Position Title:

Campaign Director

Department/School:

Advancement

Salary/Pay Rate:

$110,000 - $125,000

Job Summary:

The Campaign Director provides strategic leadership and operational management for Marist University’s comprehensive fundraising campaign. This role is responsible for planning, executing, and monitoring all aspects of the campaign, including volunteer engagement, prospect strategy, internal coordination, and progress tracking. The Campaign Director works closely with senior leadership, advancement staff, and volunteer leaders to ensure the successful achievement of campaign goals and priorities.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree
• 5 - 8 year's relevant experience in fundraising program management, campaign management, or advancement operations

Essential Functions:

This role is central to the success of the University’s comprehensive campaign and requires a high level of strategic thinking, organizational leadership, and collaboration. The Campaign Director serves as a key integrator across advancement functions and campus partners, ensuring disciplined execution and strong alignment with institutional priorities. This role is key to the execution of a successful campaign for Marist.

• Lead campaign strategy development and execution
  • Lead the day-to-day execution of the campaign, ensuring progress against goals and timelines
  • Refine campaign strategy based on performance, pipeline, and institutional priorities
  • Maintain a clear roadmap of priorities, milestones, and next steps
• Coordinate campaign operations and infrastructure
  • Oversee campaign tracking, reporting, and internal coordination
  • Ensure disciplined use of systems and consistent communication
• Support and manage campaign volunteer leadership
  • Support Campaign Cabinet and volunteer leaders in advancing key relationships
  • Prepare strategy, materials, and briefings for volunteer engagement
• Collaborate with advancement leadership on principal gift strategy
  
  • Partner with gift officers to prioritize and advance top prospects
  • Lead regular prospect strategy discussions and portfolio reviews
  • Monitor pipeline strength and identify opportunities to accelerate progress
• Develop campaign communications and case materials
  
  • Create key communication plan and ensure various stakeholders are engaged and informed about the campaign
  • Ability to delegate responsibilities to team members to ensure communication strategy is executed effectively
  • Prepare slide decks and other materials for key volunteers and Marist leadership
• Monitor campaign performance and reporting
  • Track campaign performance using clear metrics and reporting tools
  • Drive follow-through across the team to ensure consistent progress
  • Identify gaps and recommend course corrections
• Facilitate internal coordination across campus partners
  • Work with academic and administrative leaders to align funding priorities
  • Help translate institutional priorities into compelling philanthropic opportunities
• Other duties as assigned

Preferred Qualifications:

• 7+ years of experience in fundraising program management, campaign management, or advancement operations
• Experience working on or leading a comprehensive campaign preferred, ideally in higher education or a complex nonprofit
• Outstanding project management and execution skills
• Experience coordinating prospect strategy
• Ability to use data and metrics to drive decisions and performance
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills

What Sets You Apart

• Highly organized and execution-focused
• Strong sense of accountability and follow-through
• Comfortable working across teams and influencing without authority
• Thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment

Required Application Documents:

Resume, Cover Letter, & Contact Information of 3 Professional References 

Benefits:

The position includes a comprehensive benefit package*. Benefits for this position include but are not limited to the following:

• 3 weeks of paid vacation. 4 weeks of paid vacation beginning in the 6th year of employment.
• Unlimited paid sick time.
• 14+ paid holidays per year.
• Medical, Dental & Vision insurance programs at a 15% employee / 85% employer contribution rate. Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Dependent Care (FSD).
• Life insurance.
• Generous short-term and long-term disability programs and workers compensation.
• 403(b) defined contribution plan:
  • First 6 years University contributes 7.5%, Employee contributes a mandatory 4%.
  • University contribution increases to 10.5% in year 7, and 12% after 15 years.
  • Employee contribution decreases to 1% in year 7. Remains 1% thereafter.
  • Typical eligibility requirements: 1 year of service and 1,000 hours with Marist University.
• 403(b) Tax Deferred Annuity – Roth option available. Voluntary, up to IRS maximum contribution.
• Tuition Benefits:
  • Up to 16 undergraduate credits per semester. Up to 18 graduate credit per academic calendar. Eligibility extends to employee, spouse, and dependent children under age 26.
  • University pays 100% tuition only.
  • Eligible dependents may be Reimbursed up to $2,000 per semester towards tuition at another accredited institution.

*Eligibility requirements including waiting periods and/or employee probationary periods may apply at the discretion of the University.

About the Department/School:

The Advancement Office promotes a culture of philanthropy that attracts vital resources in support of the goals and objectives of the University's strategic plan and its core educational mission.

The Advancement team accomplishes this by nurturing life-long relationships with and among alumni, parents, trustees, friends, students, faculty, staff and other constituencies; and by communicating regularly with them through meaningful personal contacts, targeted print and web-based publications, and high-impact special events.

About Marist University:

Founded in 1929, Marist is a comprehensive, independent four-year institution whose signature educational approach blends the liberal arts with pre-professional studies and emphasizes experiential learning to enrich classroom instruction. With campuses in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Florence, Italy, plus over 70 programs offering a variety of international study, Marist is a portal to the world and is devoted to nurturing a welcoming, inclusive community. Through six schools offering almost 50 majors, Marist cultivates the intellectual growth and well-being of its more than 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students and encourages them to color outside traditional academic lines as they pursue coursework and personal experiences that provide valuable occupational expertise and reflect their individual passions. Marist has been acclaimed a top institution in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, the Wall Street Journal/College Pulse, Princeton Review, and others. To learn more, please visit https://www.marist.edu/about 

Type of Position:

Full-time

Classification:

Administrative (Exempt)

Months per Year:

12

Work Schedule:

Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:00pm

Hours per Week:

37.5

Location:

Marist University Main Campus

Number of Position Openings:

1

Equal Employment Statement:

Marist University is committed to creating an inclusive workforce on our campus by ensuring that barriers to equal employment opportunity and upward mobility do not exist here. To this end, the University will strive to achieve the full and fair participation of all members of the Marist community.

Equal opportunity means employment, development, and promotion of individuals without consideration of race, color, disability, religion, age, sex, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, or veteran status unless there is a bona fide occupational requirement which excludes persons in one of these protected groups. The University will review its employment policies and procedures to ensure that barriers which may unnecessarily exclude protected groups are identified and eliminated. The University will also explore alternative approaches if any policy or practice is found to have a negative impact on protected groups.

Marist's policy of non-discrimination includes not only employment practices but also extends to all services and programs provided by the University. It shall be considered a violation of University policy for any member of the community to discriminate against any individual or group with respect to employment or attendance at Marist University on the basis of race, color, disability, religion, age, sex, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other condition established by law.