Senior Associate Director, Graduate Alumni Relations

Reporting to the Director of Alumni Communities, and working in close partnership with the Deputy Dean of the Graduate School, the Senior Associate Director for Graduate Alumni Relations is responsible for establishing and driving the goals to inform, involve and inspire Princeton’s global community of graduate alumni. The Senior Associate Director will set the strategic priorities relative to these goals, translating these priorities into initiatives and determining how we measure success.

The successful candidate will manage a team of two and work closely with University Advancement colleagues, the staff of the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School, and the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni (APGA) board, to ensure that all efforts are aligned across Advancement, the Graduate School, academic departments and 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.

Volunteer Engagement, Onboarding and Pipeline Development

• Serve as a primary engagement liaison to graduate alumni and encourage their involvement in all aspects of the University’s alumni engagement efforts.
• Partner with the Director for Volunteer Engagement to ensure there is a strong pipeline of graduate alumni with an interest in engaging with their fellow alumni and the University. Identify and help recruit graduate alumni to serve as regional volunteers, on the APGA, on the Alumni Council’s Executive Committee and standing committees, on Affinity Group Boards and in other volunteer roles.
• Collaborate with APGA leadership on priority initiatives, communications, APGA Reunions and other University events.
• Partner with the APGA nominations committee to consider candidates for the Madison Medal, alumni trustee positions and APGA leadership roles.

Graduate Student Engagement and Connection with the Graduate School

• Partner with the Graduate School to develop and support initiatives to introduce lifelong engagement with Princeton to students before they graduate with a special focus on volunteer engagement post-graduation.
• Integrate alumni into the key initiatives of the Graduate School.
• Attend Graduate School staff meetings and team meetings to develop plans for alumni engagement and connections.
• Develop relationships with the academic departments to better understand and engage with graduate students around their academic disciplines.
• Work with the Graduate School on building and connecting with graduate alumni serving on the Dean’s Leadership Council.

Graduate Alumni Communications

• Collaborate with the Advancement Communications team on communications plans that supports the dual goals of spotlighting and engaging graduate alumni through vehicles including the University website, the Alumni Association website, Tiger E-News, the Princeton Alumni Weekly and social media, among other channels.

Regional Engagement

• Partner with Alumni Engagement’s Regional Affairs team, to encourage graduate alumni participation across all alumni regional activities and bolster graduate alumni representation in regional association leadership.
  • Design and implement targeted graduate alumni programs and events in the regions, including gatherings for recent graduate alumni in collaboration with the Regional Affairs team.

Additional Responsibilities

• Develop programs and events to promote graduate alumni participation in the life of the University, with a special focus on lifelong learning opportunities and academic programming in collaboration with the Alumni Education and Travel team.
• Promote graduate alumni attendance and participation at on-campus signature events including Reunions, Alumni Day, Homecoming and conferences.
• Assume the lead with University Advancement colleagues to ensure that there is coordination in the goals and priorities for graduate alumni engagement and philanthropic support across University Advancement.
• Assist with and attend “all-hands” alumni events, including Alumni Day, Reunions, three yearly Alumni Council executive committee meetings, special on-campus events/conferences and volunteer leadership assemblies.

Essential Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree and at least eight years of advancement or 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.
• Discretion, good judgment and commitment to keep confidential all data related to Princeton and its alumni and donors.
• Ability to respond quickly to changing business needs and priorities. Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously and to produce high-quality and compelling work product under tight deadlines.
• Ability to work with a high degree of flexibility in a highly-collaborative, fast-paced, goal-oriented environment.
• Demonstrated experience building relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds, identities, abilities, and experiences.
• Commitment to University Advancement’s mission of fostering alumni engagement and maximizing philanthropic support for Princeton University and to adhering to its guiding principles of High Performance, Innovation, Civility and Collaboration.
• Availability to work night and weekends required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong familiarity with Princeton University, its mission and its global community of alumni.
• Advanced degree strongly preferred.
• Prior experience in an academic environment.

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

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