Director, Advancement Communications

The Director of Advancement Communications provides strategic leadership for the university’s advancement communications program, overseeing the development and execution of integrated communications strategies that advance fundraising, alumni engagement, donor stewardship, and institutional priorities. Reporting to the Vice President for Communications and Public Relations, the incumbent serves as a strategist and partner with University Advancement leadership and ensures advancement priorities are thoughtfully integrated into the university’s broader communications, marketing, public relations, executive communications, and brand strategies.
The Director leads a high-performing communications team responsible for developing compelling, integrated, multi-channel communications that strengthen constituent relationships, inspire philanthropy, and advance the university’s mission. The incumbent cultivates collaborative partnerships across the institution and fosters a culture of accountability, creativity, innovation, continuous improvement, and service excellence.

Position Specific Responsibilities/Accountabilities

• Lead the development and implementation of comprehensive advancement communications strategies in support of University Advancement priorities and objectives.

• Support university-wide communications initiatives focused on fundraising, campaign communications, donor pipeline development, advancement operations, and board relations.

• Implement and support an integrated visual identity system, communications and social media schedules, and production calendar for all advancement communications activities.

• Partner with University Advancement Operations and appropriate university technology, data, and digital teams to leverage constituent data, communications platforms, automation, and emerging capabilities in support of integrated advancement communications strategies.

• Direct a team of communications and creative professionals. Hire, supervise, and train personnel, freelance, and contracted partners and students to provide services necessary to fulfill responsibilities.

• Coach team members to maximize creativity, productivity, and effectiveness.

• Create a culture of accountability, experimentation, and continuous improvement through evidence-based decision-making, outcome assessment, testing, and process improvement, where individual and team progress, deadlines, and results are reported and evaluated regularly.

• Maintain overall accountability for the quality, effectiveness, coordination, and successful execution of Advancement Communications initiatives, ensuring work aligns with institutional priorities and fundraising objectives.

• Produce, edit, and approve print and digital communications and marketing collateral that support advancement activities, fundraising campaigns, and philanthropic initiatives, and engage identified target audiences and prospective donors.

• Develop and deliver video productions, event promotions, fundraising communications, social media strategies, and awareness and engagement campaigns.

• Lead campaign communications strategy, including campaign messaging, audience segmentation, constituent journeys, and integrated communications across print, digital, web, email, social media, and events.

• Develop personalized communications strategies across the donor and alumni lifecycle, including principal gift cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and engagement of high-priority prospective donors and other key constituencies.

• Use constituent insights, audience data, testing, and communications analytics to continually optimize segmentation, channel strategy, messaging, personalization, engagement, and fundraising outcomes.

• Assure successful outcomes by adopting best-practice project management methodologies, quality assurance metrics, and risk mitigation plans. Ensure projects are completed by identified deadlines.

• Assure the integrity, accessibility, high quality, and consistency of the university’s image, tone, style, narrative, visual identity, and brand across communications platforms and channels.

• Develop and monitor quality assurance standards that promote accountability and communications excellence across Advancement Communications.

• Act as the primary liaison, point-of-contact, and thought leader with University Advancement on all communications matters. Serve as a strategic communications advisor to University Advancement leadership, providing counsel on fundraising communications, campaign strategy, donor engagement, and communications priorities.

• Partner with university leadership to develop communications strategies for announcing significant gifts, elevating philanthropic initiatives, and strengthening donor visibility.

• Provide communications counsel on reputational considerations and issues related to significant gifts, donor recognition, naming, philanthropic initiatives, and other advancement matters, in coordination with appropriate university partners.

• Collaborate with senior university leaders, internal, and external stakeholders to develop comprehensive fundraising campaigns in alignment with the university's strategic priorities, mission, and vision.

• Coordinate with university communications professionals to integrate fundraising messages and objectives into broader communications and marketing activities, executive messaging, talking points, presentations, reports, social media efforts, and other communications channels, ensuring coordinated planning and execution across divisions.

• Provide strategic leadership in communications innovation and emerging technology.

• Continually assess evolving communications practices, platforms, AI-enabled capabilities, data and analytics tools, and other emerging technologies; identify opportunities to responsibly integrate them into Advancement Communications to improve audience engagement, personalization, effectiveness, efficiency, and measurable outcomes.

• Champion experimentation, continuous learning, and thoughtful modernization of communications practices while ensuring appropriate standards for accuracy, accessibility, privacy, ethics, governance, and human oversight.

• Stay abreast of emerging trends, cultivate professional networks, and share insights and recommendations that strengthen advancement and university communications.

Loyola Marymount University Expectations

Exhibit behavior that supports the mission, vision, and values of the university. Communicate and employ interpersonal actions that model high standards of professional, responsible, accountable, and ethical conduct. Demonstrate a commitment to outstanding service and to communications that build trust, clarity, and shared understanding across the institution.

The incumbent must be able to manage complex projects with dependencies, multiple stakeholders, and shifting timelines; exercise strategic judgment under pressure; and work effectively and independently with internal and external constituencies. The incumbent must be able to initiate ideas, develop concepts, improve processes, build consensus, and review the effectiveness of processes to ensure professional standards and high quality.

The incumbent must possess the ability to strategize, recommend, and implement best practices in fundraising-specific marketing and communications strategies to achieve shared goals among University Advancement and Marketing, Communications, and External Relations.

The incumbent can assess the needs of internal clients and propose appropriate measures to meet them. The incumbent can operate in an environment where skilled relationship management and consensus-building are required to deliver successful outcomes. The incumbent is also expected to embrace innovation in the communications function, including the responsible use of AI-enabled tools and technologies while upholding LMU’s standards for ethics, privacy, human judgment, and institutional stewardship.

Requisite Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree preferred. Degree(s) in marketing, communications, or business management preferred.

• Minimum 7 years of communications experience in a non-profit setting required, higher education experience preferred. Evidence of successful communications positions of increasing responsibility required.

• Significant experience working in communications role(s) that support advancement, development, and/or fundraising activities required.

• Experience managing a staff with a shared goal of producing high-quality work within deadlines.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and independently with internal and external constituencies and with professionals of varied disciplines to accomplish tasks and projects.

• Demonstrated experience managing and executing across multiple communications and marketing channels and media; highly developed skills in communications writing and editing;

• Highly collaborative style with experience developing and implementing communications strategies successfully; a background that demonstrates relationship-building, consensus-building, flexibility, and managing through influencing;

• Evidence of high-energy leadership style with a track record for leading both strategic and tactical communications efforts;

• Self-starter, able to work independently and entrepreneurially; experience creating, developing, and implementing new initiatives;

• Demonstrated fluency with contemporary communications and digital platforms, including content production, email marketing, web and social media, analytics and reporting, audience segmentation, and related communications technologies; ability to quickly evaluate and adapt to evolving tools and platforms.

• Ability to produce high-quality deliverables with meticulous attention to detail. Must be metrics-driven and results-oriented, with demonstrated ability to use communications analytics, audience insights, and performance data to assess effectiveness, inform decisions, and improve outcomes.

• Ability to provide quick turnaround and updates for multiple requests while maintaining a strong reputation for high-quality work.

• Must be able to perform successfully in a fast-paced, intellectually intense, and service-oriented environment. Experience working successfully within a complex organization. Willing and able to adjust to changing demands and shifting priorities.

• Demonstrated experience using AI tools and emerging communications technologies to improve workflow efficiency, synthesis, drafting, output quality, or decision support, together with a strong understanding of the ethical, privacy, accuracy, accessibility, and governance considerations associated with AI-enabled work.

• Willingness to work evenings and weekends to support programming, events, and major project deadlines.

Please note, we require both a résumé and a cover letter, so we encourage you to use the cover letter to share your interest in the role and highlight your relevant experience.

Salary Range

$105,000.00 - $115,000.00 Salary commensurate with education and experience.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.

#HERC #HEJ#

Staff Regular

Salary range

$100,100.00 - $135,100.00 Salary commensurate with education and experience.

Please note that this position may not be eligible for visa sponsorship now or in the future.

Loyola Marymount University, a Carnegie classified R2 institution in the mainstream of American Catholic higher education, seeks outstanding applicants who value its mission and share its commitment to inclusive excellence, the education of the whole person, and the building of a just society. LMU is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing an environment free from discrimination and harassment as defined by federal, state and local law. We invite all persons in the full diversity of their being, life experience, and beliefs to apply. (Visit www.lmu.edu for more information.)

LMU is committed to providing equal access to employment opportunities and ensuring a comprehensive recruitment and selection process for all applicants.

 

Individuals who require a reasonable accommodation to participate in any stage of the application, interview, or selection process may contact Human Resources at [email protected] or by phone at (310) 338-2723. Applicants who use relay services or other assistive communication technologies are welcome to utilize those services when contacting Human Resources.

 

When contacting Human Resources, please include the job posting number, title of the position and department for which you are applying. Applicants are not required to disclose the nature of a disability or provide medical information when requesting an accommodation during the recruitment process.

 

LMU will work with applicants in a timely and interactive process to identify and provide reasonable accommodations consistent with applicable federal and state law.