Associate Director of Alumni & Volunteer Engagement

Who We Are and What We Do 

Heights Philadelphia is committed to transforming the pathways to college and career for Philadelphia’s students. That’s why Heights has merged the resources of Philadelphia Futures and Steppingstone Scholars to become the most dynamic educational nonprofit in Philadelphia. We’re working with over 3,000 Philadelphia students, providing individualized advising, academic enrichment, and college and career programming.

Heights Philadelphia connects Philly youth to careers and college with a network of people who believe — and invest — in their talents. We are excited to make key additions to the Heights team that will support the vision for the new organization: “all Philadelphia students graduate high school with pathways to economic mobility through college and workforce success.” 

About this Role:  

The Associate Director of Alumni & Volunteer Engagement leads all aspects of Heights’ alumni and volunteer efforts. The Associate Director will create compelling programming and opportunities for involvement, cultivate meaningful relationships, and increase philanthropic support from our alumni and volunteer communities.

You’ll help us to achieve: 

An engaged and informed alumni community. A robust volunteer program that positively influences Heights student trajectories and success in college and career.   Philanthropic support from our alumni and volunteer communities. 

You’ll be responsible for: 

Alumni Programming

Implementing a comprehensive strategy to inform and involve Heights alumni. Engaging alumni in meaningful volunteer opportunities and serving as a source for alumni talent and resources for cross-organizational programming. Cultivating and soliciting alumni for annual giving contributions. Creating and organizing regular alumni events. Ensuring alumni information is captured in the database and alumni information is updated on a regular basis.

Volunteer Programming

Recruiting, equipping, mobilizing and engaging a volunteer base representative of the diversity of our student community. Identifying recruitment pools and cultivating relationships with corporations, civic organizations  and community groups. Cultivating and soliciting volunteers for annual giving contributions. Working closely with program staff, design and implement a new mentoring program that allows for scale in numbers of students served. Managing the execution of all volunteer information sessions and interviews. Overseeing volunteer application processes including document management for Criminal Background Checks, Child Abuse Clearances, and FBI Fingerprinting Ensuring updated volunteer information in constituent database.

General Advancement

Managing a portfolio of approximately 40 prospects (alumni and volunteers) with the capacity to make an annual gift of $1,000 or more. Move prospects through the stages of identification, qualification, cultivation and solicitation in a strategic and efficient manner.  Steward prospects as appropriate. Conducting regular face-to-face visits (in-person or via Zoom) with alumni and volunteers for the purpose of engaging with the organization and cultivating charitable support. Supervising the Advancement Associate.   Assisting with other duties as assigned.

About you: 

• Bachelor’s degree required. 3+ years experience in alumni relations, volunteer management, fundraising or related fields.

Passionate about educational access for underserved communities. Demonstrated success in building relationships with key stakeholders, managing volunteer communities, and cultivating and soliciting charitable support.   Self-starter with outstanding work-ethic and willingness to listen, learn, and grow. Ability to think critically and strategically and prioritize tasks with minimal direction.

Excellent written and oral communications required including strong public speaking skills. Knowledgeable and proficient in Google Suite and Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word and PowerPoint).

Heights employees: 

Must meet expectations to report in-person on a schedule determined by their direct manager and/or the Vice President of the team.   Must meet PA State background check requirements [PA Criminal, PA Child Abuse and FBI Fingerprint Check] at hire and every five years thereafter.  Strong orientation to customer service, particularly with regard to students, partners and colleagues  Proficiency in Google Suite, Microsoft Office and related applications, as well as use of general office equipment (phones, computers, copiers, etc)  Fluency in the use of data and data systems. Maintains appropriate engagement with data entry, reporting and review.  Must adhere to COVID safety guidelines as established by Heights and/or its partners.  Office-based staff should be mindful of the organization’s strong recommendation that staff maintain up to date with COVID vaccination and boosters.  Site-based staff must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and must submit to any COVID testing or other health screenings as required by the Department of Human Services and/or the School District of Philadelphia.  Must be able to work in a busy, often complex work environment that is generally climate controlled.  Must be able to lift up to 20 pounds unassisted on an occasional basis.  Must be able to sit for long periods of time.  Must be able to stand or walk for long periods of time. Access to reliable transportation required