Senior Associate Director, Class Enagagement - Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
About the Job
Overview
The Senior Associate Director, Class Engagement is responsible for informing, involving and inspiring alumni engagement across Princeton’s undergraduate alumni population and introducing current students to Princeton’s alumni traditions and opportunities for lifelong connections. Reporting to the Director of Alumni Communities, the Senior Associate Director supports Princeton’s undergraduate alumni classes spanning over 80 years from the Senior Class to the Old Guard.
The Senior Associate Director leads a team dedicated to collaborating with, advising, training, and supporting class leaders to enhance alumni engagement with their classes and Princeton University. The position also oversees and manages several key annual traditions, including the Pre-Rade during Opening Exercises, the Service of Remembrance on Alumni Day, and the Alumni Faculty Forums during Reunions, among others. The successful candidate will work closely with colleagues across University Advancement, campus partners, and the Alumni Council Executive Committee to ensure that class engagement programs are impactful, well-coordinated, and aligned with University priorities.
Princeton University Advancement works to inform, inspire, and involve Princeton’s global community of alumni, parents, and friends in ways that enable the University to fulfill its mission of advancing learning through scholarship, research, and teaching to serve humanity.
Responsibilities
Class Engagement:
- Collaborate with the Director of Alumni Communities to develop a comprehensive class engagement strategy, setting annual goals and priorities to ensure that each class maintains a strong class organizational structure and identity.
- Provide strategic and operational leadership in guiding, planning and implementing signature class programming including the Pre-rade, Tiger Tailgate, the Service of Remembrance, Alumni Faculty Forums and Old Guard Reunions.
- Oversee support for regional class events, class mini-reunion programs and class gatherings held during Homecoming and Alumni Day.
- Partner with colleagues in Regional Engagement, Annual Giving, Reunions, Affinity Programming, and Volunteer Engagement to strengthen volunteer recruitment and pipeline development and collaborate on joint programming opportunities.
- Collaborate with the Alumni Education and Travel team to manage the Alumni Faculty Forums and promote alumni education offerings across the Classes.
- Oversee class dues tracking.
Recent Alumni and Student Engagement:
- Work with Advancement senior leadership, Advancement Communications and Annual Giving to develop and implement programs and initiatives designed to engage and support alumni who have graduated within the past 10 years.
- Partner with class leadership and the Regional Engagement team to expand opportunities for regional recent alumni engagement.
- Support efforts to cultivate ties with the undergraduate classes and introduce Princeton alumni traditions.
- Oversee Alumni Engagement’s participation in Senior Class check-out and the Alumni Class Officers elections for the senior class.
Volunteer Management, Onboarding and Pipeline Development:
- Act as a primary liaison to the Alumni Council's Committee on class engagement. Advise and partner with committee chair and vice chair to set annual goals, advance initiatives, manage budget and ensure effective communication and programs.
- Advise, train and consult with class volunteer leaders on various organizational issues including officer elections, governance, volunteer recruitment, leadership succession, financial planning, legal compliance, class traditions, class trips, events planning, and communications.
- Oversee and support the development and deployment of class volunteer training, tools, and resources to facilitate their work on behalf of Princeton. Collaborate with Advancement Communications on related TigerNet features, policies and training issues.
- Oversee and support annual class award and stewardship initiatives.
Operations:
- Supervise, coach and support the professional development of team members.
- Establish key metrics to evaluate the success of class engagement programs, including data collection, analysis, and continuous improvement.
- Support Class Affairs financial planning, budgeting, and reconciliation processes to ensure efficient resource allocation in partnership with Director of Alumni Communities.
- Participate in broader Advancement and Alumni Engagement initiatives, working groups, and committees as needed.
- Assist with and attend “all-hands” alumni events, including Alumni Day, Reunions, three yearly Alumni Council executive committee meetings, and special on-campus events and conferences.
Class Communications:
- Oversee and track over 100 class mailings annually.
- Partner with the Advancement Communications team to develop and implement communications plans that highlight class and recent alumni engagement opportunities and showcase volunteer leaders and success stories.
- Leverage channels such as the University website, Alumni Association site, Tiger E-News, Princeton Alumni Weekly, and social media to amplify class engagement efforts.
Qualifications
Essential Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree and at least eight years of Advancement or strongly related work experience
- Proven ability to develop and foster relationships with people at all levels of an organization, and to collaborate and influence at a high level
- Exceptional written, oral and interpersonal skills
- Evidence of self-motivation and the ability to work both independently and in teams with high personal standards representative of Princeton’s commitment to excellence
- Strong strategic planning and project management skills necessary to set and monitor progress against goals, develop plans and timelines, and measure success toward goals
Preferred Qualifications:
- Strong familiarity with Princeton University, its mission and its global community of alumni
- Experience in higher education, alumni relations and/or volunteer management
Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS