Associate Director of Donor Communications - Wharton External Affairs

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Associate Director of Donor Communications, Wharton External Affairs

Job Profile Title

Associate Director C, Business and Finance, Communications and Marketing

Job Description Summary

Wharton School Overview
Founded in 1881 as the world’s first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With campuses in both Philadelphia and San Francisco, Wharton has over 850 staff, a faculty population of more than 235 renowned professors, and 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students. Each year 13,000 professionals from around the world advance their careers through Wharton Executive Education’s individual, company-customized, and online programs. More than 104,000 Wharton alumni form a powerful global network of leaders who transform business every day. Wharton is home to a dynamic community of staff, bringing a wide range of skills, experiences, and perspectives. To learn more, visit www.wharton.upenn.edu.

The Associate Director of Donor Communications is an executive-level writer and strategic collaborator who leads complex, high-impact projects that demonstrate the outcomes of philanthropy and inspire engagement with the Wharton School. This role reports to the Development Communications Director and is a core member of the Donor Relations team, situated as a part of the Development and Principal Gifts function in Wharton External Affairs.

Wharton External Affairs serves as the gateway for alumni, friends, and partners to remain actively engaged with the Wharton community. The department fosters meaningful connections among alumni, faculty, and students, facilitates philanthropic partnerships, and strengthens lifelong ties to the School.

Job Description

Job Responsibilities

• Establish strong working relationships with research programs and centers across the School and the University to create compelling cases for support, proposals, and impact reports. Apply your experience and comfort with interfacing with executive leadership to guide conversations to yield giving outcomes. Lead conversations that inform shaping stories that motivate donors to give and illustrate outcomes and future direction to existing donors.  
   

• Become a trusted thought partner to Development and Principal Gift colleagues, versed in funding opportunities, gift structures, and storytelling strategy in various formats, suiting donors at various stages of gift conversations at six figure and above levels for endowed and term gifts to MBA fellowships, professorships, and programs in analytics, entrepreneurship, finance, and more. 
   

• Serve as the lead Donor Relations writer for impact reports on the School's highest priorities - including existing, evolving, and newly launched research programs, centers, and initiatives. Apply your advanced persuasive writing skills; your experience with learning and incorporating organizational style and leadership voice; and your ability to capture emotion and paint a vivid image of the opportunities made possible by donor support.
   

• Actively drive the partnership with University-wide communications offices to announce principal gifts, tell donor stories, and promote giving on a variety of platforms. Ensure accuracy in content to reflect donor intent and School and University priorities among principal and major gift level Wharton donors.
   

• Introduce novel concepts to elevate the development and presentation of donor relations content. Apply that vision to compose bespoke, personalized material for individual donors alongside advising on and executing scaled content production and distribution for large donor audiences.
   

• Manage competing priorities across multiple high-profile projects while producing exceptional content in a high expectation, large volume, and fast-paced environment.
   

• Bring your experience with an understanding of different giving types - including principal giving, major giving, corporate and foundation giving, and more - and factor this into the processes you support and advise upon. Enable reaching ambitious year over year fundraising goals through exceptional wording and visual presentation for current and prospective donors. 
   

• Function at a high level autonomously, while engaging as a member of a holistic Donor Relations team. Serve as a subject matter expert on editorial and writing style standards for donor relations content, and a mentor to writers on the Donor Relations team, contributing to a workplace environment of continuous learning and connection. 

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and three to five years of experience in development and principal giving communications, fundraising writing, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
   

• Strong interpersonal skills and experience interacting effectively with administrative, faculty, and other organizational leadership and navigating a complex environment of stakeholders.
   

• Exceptional writing, research, and editing skills along with the ability to adapt style and voice to writing on behalf of and for varied audiences.
   

• A high level of discretion for maintaining the confidentiality of donor data. 
   

• Outstanding detail orientation, with an ability to personalize content and communicate outcomes in a clear, compelling manner.
   

• Excellent complex project management, planning, and time management skills, with the ability to meet multiple deadlines and track activities in a fast-paced, high volume environment. 
   

• Effectiveness in both micro-focus on singular donors and programs balanced with a macro strategic view on reaching broad donor audiences. 
   

• Demonstrated ability to work independently as well as effectively as a member of a team. Experience functioning autonomously, shaping robust communications strategy, and collaborating productively with program executives. 
   

• Position will require a limited number of evening and weekend work and travel to staff alumni and donor events.
   
  Applicants must submit a cover letter and 2 writing samples, preferably in a fundraising context. 

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

Wharton School

Pay Range

$77,330.00 - $80,000.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, and in alignment with salary ranges based on external market data for the job’s level. Internal organization and peer data at Penn are also considered.

Equal Opportunity Statement 

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin(including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protectedunder applicable federal, state or local law.

Special Requirements 
Background checks may be required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits

• Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

• Tuition: Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.

• Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

• Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.

• Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.

• Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.

• Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.

• University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.

• Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.

• Flexible Work Hours:Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.

• Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.

• Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

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To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay