Communications Program Manager Jobs in Madison, WI

The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA)*, the private fundraising and alumni relations organization for UW-Madison, is seeking a highly organized and self-motivated Senior Development Program Specialist/Development Program Manager to join our development operations team!

In this role, you will work as part of a collaborative team supporting development efforts for Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and UW Athletics in partnership with other development operations colleagues. The ideal candidate will bring strong attention to detail, sound judgment, excellent organizational skills, and a proactive approach to problem-solving. This is a hybrid position that will require you to work on-site in our Madison, WI office location at least two days a week.     

Please note:  Current Senior Development Program Specialists and Development Program Managers are eligible to transfer laterally, maintaining their current job title and salary.

Donor and Campus Relationship Management

• Serve as a liaison to campus partners including the unit's advancement and communications team and dean's office. Triage, negotiate, and respond to all inquiries, requests, donor communication list requests, proposals, and issues while continuing efforts to build mutually beneficial relationships, improve communication and collaborative teamwork, and increase campus understanding of the development process.
• Work in collaboration with the unit's advancement team and dean's office on projects including, but not limited to, preparation for the units' board of visitors' meetings, commencement, tailgates, emeritus events, team meetings, printed materials and information/data pulls.
• Coordinate with WFAA teams such as business intelligence and research to compile data and other information that informs strategic planning, donor recognition, and stewardship activities for the unit and dean's office.
• When applicable, work with the events team to plan, implement, and manage all aspects of events designed to identify and cultivate Dean's prospects and build relationships with existing donors (i.e. Wisconsin Club, Dean's travel, etc.).
• Collaborate with directors of development on donor visits to campus, including on-site logistics, greeting and hosting guests, and responding to miscellaneous needs as they arise.
• Collaborate with finance, legal, development operations, campus partners, donors, and directors of development on the preparation, signature routing, and final distribution of gift legal documentation (e.g. Memoranda of Agreements, Pledge Agreements, etc.) in accordance with established WFAA business processes.

 Strategy development, planning and project execution

• Work in active partnership with the development unit leads, development directors, and unit's advancement team to plan, implement, manage and evaluate strategies, initiatives, and projects designed to enhance and advance the unit's priorities/goals, prospect and donor identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship and successfully move projects to completion.
• Create and implement consistent standards of practice and procedure that provide exemplary customer service to donors and campus partners.
• Provide directors of development with materials as requested in preparation for donor visits in collaboration with Development Program Specialists including documenting appropriate follow-up in Constituent Relationship Management (CRM), etc.
• Work with WFAA teams such as marketing, communications, gift planning, and others to facilitate team projects and leverage internal resources for consistent and exceptional donor experiences.
• Manage and track the unit's Key Performance Indicators in coordination with development unit leads. This will include supporting accurate entry of data into CRM.
• Serve as a CRM subject matter expert for development team and interface with the Business Intelligence Service Center and Development teams.

Stewardship 

• In collaboration with campus units, directors of development, and central stewardship, assist with all aspects of comprehensive stewardship of donors, including gift acknowledgements, milestone thanks, scholarship and faculty award cycles, and impact reporting.
• Work with development operations leadership, directors of development, and central stewardship in reviewing and implementing new opportunities for donor stewardship and engagement.
• Coordinate fund administration process and fund stewardship, including all activities related to the creation, documentation, notification, and review of unit funds.
• Respond to campus questions regarding unit gifts and funds, identifying issues that require additional review and action, including questions of fund use and compliance.
• Coordinate, distribute, and analyze routine gift reports.

  Prospect Data Management 

• Manage stewardship, fund, and constituent activities in CRM.
• Maintain contact updates, donor biographic information, and other constituent management duties.
• Provide KPI data to units' advancement and dean's office for strategic review of unit level giving.
• Utilize self-service reports and work with the business intelligence team as needed, refine and customize alumni and donor lists for internal and external special mailings, invitations, stewardship projects, donor recognition, etc.

  Office Administration 

• Collaborate with the unit lead and other team members on scheduling, agenda creation, and note taking for regular team meetings.
• Coordinate the direct mailing of solicitations, stewardship projects, announcements, event invitations, and advanced administrative needs when necessary or appropriate.
• Suggest areas for process improvement and assist in improvement implementation.
• Serve as a leader on our collaborative team alongside the Senior Development Program Manager for the College of Engineering. This includes but is not limited to project management, mentoring other development operations colleagues, delegating tasks as appropriate, and having a growth-mindset when opportunities and challenges arise.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree is preferred or an equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• 2 + years for Senior Development Program Specialist or 5+ years for Development Program Manager of relevant professional work experience in higher education, non-profit, or fundraising environment

Other Qualifications

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and strong attention to detail.
• Ability to judge the relative importance of issues and act independently to address them, applying the appropriate level of urgency to achieve results.
• Self-motivation, a proactive nature, persistence, flexibility, and dependability.
• Ability to work effectively with a team in an entrepreneurial environment and interact well with all internal and external constituents.
• Ability to remain calm under pressure; prioritize and manage multiple and sometimes competing tasks, and maintain a high degree of discretion, tact, poise, professionalism, and diplomacy.
• High degree of proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint); previous experience with database reporting and constituent relationship management software preferred.
• Demonstrates creativity and resourcefulness by identifying and adapting best practices from outstanding donor relations programs, and by designing visually appealing, brand-aligned materials using tools such as Canva.

At WFAA, we are dedicated to creating an inspiring, creative, and respectful work environment for our employees. We offer competitive pay and an outstanding benefits program, including a generous 10% 401k contribution after just one year of service! Join us and be part of a team that values your growth and well-being. Click here to learn more about our employee benefits! 

The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association is an Equal Opportunity Employer *The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association is the "doing business as" name of the merged organization comprising the University of Wisconsin Foundation (supportuw.org) and the Wisconsin Alumni Association (uwalumni.com). Its legal corporate name is registered as the University of Wisconsin Foundation.