Director of Development and Alumni

Director of Development and Alumni

Office of Institutional Advancement

Office of the President

Tsaile Campus

Duty Schedule:

8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday; regular evening/weekend and travel required for donor cultivation, campaign events, and Board of Regents meetings across Diné College sites. Position is funded by 55% Gen Funds and 45% grant funds for fiscal year 2026-2027.

Summary/Objective of Position:

The Director of Development and Alumni provides strategic leadership for Diné College's development and alumni relations functions, directing the design, execution, and evaluation of a comprehensive fundraising and alumni engagement program that builds a culture of philanthropy across the Navajo Nation and beyond in support of Diné College's mission and Sá'ah Naagháí Bik'eh Hózhóón principles. Reporting to the Vice President of Institutional Advancement, the Director sets annual giving, capital campaigns, and alumni-engagement strategy, supervises staff and interns, manages the department's operating budget, and serves as a senior representative of the College to major donors, businesses, tribal enterprises, foundations, and Board of Regents members. The Director ensures donor, prospect, and alumni data are collected, shared, and used consistently across the College. Collaborates closely with the Marketing and Communications staff to ensure donor relations, fundraising initiatives, capital campaigns, and philanthropic activities are strategically and positively represented across digital platforms and external communications, including appropriate donor recognition, campaign messaging, and promotion of the impact of philanthropic support of Dine College.

Description of Essential Functions of the Position

Disclaimer: This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts, requirements, or working conditions associated with the job. While this list is intended to reflect the current job accurately, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed as assigned. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• 60% Strategic Leadership of Development and Alumni Programs
  • Direct and continually refine a comprehensive, multi-year fundraising plan for annual giving, major gifts, and alumni giving, including mail, digital, and direct-solicitation strategies, aligned with Diné College's capital campaign and institutional priorities.
  • Set strategy and annual goals for donor acquisition, upgrade, renewal, and stewardship; conduct regular and year-end assessments of Annual Fund performance and report results and recommendations to the Vice President, Chief of Staff, President, and Board of Regents.
  • Direct the College's alumni engagement strategy, including alumni database integrity, lost-alumni recovery, volunteer and mentorship pipelines, alumni/parent/grandparent giving programs, and alumni-facing digital and social media content.
  • Serve as a senior liaison between the College and prospective and current donors, tribal enterprises, foundations, and other organizations; lead cultivation and solicitation strategy for leadership- and major-gift-level prospects in coordination with the Vice President of Institutional Advancement.
  • Represent the Development and Alumni function within the capital campaign, including gift-range strategy, prospect identification, campaign materials, and donor stewardship tied to campaign phases.

• 20% Staff Supervision and Budget Management
  • Create and maintain a fiscal management system for the Development department - tracking restricted and unrestricted revenue, pledge payments, expenditures against budget, and grant/gift compliance - and use it to produce regular financial reports for the Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Board of Regents.
  • Supervise, coach, and evaluate development and alumni staff (e.g., Development Officer(s), Alumni/Development Coordinator, interns), including hiring, onboarding, performance management, and professional development.
  • Develop and manage the Development and Alumni department's annual operating budget; monitor expenditures and ensure appropriate use of restricted and unrestricted funds, including P-Card and purchase requisition processes.
  • Establish and maintain moderate-to-high collaboration with Marketing & Communications, the Diné Policy Institute, Dine Education, other Diné College departments, and broader College partners to integrate resources and accomplish shared fundraising and engagement goals.

• 10% Data, Systems, and Digital Fundraising Oversight
  • Oversee the use of Jenzabar and other internal systems to build and maintain a segmented prospect and donor pool; direct planning, execution, and evaluation of digital campaigns such as #GivingTuesday, Giving Days, and digital challenges.
  • Direct research and evaluation of emerging fundraising technologies and recommend improvements to Advancement processes, objectives, and goals based on program performance.
  • Ensure donor, prospect, and pledge data are tracked consistently in a unified system and that stewardship activity (acknowledgments, reporting, impact updates) is completed on schedule by department staff.
  • Create and present regular reports to the Board of Regents on development initiatives, including campaign progress, fundraising performance against goals, major-gift and prospect pipeline status, and alumni engagement outcomes.

• 10% Perform other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education & Experience

Minimum:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Public Relations, Marketing, or a closely related field, plus five to seven (5–7) years of progressively responsible experience in higher education or nonprofit development, alumni relations, or donor solicitation, including at least two (2) years in a supervisory or team-lead capacity.
• Equivalent experience (in the absence of a degree) may substitute at the standard rate: an additional 3 years for an Associate's degree, 5 years for a Bachelor's degree, or 7 years for a Master's degree.

Preferred:

• Master's degree in a related field; 3 years of higher education or tribal-college development experience, including capital campaign experience; demonstrated success securing major and leadership gifts from individuals, tribal enterprises, or national foundations; prior supervisory experience in a development or alumni relations office.

Knowledge:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including donor correspondence, proposals, and Board-level reporting.
• Advanced knowledge of philanthropic trends, moves-management, and gift-range/campaign methodology to advise and set donor strategy.
• Knowledge of principles and finance processes for donor and alumni customer service, needs assessment, and satisfaction evaluation.
• Working knowledge of nonprofit/higher-education budget development and management, including restricted and unrestricted fund stewardship.
• Familiarity with Bureau of Indian Affairs, federal, and Navajo Nation funding structures as they relate to private philanthropy.

Skills:

• Staff supervision, coaching, and performance management skills.
• Strategic finance and budget planning, including forecasting and reporting on fundraising and departmental financial performance.
• Communications and media skills, including production, dissemination, and evaluation of donor and alumni-facing content across written, oral, and digital channels.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and donor management software (e.g., Jenzabar); ability to learn additional software as needed.
• Oral fluency in Navajo is highly desirable, but not mandatory.

Abilities:

• Ability to lead and develop a team, delegate effectively, and hold staff accountable to fundraising and stewardship goals.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, initiative, and strict confidentiality at a senior level, including with the Board of Regents and executive leadership.
• Ability to build and sustain relationships with major donors, tribal enterprises, foundations, alumni, and other external stakeholders.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent priorities across development, alumni relations, and campaign work; detail-oriented in coordinating cross-departmental activities.
• Ability to represent the College publicly and persuasively, including public speaking and donor solicitation.

Physical Requirements, Work Environment & Travel:

• Work is performed primarily in an office setting, including regular use of a personal computer to enter, retrieve, and analyze data.
• Ability to communicate both verbally and in writing to internal and external audiences via multimedia.
• Frequent travel across Diné College campuses (Tsaile, Window Rock, Tuba City, Shiprock, Crownpoint) and to donor, campaign, and conference locations is required; ability to maintain confidentiality and use of a College vehicle is required.

Other Requirement(s):

• Must have and maintain a valid state-issued driver's license and successfully pass a background check.
• Other licensing may be required depending on area of assignment.