Director of Constituent Engagement

About Roanoke College

Roanoke College is a place where every student who works hard has the opportunity to succeed. We champion potential, providing essential learning and leadership through innovative academic programs and transformative educational experiences, giving students the mettle, mindset, and empathy to pursue lives of purpose, build meaningful careers, and meet society’s most pressing needs. Located in scenic Salem, Virginia, Roanoke College is an intimate, welcoming community that has served the local region and beyond for nearly 200 years. Now, we’re building on momentum and offering a Roanoke experience for today’s students and a legacy that belongs to every Maroon. Learn about the College's new strategic plan, Imagine Roanoke: A Strategic Plan for Roanoke College and the 21st Century Learner.

Roanoke College is a nationally ranked residential liberal arts college affiliated with the Lutheran Church (ELCA), located in the beautiful Roanoke Valley of Virginia. A Phi Beta Kappa institution, Roanoke College is an equal opportunity employer and actively seeks diversity among its faculty, staff, and students; women and members of under-represented groups are especially encouraged to apply.

The Position

The Director of Constituent Engagement oversees the strategic effort to build and sustain lifelong relationships among alumni, families, and students within the college community. This position is responsible for developing and executing comprehensive volunteer and philanthropic engagement strategies that connect alumni and families with the college and with one another, cultivating a vibrant, supportive, and engaged community that enhances institutional pride and long-term support. The Director will also be responsible for building a comprehensive student philanthropy program.

The ideal candidate will be a creative relationship builder and collaborator who brings fresh ideas for engaging and communicating with alumni, families and students to grow their affinity to the college. As a visible ambassador of Roanoke College, the Director will represent Advancement at events and programs, occasionally traveling to support alumni engagement efforts. Reporting to the Vice President for Advancement, this role contributes to initiatives aligned with Roanoke College’s strategic priorities and mission. The Director will also collaborate closely with colleagues in the Advancement Division, Career Services, Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Admissions, Building and Grounds, Auxiliary Services, Athletics, and other campus partners to deliver high impact to the overall volunteer and philanthropic engagement of alumni, families and students.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Engagement

• Design and implement a multi-audience engagement strategy aligned with the college’s mission and advancement goals, emphasizing communication, relationship-building, and fundraising for Advancement.
• Develop annual tactics with senior leadership, addressing objectives for alumni, family, and student programs, volunteer structure and engagement strategies.
• Actively manage the alumni lifecycle beginning with the first moments on campus to creating a lifelong engagement pipeline.
• Oversee and support the activities of volunteer boards, including documented operating guidelines that include a defined philanthropic component, coordination of meetings, member recruitment, facilitation of communication, and alignment with organizational goals.
• Support special projects in collaboration with leadership to facilitate alumni and family participation in key fundraising initiatives such as Giving Days, class reunions, legacy gifts, event giving and planned gifts.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Communications to develop targeted outreach and storytelling strategies that foster connection and pride.
• Aid in identifying alumni and family prospects for philanthropic involvement and coordinate information sharing with appropriate Advancement staff.

Alumni Engagement

• Plan and execute annual alumni engagement events, including strategic regional gatherings, class reunions, Honor Guard, young alumni and Alumni Weekend.
• Cultivate alumni volunteers, provide tools and support for peer-to-peer engagement and fundraising efforts.
• Maintain a robust, broad-based alumni communication plan including newsletters, social media, and digital outreach.

Family Engagement

• Create and manage programs that build relationships with families of current students, such as Family Weekend, Move-In Weekend and Orientation.
• Lead the Parent Leadership Council and collaborate on philanthropic initiatives targeting families.
• Partner with Career Services and Dean of Students Office to develop a family communication strategy to keep parents informed, involved, and engaged with the college.

Student Philanthropy

• Partner with Career Services, Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Admissions and other departments to build a culture of philanthropy among students.
• Develop student programming that fosters institutional pride and begins the transition to engaged and philanthropic alumni.
• Oversee or advise student philanthropy efforts or student ambassador programs, as appropriate.

Collaboration and Leadership

• Serve as a visible and accessible representative of the college at events on and off campus.
• Manage budget for engagement activities and track metrics of participation and impact. Use data and feedback to continuously assess and improve engagement strategies that target quantifiable strategic locations.
• Support data management functions including the tracking and reporting of constituent participation, volunteerism, and contact reports.
• Supervise and develop direct reports.
• Oversee management of student assistants including hiring, training, supervising, and coordinating delegation of work from staff to students.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Education, Experience, Skills, and Abilities:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. Experience working in a liberal arts or higher education environment preferred.
• 3-5 years of experience in alumni relations, advancement, student affairs, or a related field.
• Familiarity with volunteer management and constituent engagement strategies preferred.
• Passion for the mission of small liberal arts colleges and the value of a close-knit community preferred.
• Works independently within a strategic framework and institutional priorities.
• Works well with others to create a friendly, supportive, and productive workplace promoting an understanding and respect for Advancement work across campus.
• Maintains a collegial, cooperative, and collaborative working style with a diverse group of constituents and campus partners.
• Brings a keen ability to foster, build, and maintain relationships on all levels, which includes providing experiences that make constituents feel special.
• Possesses excellent written, oral and presentation communication skills, along with moderate skills in design and marketing.
• Utilizes excellent project management, organizational, and planning skills and has superior attentiveness to detail.
• Works with a proactive manner and the ability and inclination to formulate and to articulate opinions creating consensus and momentum.
• Uses high level of judgement and able to maintain confidentiality and appropriately handle sensitive communications.
• Experience in planning and executing events of various scales.
• Proficiency with CRM/database systems and digital communication tools.
• Willingness to travel and work occasional evenings/weekends. Ability to drive a vehicle and valid Virginia driver’s license.