Description

Department:

Location:
Belknap Campus
Time Type:
Full time
Worker Type:
Regular
Job Req ID:
R108672
Minimum Requirements:
Bachelor's degree in a related field and eight (8) years of relevant experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Grade 11 (Salaried)
Position Description:

The Director of Stewardship serves as a strategic leader responsible for designing, strengthening, and advancing a comprehensive stewardship program. This role focuses on delivering compelling impact reporting, developing thoughtful donor recognition strategies, and ensuring transparent, meaningful communication.

The Director ensures that donors at all levels clearly understand the purpose, outcomes, and lasting impact of their philanthropy. By collaborating closely with campus and organizational partners, this position delivers high-quality stewardship experiences that reinforce donor trust, deepen engagement, and inspire continued philanthropic investment.

Duties & Responsibilities

Stewardship Strategy and Execution

• Lead the development of high-quality stewardship materials, including donor stories, impact highlights, videos, digital content, and special reports.
• Establish and champion best-in-class acknowledgment practices to ensure timely, meaningful, and consistent expressions of gratitude across all units.
• Collaborate with campus partners to deliver a unified, high-quality donor experience across colleges, departments, and programs.
• Design and manage comprehensive donor recognition programs and customized recognition for major donors.
• Supervise donor relations staff responsible for acknowledgments, donor experience enhancements, and donor portal improvements.
• Partner with the philanthropy team to support donor cultivation through tailored engagement opportunities, briefing materials, and stewardship plans.
• Coordinate strategic outreach, milestone recognition, and engagement opportunities aligned with donor interests.
• Lead continuous improvement of donor relations processes, workflows, and outcomes.

Endowment, Gift Agreement, and Impact Reporting

• Oversee the development and delivery of comprehensive endowment and impact reports that clearly communicate the use and outcomes of donor-supported funds.
• Partner with finance, academic units, and program leaders to gather accurate data and compelling narratives, ensuring consistency and transparency.
• Collaborate with PAE Communications to produce impact-focused materials, including reports, donor stories, and digital content.
• Establish reporting frameworks, templates, and standards to support timely and meaningful communication for both endowed and current-use gifts.
• Integrate data visualization, metrics, and storytelling techniques to enhance clarity, engagement, and donor understanding.
• Oversee the development, review, and execution of charitable gift agreements to ensure accuracy, clarity, and alignment with donor intent and institutional priorities.
• Partner with stewardship and donor relations teams to ensure gift agreement terms are fulfilled, including reporting, recognition, and ongoing donor engagement commitments.

Donor Recognition Strategy

• Design and oversee a cohesive donor recognition program encompassing physical installations, digital platforms, achievement societies, and milestone acknowledgments.
• Ensure all recognition activities align with institutional values, brand standards, and donor expectations.
• Advise leadership on naming opportunities, recognition policies, and institutional guidelines.

Collaboration & Leadership

• Serve as a strategic partner to PAE senior leadership, development officers, and academic units on donor engagement and stewardship strategy.
• Work closely with campus leaders to ensure consistent and timely endowment reporting, acknowledgment practices, and transparent donor communications.
• Partner with PAE communications team to ensure unified messaging and brand alignment.
• Build strong relationships with faculty and staff to identify compelling stories of donor impact.

Operations & Continuous Improvement

• Manage project pipelines, production schedules, and annual stewardship cycles to ensure timely and high‑quality deliverables.
• Maintain systems to track stewardship commitments, recognition obligations, and reporting deliverables.
• Leverage benchmarking and industry trends to innovate and enhance stewardship practices and donor engagement experiences.
• Oversee budgets and vendor relationships related to recognition displays, publications, digital tools, and other stewardship assets.

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in donor relations, stewardship, advancement communications, or related work.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills with strong attention to detail.
• Proven ability to manage complex projects with multiple stakeholders and deadlines.
• Demonstrated leadership and team‑management experience.
• Strong understanding of donor behavior, fundraising principles, and philanthropic culture.
• Familiarity with CRM and donor management systems
• Experience with data visualization, digital communications, or creative production.
• Understanding of Endowment management and financial reporting concepts.

Competencies

• Strategic thinking and problem‑solving
• Collaboration and relationship‑building
• Clear, compelling written and verbal communication
• Creativity and innovation
• Commitment to donor-centric service
• Project and team management skills.

*Please include a cover letter along with your resume

Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement is committed to creating campus environments that support the success of all students and employees. We believe that employees who feel valued and respected will create policies, programs, practices, research agendas, and services that effectively meet the needs and exceed the expectations of our student populations.

Benefits - The University of Louisville has an exceptional benefits package; to learn more about our benefits, please visit here

Compensation will be commensurate to candidate experience.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of Louisville is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. The University strives to provide equal employment opportunity on the basis of merit and without unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, veteran status, marital status, or pregnancy. In accordance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veteran Readjustment Act of 1974, the University prohibits job discrimination of individuals with disabilities, Vietnam era veterans, qualified special disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, and other protected veterans. The University acknowledges its obligations to ensure affirmative steps are taken to ensure equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants for employment. It is the policy of the University that no employee or applicant for employment be subject to unlawful discrimination in terms of recruitment, hiring, promotion, contract, contract renewal, tenure, compensation, benefits, and/or working conditions. No employee or applicant for employment is required to endorse or condemn a specific ideology, political viewpoint, or social viewpoint to be eligible for hiring, contract renewal, tenure, or promotion.

Consistent with applicable law, demographic information is collected for aggregate reporting requirements. Demographic information provided through this application is not available to hiring managers/committees and is not considered in hiring or employment decisions.

Assistance and Accommodations

Computers are available for application submission at the Human Resources Department located at 2315 South First Street Walk, Room 02C - Louisville, Kentucky 40292.

If you require assistance or accommodation with our online application process, please contact us by email at employment@louisville.edu or by phone 502-852-6258.