Executive Director, Constituent Relations and Development, Law School

I. JOB OVERVIEW

Established in 1865, the George Washington University Law School is the oldest law school in the nation's capital and one of the most prestigious law schools in the country. The Law School is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools. GW Law is located on the GW campus in the downtown DC neighborhood familiarly known as Foggy Bottom.

University Advancement is responsible for leading the university's alumni and fundraising efforts, and seeks to promote a culture of philanthropy throughout the university community, including alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff, corporations and foundations, patients and other friends. Our goal is to advance the mission of excellence in education, research, scholarship, and patient care. The landscape of alumni and constituent engagement is different today than it was in decades past.

High tuition rates, along with greater competition from impactful nonprofits, have altered the way people view higher education, resulting in an increasing number of alumni abandoning the once deeply-rooted tradition of giving back to alma maters. In order to counteract this trend, schools must present a new value proposition. The Executive Director, Constituent Relations and Development at the George Washington University Law School (the School) plays a crucial role in helping to set this new path in reimagining why and how alumni, donors, volunteers, and board members are engaged.

This role requires an innovative self-starter who is willing to think differently about the activity of engagement.

• Supervise the Engagement team, which includes the functional areas of alumni engagement, annual giving, stewardship, reunion and events, board and council management, and volunteer management.
• Makes hiring decisions; manages performances, daily tasks and workflows, provides coaching, training and mentorship.
• Develop and execute a strategy that engages the School’s alumni, board members, donors, and volunteers locally, regionally, and nationally by leveraging relevant and meaningful initiatives, events, and communications.
• Evaluate the school’s effectiveness of events and programs through feedback mechanisms and data analysis, making budget and programming adjustments as necessary to enhance alumni participation and satisfaction.
• Collaborate with academic departments, student organizations, and other School and university units to develop meaningful programming that aligns with the interests and needs of alumni and external stakeholders, including the creation and assessment of affinity groups.
• In close partnership with the School’s AVP, develop and implement a robust and streamlined approach to effectively manage the School’s eight different councils and boards-which includes the GW Law School Alumni Board- that provides value-add experiences for the board members and the School.
• Determine the best reunion model for the school and implement, track, and evaluate it, focusing on opportunities to increase reunion attendance and reunion class fundraising.
• Working closely with the Dean’s Office, School’s AVP, and the School’s major gift officers, plan national travel and meetings for the School’s Dean and other School academic leadership that focus on the cultivation of key relationships.
• Create and implement, utilizing various platforms, including social media, newsletters, the semi-annual Law School magazine, surveys, online communities, and post-event emails to effectively communicate with alumni and constituents about School news and opportunities for engagement.
• Oversee and manage the School’s donor stewardship program, which involves the execution of faculty installations, customized annual endowment reports, bespoke and routine acknowledgements, and other donor stewardship activities, as well as working closely with the Director of Finance to ensure efficient funds management towards the goals of increasing the School’s retention rates and elevating existing donors to higher gift levels.
• Partner collaboratively with Central GW Annual Giving Office to plan, execute, and report on the…