Job Summary
The Office of Advancement encourages applications for an Assistant
Athletic Director of Annual Giving and Premium Seating! This role
plays a significant role in strategizing, leading and executing
programmatic donor relations and alumni engagement efforts for the
CU Athletics. This position is critical to the engagement efforts
for the Office of Advancement at CU Boulder and manages a team of 3
full-time staff responsible for donor relations, alumni engagement,
events, and annual giving programs and premium seating sales and
service.
Reporting to the Deputy Athletic Director, this position and its
team are tasked with stewarding donors, engaging alumni and other
constituents, promoting the reputation of the CU Athletics, and
increasing overall donor support for CU Boulder. This position will
successfully navigate the complexity of working with various
internal and external constituents and balancing the needs of
separate entities while still fulfilling the strategic needs of the
unit and the Office of Advancement.
CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all
applicable federal, state, and local laws governing
nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a
workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and
dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to
apply, including protected veterans and individuals with
disabilities.
Who We Are
CU Boulder Advancement is committed to a culture of joy,
motivated by collaboration, passionate about excellence and driven
by impact. These four values define the culture and drive
engagement and fundraising success.
We are committed to fostering an environment where everyone matters
and all can thrive. This dedication is rooted in our core values
and our mission to drive impactful fundraising and engagement. Our
team actively engages in learning, reflection, and the
transformation of systems, policies, and practices that perpetuate
oppressive ideologies—including racism, sexism, ableism, and
heterosexism. We recognize our responsibility to lead by example in
building a supportive and inclusive culture for both internal
colleagues and external partners. We hold ourselves accountable
through individual and divisional goals that continuously assess
our progress, growth, and outcomes—ensuring alignment with our
mission and values every step of the way.
What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be
Strategy and Execution
- Lead initiative planning for programs that grow the overall
Buff Club membership, enhance donor stewardship, engagement and
events.
Lead implementation of programmatic strategy to engage and
cultivate donors and alumni in ways that support the unit’s vision
and strategic direction.
Supervise the development of team goals and metrics to:
- Increase and measure donor retention, satisfaction, and
engagement.
- Increase donor engagement.
Create strategy for 5-10 high-impact annual events for donor
stewardship and alumni engagement. Oversee events to ensure they
are consistently providing an excellent experience for our donors
and alumni.
Regularly collaborate with senior leadership team to develop
strategies, processes and procedures that will evolve our
engagement activities to better demonstrate outcomes and produce
results to move the organization forward.
Team Management and Leadership
- Implement all aspects of managing and leading a team of
employees responsible for alumni engagement, events, board
engagement, compliance and donor relations. Examples include:
- Provide coaching and mentorship, especially to new team
members.
- Carry out administrative personnel actions (performance
management, hiring, training, onboarding, offboarding, etc.).
- Serve as a member of the Advancement Management Team. Attend
scheduled meetings and collaborate with colleagues on a regular
basis.
- Set the overall direction for the team engagement activities
annually. This includes defining success metrics, setting goals and
developing processes for metrics reporting. Keys to success include
leading the team to develop priorities and schedules prior to the
beginning of the new fiscal year, being clear on roles,
responsibilities and expectations, setting overall timelines and
providing the needed processes to support the staff work.
- Develop a team culture which encourages innovative ideas for
engagement and cultivates a sense of confidence in trying new
activities without the fear of consequences from failure.
Other Engagement Duties as Assigned
- Partner with colleagues within athletics and across advancement
to engage, steward and manage important donors, volunteers and
allies to the Buff Club.
- Attend and be an influential member of the monthly meetings
with alumni directors across campus to share information, discuss
standard practices and identify potential partnerships and joint
initiatives.
- Attend and be an influential member of monthly meetings with
donor relations staff across campus to share information, discuss
standard processes and collaboration opportunities.
- Work with CU system, CU Foundation and CU Boulder Advancement
staff to assist with the effective identification, cultivation,
solicitation and stewardship of donors to the Buff Club.
- Meet annual contact metrics.
What You Should Know
- This position is working on-site.
- This position will require local, regional, and out-of-state
travel to meet with donors.
- This position will occasionally be required to work
evenings/weekends.
What We Can Offer
The salary range for this position is $115,000 - $135,000 annually.
Relocation assistance is available within Advancement
guidelines.
Benefits
At the
University of Colorado Boulder , we are
committed to supporting the holistic health and well-being of our
employees. Our comprehensive
benefits package includes medical,
dental, and retirement plans; generous paid time off; tuition
assistance for you and your dependents; and an ECO Pass for local
transit. As one of Boulder County’s largest employers, CU Boulder
offers an inspiring academic community and access to world-class
outdoor recreation. Explore additional perks and programs through
the
CU Advantage program.
Be Statements
Be dynamic. Be impactful. Be Boulder.
What We Require
- Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of
education and experience.
- Experience: 4+ years of professional, job related experience
including 1+ years of team lead or supervision experience.
- Experience developing, planning and rolling out strategy.
- Program management experience.
What You Will Need
- Ability to strategize plans for employee retention and
satisfaction.
- Ability to practice situational leadership and discover what
motivates individual team members to achieve goals.
- Ability to establish and enhance interpersonal relationships,
including ability to coordinate and manage volunteers.
- Solid knowledge of fundraising, donor relations, and alumni
relations standard processes.
- Expert communication skills including the ability to
participate in public events and represent Advancement and the
university in a professional manner.
- Solid ability to analyze information/situations and solve
problems.
- Ability to exercise a high degree of tact, discretion, and
collaboration in working with a diverse range of constituents
including employees, students, volunteers, alumni, donors, and
campus colleagues.
- Solid ability to organize and manage multiple projects/tasks
simultaneously; ability to work independently and on a team and
adapt to changing priorities.
- Solid knowledge of current issues facing public universities
and interests of assigned school, students, faculty, and
alumni.
- Solid knowledge of annual giving standard processes.
- Strong attention to detail and to visual appeal of presentation
materials.
- Growth mindset, resilience and perseverance.
- Ability to champion the shared values of the Office of
Advancement.
What We Would Like You to Have
- Experience in donor relations and/or development/fundraising
environment.
- Experience in constituent relations/relationship
management.
- Experience in a higher education environment.
- Event management experience.
- Experience in an Athletics environment.
Special Instructions
To apply, please submit the following materials:
- A current resume.
- A cover letter that specifically tells us how your background
and experience align with the requirements, qualifications, and
responsibilities of the position.
We may request references at a later time.
Please apply by
September 15, 2026 for consideration.
Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For
consideration, please apply through
CU Boulder Jobs .
In compliance with the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, in
any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying
information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school
attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting
or removing this information.
Posting Contact Information
Posting Contact Name: Boulder Campus Human Resources
Posting Contact Email: Recruiting@colorado.edu
