What does a director of alumni relations do?
The director of alumni relations is liable for relationship management between a university and its alumni. They serve as a connection between the graduates and the university community. One of the major duties of directors of alumni relations is to create engaging activities and events for alumni to participate in, such as homecoming weekends, class reunions, and dinner parties. This job requires excellent communication skills to coordinate their engagement activities with the other departments of the university, from the office of president to campus security.
Director of alumni relations responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of alumni relations resumes:
- Work cross functionally to write and manage multi-million dollar budgets, alliances and ROI analytics.
- Supervise the creation of mailing of annual fund announcements, appeals and thank you's to achieve annual fund goals.
- Program development includes managing and building strong relationships with corporate and affinity partners to secure sponsorship and career enhancement for alumni
- Design performance review process and share oversight with route sales leadership.
- Design, management, and oversight of administrative budget ($ 2,000,000) & employee benefits, including 401k.
- Assist in identifying appropriate market segments to develop effective annual fund solicitations and/or appeals for print, electronic and social media.
- Execute and supervise telemarketing campaign.
- Implement an annual fund and membership telemarketing efforts.
- Restructure traditional Phonathon, establishing it as an annual program.
- Establish asset level budgets across the portfolio and normalize accounting procedures.
- Direct philanthropy programs fostering leadership, advocacy and community change skills in youth.
- Work with administrative leadership with community relations, including promotional events and media communication.
- Establish an automate phonathon program on campus utilizing students to solicit alumni and parents.6.
- Coordinate among cross-functional business departments including investor relations, risk, trading desk, compliance, tax/accounting, and portfolio administration.
- Coordinate player, coach, and staff headshots for all editorial and internal use.
Director of alumni relations skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Directors Of Alumni Relations are proficient in Alumni Relations, Alumni Engagement, and Alumni Association. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Problem-solving skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Directors Of Alumni Relations that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Alumni Relations, 18%
Developed long-term Alumni Relations Strategic Plan targeted to increasing alumni participation, alumni communication, event awareness and alumni giving.
- Alumni Engagement, 9%
Developed marketing collateral and programs to increase alumni engagement and drive financial support.
- Alumni Association, 8%
Promoted positive relationships between Alumni Association, Alumni Association Board, and College constituencies Planned and executed Alumni Association out-of-state events.
- Alumni Events, 6%
Planned and executed monthly alumni events targeting 14,000+ in alumni database.
- Event Planning, 4%
Learned how event planning contributes to Fund Development
- Alumni Programs, 4%
Developed and implemented marketing strategies to enhance support for existing alumni programs and events; searched for new constituency programming alternatives.
Common skills that a director of alumni relations uses to do their job include "alumni relations," "alumni engagement," and "alumni association." You can find details on the most important director of alumni relations responsibilities below.
Leadership skills. One of the key soft skills for a director of alumni relations to have is leadership skills. You can see how this relates to what directors of alumni relations do because "public relations and fundraising managers often lead large teams of specialists or fundraisers and must be able to guide their activities." Additionally, a director of alumni relations resume shows how directors of alumni relations use leadership skills: "strengthened milwaukee chapter alumni association board with leadership succession planning. "
Problem-solving skills. Many director of alumni relations duties rely on problem-solving skills. "managers sometimes must explain how the company or client is handling sensitive issues," so a director of alumni relations will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways director of alumni relations responsibilities rely on problem-solving skills: "implemented an integrated online solution for email communication, online donations and event management to streamline gift processing and event registration. "
Speaking skills. This is an important skill for directors of alumni relations to perform their duties. For an example of how director of alumni relations responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "public relations and fundraising managers regularly speak on behalf of their organization." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a director of alumni relations: "visited preschools, represented the school in the sw houston chamber of commerce, develop an alumni association. ".
Writing skills. A big part of what directors of alumni relations do relies on "writing skills." You can see how essential it is to director of alumni relations responsibilities because "managers must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases and speeches." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical director of alumni relations tasks: "assisted with fundraising efforts, including personal solicitation, writing fundraising appeals and producing fundraising campaign materials. "
Communication skills. Another common skill required for director of alumni relations responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of directors of alumni relations all the time, as "managers deal with the public regularly; therefore, they must be friendly enough to build a rapport with, and receive cooperation from, their media contacts and donors." An excerpt from a real director of alumni relations resume shows how this skill is central to what a director of alumni relations does: "managed and coordinated the process for all external communications relative to media activities and press releases. "
Organizational skills. While "organizational skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to director of alumni relations responsibilities. Much of what a director of alumni relations does relies on this skill, seeing as "public relations and fundraising managers are often in charge of running several events at the same time, requiring superior organizational skills." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of directors of alumni relations: "create alumni and donor databases for organizational use. "
The three companies that hire the most director of alumni relationss are:
- Johns Hopkins University6 directors of alumni relations jobs
- Trellix6 directors of alumni relations jobs
- Columbia University in the City of New York4 directors of alumni relations jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable director of alumni relations resume templates
Build a professional director of alumni relations resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your director of alumni relations resume.
Compare different directors of alumni relations
Director of alumni relations vs. Campaign manager
Campaign managers are responsible for developing, executing, and managing marketing campaigns for events, products, and services targeting consumers or organizations. These professionals typically collaborate with external agencies in the preparation and execution of campaigns. They perform other duties that may include managing the measurement and tracking of marketing campaigns, writing, proofreading, and editing copy for promotional materials, and maintaining regular measurement of the campaigns' ROI. Campaign managers are also expected to evaluate existing marketing campaigns and be up-to-date on the latest marketing trends.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between directors of alumni relations and campaign manager. For instance, director of alumni relations responsibilities require skills such as "alumni relations," "alumni engagement," "alumni association," and "alumni events." Whereas a campaign manager is skilled in "digital marketing," "email marketing," "email campaigns," and "integrated marketing." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Campaign managers earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $86,390. On the other hand, directors of alumni relations are paid more in the education industry with an average salary of $79,820.The education levels that campaign managers earn slightly differ from directors of alumni relations. In particular, campaign managers are 8.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a director of alumni relations. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of alumni relations vs. Grant manager
A grant manager is responsible for granting financial assistance and support to various sector programs, evaluating grant applications, and implementing policies from its conceptualization to utilization. Grant managers review the grant documents, ensuring its adherence to internal guidelines and state regulations. They coordinate with clients and project management team to inform them of requirements and processes for approval, including the implementation of strategies to identify grant opportunities and policies. A grant manager handles the grant team for efficient coordination to make sure the efficient execution and analysis of grant programs.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, director of alumni relations responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "alumni relations," "alumni engagement," "alumni association," and "alumni events." Meanwhile, a grant manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "grants management," "financial reports," "oversight," and "principal investigators." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Grant managers may earn a lower salary than directors of alumni relations, but grant managers earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $64,389. On the other hand, directors of alumni relations receive higher pay in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $79,820.In general, grant managers achieve higher levels of education than directors of alumni relations. They're 5.8% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of alumni relations vs. Community development director
The job of a community development director is to manage and direct the management and planning initiatives for a community or city organization. Your duties will include collaborating with community partners in developing strategies to improve the community, architectural and economic initiatives, monitoring budgets for department initiatives, and participating in business development efforts. As a community development director, it is your responsibility to develop and maintain the community development department's short- and long-term developmental goals. It is also your duty to develop and coordinate marketing strategies for economic development.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from director of alumni relations resumes include skills like "alumni relations," "alumni engagement," "alumni association," and "alumni events," whereas a community development director is more likely to list skills in "economic development," "oversight," "project management," and "community outreach. "
Community development directors make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $92,043. On the other hand, directors of alumni relations are paid the highest salary in the education industry, with average annual pay of $79,820.Most community development directors achieve a similar degree level compared to directors of alumni relations. For example, they're 2.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of alumni relations vs. Communications director
A communications director is responsible for monitoring and supervising the overall media relations from internal to external communications. A communications director's duties include managing campaigns, providing organizational updates to the employees, supporting social media marketing, developing effective communication strategies to build the organization's reputation, and efficiently leading team members in handling events that represent the business. Communications directors must have strong leadership and communication skills to provide support for the company's daily operations and strategies.
Types of director of alumni relations
Updated January 8, 2025
