Job Details
Job no: 503995
Work type: Exempt Staff Full-time
Location: Bethlehem
Categories: Development/ Alumni Relations
Lehigh University's Development and Alumni Relations team is looking for a strategic and relationship-driven fundraiser to lead Reunion and Affinity Giving programs that connect thousands of alumni to the University's mission. If you bring a sharp eye for data, a genuine enthusiasm for donor engagement, and the ability to turn collaborative plans into measurable results, this role offers real scope to shape giving culture at a nationally recognized research university. Position Number: S80620This position is a Grade: 10 - 40 with an approximate salary range of $67,270-$81,830 and is subject to change based on experience, skills and qualifications.
Key Accountabilities
- Cultivate, solicit, and steward a dynamic portfolio of Reunion and Affinity prospects through in-person/digital visits, strategic outreach, and tailored communications to assess donor capacity and passion.
- Drive unrestricted gifts for the Lehigh Fund by executing multi-channel strategies, preparing high-quality donor briefings and proposals, and ensuring prospects are solicited for the appropriate giving levels.
- Partner with DAR College Partners, Senior Directors, and Associate Deans to design direct response plans (direct mail, email, digital) aligned with institutional fundraising priorities and unified messaging across all five colleges.
- Manage end-to-end campaign timelines, vendors, and copywriting deliverables while collaborating with Information Systems to ensure precise audience segmentation, data integrity, and on-schedule campaign launches.
- Design and execute a comprehensive annual giving plan for Reunion classes by collaborating with Individual Giving, Alumni Relations, Planned Giving, and Family Philanthropy to align mass solicitations, events, and individual prospect strategies.
- Drive milestone reunion giving by leveraging events and cross-departmental partnerships to maximize high-impact, unrestricted support for the Lehigh Fund.
- Serve as the primary liaison for University constituent and affinity groups, partnering with Alumni Relations and Information Systems to define audience targets, evaluate direct-response channels, and elevate annual giving support.
- Collaborate with faculty, staff, students, and external vendors to design, coordinate, and launch integrated, multi-channel fundraising initiatives across direct mail, digital, and crowdfunding platforms.
- Partner with Donor Relations to build and evaluate targeted donor stewardship plans while continually analyzing campaign performance to optimize future solicitation strategies.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in Business, Communications, Marketing or a related field
- Three to five years of work related experience
- Fundraising experience or experience in higher education would be preferred
- Strong communications and marketing experience preferred
- Strong project management skills with the ability to coordinate across departments and competing priorities
- A data-informed approach to strategy with comfort using CRM or fundraising platforms
Why Lehigh
Lehigh University has a long-standing reputation for academic excellence and a fiercely loyal alumni community — assets that make fundraising here genuinely rewarding. As part of DAR, you'll work alongside colleagues who care deeply about the mission and bring real expertise to the table. Lehigh offers an exceptional benefits package including generous paid leave, above-benchmark retirement contributions, tuition benefits for employees and dependents, and a campus environment that balances intellectual rigor with genuine warmth. This is a place where your strategic ideas will find space to grow.
Lehigh University is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate. We are committed to a culturally and intellectually diverse community and we seek qualified candidates to contribute to the university's mission.
Persons with disabilities who anticipate needing an accommodation for any part of the interview or hiring process may contact Lehigh's Accommodations Specialist.
Special Considerations
- This position will include some weekends and evening work as necessary for special university events. The duties of the position do not allow for a remote work option; the employee in this position will be required to work on campus where they can be fully accessible to the Lehigh community.
- Successful completion of standard background checks including but not limited to: social security verification, education verification, national criminal background checks, motor vehicle checks, PATCH, FBI fingerprinting, Child Abuse Clearance and credit history based upon the requirements of the position.
Only complete applications will be considered therefore please complete the application in its entirety. Once the posting is removed from the website applications may no longer be allowed to be completed.
Advertised: August 07, 2026 Eastern Daylight Time
Applications close: Open until filled
Organization
Founded in 1865, Lehigh University is a premier coeducational, nondenominational, private residential research university that offers a distinctive academic environment for undergraduate and graduate students from across the globe. Lehigh University’s annual report from 2013 provides an overview of the intellectual activity across campus as well as a financial report. It is posted on our website at http://www.lehigh.edu/annualreport/.
Lehigh offers more than 90 undergraduate programs and majors featuring more than 2,000 courses in four colleges: The College of Arts and Sciences, The College of Business and Economics, The College of Education and The P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. Lehigh confers a total of 12 degrees at the undergraduate and advanced degree level. We have 482 full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty and approximately 200 adjunct faculty and lecturers and 10 full-time visiting faculty. With approximately 4700 undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students, a small student-to-faculty ratio allows students to work closely with professors. About 69% of all full-time faculty are tenured, and 99% of full-time tenure-track faculty hold a doctorate degree or the highest degree in their field. We have 1,215 staff members supporting the academic, research and administrative functions.
Located in Pennsylvania’s scenic Lehigh Valley, the campus is in close proximity to both New York City and Philadelphia. Lehigh is situated on over 2,300 acres on four campuses. The Asa Packer Campus, Mountaintop Campus, and Murray H. Goodman Campus are contiguous and feature more than 153 buildings with 4.3 million-plus square feet of classroom, laboratory, office and living space. The campus also has 180 acres of playing fields and half of the campus is preserved as open space.
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