Department: Advancement and Alumni Relations
Classification: Administrative Faculty
Job Category: Administrative or Professional Faculty
Job Type: Full-Time
Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)
Location: Fairfax, VA
Workplace Type: Hybrid Eligible
Sponsorship Eligibility: Not eligible for visa
sponsorship
Salary: Salary starting low $150k; commensurate with
education and experience
Criminal Background Check: Yes
About the Department:
The Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations is a comprehensive
development and alumni relations enterprise with approximately 135
full-time employees. Functional areas within Advancement include
fundraising and development, alumni relations, donor relations and
stewardship, advancement communications, special events, gift
processing, prospect research and management, gift planning,
corporate and foundation relations, information systems and
management, and infrastructure services.
Advancement’s mission is to build strong, lifelong relationships
with George Mason University’s alumni and constituents while
aligning their philanthropic interests with the university’s
aspirations and priorities. The division is committed to serving
the university, its alumni, and the broader community by supporting
access to quality education and lifelong learning. Respect,
service, integrity, collaboration, diversity, transparency, and
creativity are the values that guide the division’s work and
culture.
About the Position:
Reporting to the Associate VP, the Senior Director leads and
provides strategic and creative direction for Advancement's digital
engagement, integrated marketing, creative strategy, channel
planning, audience activation, written communications and digital
content across web, email, social media, texting, digital
fundraising, direct marketing, and emerging platforms.
The position provides leadership for digital communication
planning, graphic and multimedia content development, audience
segmentation, marketing operations, and performance measurement,
helping ensure Advancement communications reach the right audiences
through coordinated channels, compelling visual presentation,
strong creative execution, and measurable results.
Responsibilities:
Digital Strategy and Digital Experience
- Audience Strategy and Digital Engagement
- Develop audience segmentation strategies and digital engagement
journeys for alumni, donors, prospects, volunteers, parents,
faculty, staff, students, and friends of the university;
Recommend targeted communication approaches that improve
constituent engagement across digital channels;
Support personalized communications that enhance the
constituent experience throughout the engagement lifecycle;
and
Use audience insights, digital performance data, and engagement
trends to refine messaging, creative presentation, channel
strategy, and communication timing.
- Websites
- Lead Advancement's web strategy, governance, content
presentation, and digital user experience;
- Manage and maintain the Advancement website, including content
updates, campaign pages, giving pages, event pages, donor impact
content, and other digital properties;
- Provide guidance and support for alumni relations website
management and other Advancement web content;
- Ensure web content is accurate, current, accessible, visually
engaging, and aligned with institutional priorities and brand
standards; and
- Guide the visual presentation, content hierarchy, graphics,
calls to action, and user experience of Advancement websites and
digital platforms.
- Social Media
- Develop and execute the social media strategy for Advancement
channels;
- Plan, publish, and evaluate social media content in
collaboration with alumni engagement, annual giving, stewardship,
campaign communications, and university partners;
- Identify opportunities to increase alumni engagement, donor
education, event promotion, campaign storytelling, volunteer
participation, and philanthropic engagement through social
media;
- Direct the development of social media graphics, templates,
short-form video concepts, digital campaign assets, and other
platform-specific visual content; and
- Monitor channel performance and implement strategies to grow
audience reach and engagement.
- Digital Marketing and Fundraising Communications
- Collaborate on digital marketing efforts supporting annual
giving, alumni engagement, donor relations and stewardship,
campaigns, Giving Day, and other institution-wide initiatives;
- Provide strategic guidance and support to Annual Giving for
email, direct mail, texting, annual appeals, Giving Day, and other
fundraising communications while recognizing Annual Giving's
ownership of fundraising strategy, solicitation goals, and donor
pipeline management;
- Partner with Advancement teams to develop integrated,
multi-channel communication strategies that support fundraising and
engagement objectives;
- Support campaign visibility and donor engagement through
digital marketing strategies that include strong audience
targeting, compelling graphic presentation, coordinated channel
planning, and measurable calls to action; and
- Review digital marketing performance and recommend adjustments
to messaging, design, graphics, audience segmentation, channel use,
and timing.
Graphic Design, Creative Strategy, and Multimedia Content
Development
- Lead the development of graphic design, visual communications,
and multimedia content that support Advancement communications,
fundraising, alumni engagement, donor stewardship, campaign
priorities, and special initiatives;
- Design or direct the production of graphics for email
marketing, websites, social media, digital advertising, digital
fundraising pages, event promotion, presentations, reports,
toolkits, and other Advancement communication channels;
- Develop original visual concepts, campaign graphics, templates,
and digital collateral that help translate Advancement priorities
into clear, compelling, and audience-centered communications;
- Create and direct visual storytelling assets that highlight
donor impact, alumni success, philanthropic priorities, campaign
progress, student experience, and university achievement;
- Provide creative direction, supervision, work direction, and
design feedback to staff, student employees, freelancers, agencies,
photographers, videographers, and university partners;
- Set priorities, assign work, review deliverables, and ensure
timely completion of graphic design, multimedia, and creative
content projects;
- Ensure all graphic and multimedia materials are visually
effective, accessible, accurate, brand-aligned, and appropriate for
the intended audience and channel; and
- Identify opportunities to strengthen Advancement communications
through improved graphic presentation, multimedia content,
information design, data visualization, short-form video, and
emerging creative formats.
Digital Communications & Traffic Management
- Provide leadership, consultation, and direction for
division-wide digital communications traffic, including project
intake, scheduling, release calendars, approvals, deployment
coordination, and message timing;
- Guide the coordination of digital communication schedules
across Advancement to reduce audience fatigue, prevent competing
messages, and prioritize strategic communications;
- Help establish and maintain communication governance processes
and digital publishing standards, creative production timelines,
and approval workflows;
- Provide direction to ensure sufficient time is built into
project schedules for strategy, writing, graphic design, creative
development, review, revision, production, and deployment;
- Work in partnership with Annual Giving, Strategic Advancement
Systems, Advancement Communications, and Alumni Relations to
coordinate digital priorities and manage timing across channels;
and
- Monitor project flow, identify bottlenecks, and recommend
process improvements that support timely, coordinated, and
high-quality digital communications.
Digital Communications Consulting & Governance
- Serve as a strategic advisor to Advancement partners on digital
communication best practices, including email, web, social media,
texting, audience experience, campaign timing, and content
performance;
- Develop and promote standards, processes, and governance that
improve coordination, quality, consistency, accessibility, and
effectiveness across Advancement digital communications;
- Provide leadership and guidance, and establish and maintain
standards on digital strategy, visual communication, channel
selection, message timing, audience segmentation, accessibility,
brand alignment, and constituent experience;
- Advise Advancement partners on how to translate communication
goals into coordinated digital plans with appropriate audiences,
messages, creative assets, timelines, channels, and measures of
success;
- Provide guidance and work direction to staff, student
employees, vendors, and university partners to ensure digital
communications and graphic materials meet established standards;
and
- Identify opportunities to improve digital communication
practices, strengthen creative presentation, reduce duplication,
and create a more consistent experience for alumni, donors,
prospects, volunteers, and other Advancement audiences.
Other duties as assigned within the scope of the role
- Track, measure, and report on analytics.
Required Qualifications:
- Master’s degree in related field or the equivalent combination
of education and experience;
- Significant experience (generally 8-10 years) developing and
executing marketing and digital communication strategies;
- Experience creating digital content and graphic design
collateral for websites, emails, and social media;
- Experience developing multi-channel marketing strategies;
- Experience with photography, video production, and multimedia
story telling;
- Experience supervising creative professionals;
- Demonstrated experience providing strategic guidance on
marketing best practices;
- Significant knowledge (generally 8-10 years) of digital
communications and marketing;
- Knowledge of website management, email marketing, and
accessibility standards;
- Strong knowledge of social media strategy, and best
practices;
- Strong knowledge of graphic design principles, including
typography, layout, visual hierarchy, composition, accessibility,
brand application, and digital content presentation;
- Demonstrated knowledge of graphic design principles;
- Skill in project management;
- Skill in creating digital collateral and basic web
editing;
- Skill in creating graphics using Adobe Creative Cloud;
- Skill in developing graphic concepts and visual materials for
web, email, social media, digital campaigns, fundraising
communications, presentations, and events;
- Ability to produce marketing collateral for segmented
audiences;
- Ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders;
- Ability to translate ideas into digital collateral;
- Ability to provide creative direction, review graphic work, and
offer clear, constructive feedback to staff, vendors, freelancers,
and partners; and
- Ability to guide digital communications workflows, establish
standards, manage competing priorities, and lead work across
multiple teams and channels.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience in higher education;
- Experience in digital communications and marketing for
advancement;
- Experience supporting marketing campaigns;
- Knowledge of higher education advancement, fundraising, or
alumni relations communications and marketing;
- Knowledge of CRM, specifically Salesforce;
- Knowledge of comprehensive campaign communications, annual
giving, donor engagement, or constituent relationship-based
marketing;
- Skill in managing or directing the work of creative vendors,
freelancers, photographers, videographers, agencies, or student
employees;
- Ability to work within established university brand standards
while developing fresh, audience-centered creative approaches;
and
- Ability to support senior-level communications, high-profile
initiatives, sensitive announcements, or institution-wide
priorities.
Instructions to Applicants:
For full consideration, applicants must apply for
Senior
Director of Digital Engagement, Marketing, and
Communications at
https://jobs.gmu.edu/.
Complete and submit the online application to include three
professional references with contact information (one of which must
be a current supervisor), and provide a cover letter, resume, and
portfolio of work demonstrating competency in creative design,
digital engagement, and/or communications for review.
Posting Open Date: September 4, 2026
Posting Close Date: September 21, 2026
Open Until Filled: No
Mason Ad Statement
George Mason University is a nationally ranked R1 research
university committed to creating a more just, free, and prosperous
world. With 40,000 enrolled students, George Mason is the largest
and most diverse public research university in Virginia, offering
degree programs at the master's, doctoral, and professional level,
along with certificates and credentials.
George Mason fosters an All Together Different environment for
students, faculty, and staff, driven by our core beliefs. We
believe in inclusivity over exclusivity; we believe in advancing
our mission by being willing to take risks, not avoiding them; and
we believe our best work is possible when we apply our diversity of
origin, identity, circumstance, and thought.
Equity Statement
George Mason University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action
employer, committed to promoting inclusion and equity in its
community. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for
employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or
veteran status, or any characteristic protected by law.
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http://police.gmu.edu/annual-security-report/
