willingness to travel, and work some weekends and evenings as needed. 1. Manage a team of communication professionals; responsible for developing staff. 2. Manage relationships with key stakeholders with a high degree of professionalism, judgment, and understanding of stakeholder goals. 3. Oversee design and manage communication plans for stakeholders by understanding the significance of initiatives, administrative and departmental priorities. 4. Ensure organizational effectiveness of administration through short-term and long-range communication planning with insight into audiences, channels, and culture; coordinate with other professionals to achieve institutional goals. 5. Lead planning activities with clients and partners; lead communication process within developed standards and protocol. 6. Create and edit compelling stories; oversee and create content for internal and external channels. 7. Analyze and understand various communication preferences to promote initiatives; create, evaluate, analyze reports based on metrics. 8. Manage multimedia content including video, graphic, web, and photography. 9. Provide guidance and support for departmental projects and services. Bachelor’s degree in Communications, English, Journalism or related field and six years of experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.