Director of Donor Relations

Choate Rosemary Hall seeks a strategic and experienced advancement professional to serve as Director of Donor Relations. This role offers an exciting opportunity to strengthen and expand our comprehensive donor relations program and elevate stewardship efforts across the Choate community. With more than 3,000 donors annually, including nearly 600 leadership-level donors, a cohort of donors supporting significant capital initiatives, and 676 endowed funds to steward, the Director will play a pivotal role in shaping a program that is both highly personalized and broadly impactful.

Reporting to the Director of Advancement, the Director of Donor Relations will lead a comprehensive, data-informed stewardship and engagement program, partnering closely with colleagues across the department and school to ensure donorsparticularly principal and major donorsexperience meaningful engagement and remain convinced of the ongoing impact of their philanthropy. The Director will bring a creative approach to stewardship, developing thoughtful and compelling ways to communicate impact and recognize generosity, and will supervise the Assistant Director of Donor Relations in advancing this work.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Lead the strategy and execution of a creative, data-informed donor relations and stewardship program aligned with Choates priorities.
• Establish and manage stewardship processes that ensure consistency, quality, and alignment with best practices.
• Partner with senior members of the Advancement team to create and implement tailored stewardship for principal and major donors
• Manage the acknowledgment process to ensure timely, accurate, and meaningful communication
• Coordinate the production of the Schools annual endowment report and related impact reporting for donors
• Develop and implement personal approaches to communicate the impact of endowed funds on key programs and priorities
• Collaborate with Advancement Communications to highlight donor stories and philanthropic impact across publications and digital channels
• Manage the inventory, production, and placement of donor recognition plaques across campus
• Supervise and mentor the Assistant Director of Donor Relations

SECONDARY DUTIES:

• Leverage data, reporting, and Advancement systems to inform engagement strategy, track performance against goals, and support data-driven decision-making across alumni and constituent programs.
• Other duties as assigned

JOB QUALIFICATIONS: MINIMUM KSAS (KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES) REQUIRED FOR PLACEMENT IN POSITION

Education: A bachelors degree is required

Prior experience: 57 years of relevant advancement experience, including a focus on donor relations or stewardship

Other Key Competencies:

• Commitment to mission-driven work and advancing institutional values through donor-centered stewardship.
• Track record of designing and implementing comprehensive donor stewardship programs.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to set priorities and execute effectively.
• Strong relationship-building skills across diverse constituencies and internal partners.
• Proven management experience, including coaching, performance evaluation, and team development.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including crafting donor-centered messaging.
• Familiarity with donor recognition, reporting, and stewardship best practices.
• Highly organized, with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Experience supporting principal and major gift strategies.
• Facility with data and advancement systems to inform decision-making and measure outcomes.
• Collaborative, relationship-oriented approach with the ability to work effectively across teams

Schedule: A regular 5-weekday work schedule, with some evening and weekend work required. Must be available for occasional travel as needed, using all modes of transportation.

Working at Choate: Choate Rosemary Hall is a coeducational, independent secondary school located in central Connecticut with 850 boarding and day students and over 400 employees. Choate serves intellectually gifted and motivated students of diverse backgrounds from across the globe whose commitment to serious study is enhanced in an academically challenging and personally supportive setting.

Choate provides students with transformative and meaningful experiences that instill lifelong habits of learning, leadership, and service, shaped by innovative and passionate educators. Teaching faculty at Choate are innovative, collaborative, and committed to our students' intellectual, social, emotional, and character development. Our faculty understands that each of our students has the potential for growth and works to encourage students to develop their own ideas and voices in learner-centered environments.

For its students and employees alike, Choate strives to be a diverse and inclusive community where all feel valued and embraced. On our campus, principled individuals from diverse backgrounds are united through common purpose, active engagement, and mutual respect. We celebrate differences and the richness of our varied backgrounds and experiences. Recognizing that working in an inclusive community can also present challenges, we embrace those challenges through ongoing dialogue and interaction, enhancing empathy and appreciation for those whose perspectives differ from our own.

Choate prohibits in all its programs, including hiring and employment practices, discrimination against or harassment of any member or group based upon age, gender, race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, genetic information, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other category protected by Connecticut or federal law, except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification.