Position Summary

As a member of the OSU Foundation’s Annual Giving team, the Director of Marketing reports directly to the Senior Director of Annual Giving Programs and leads the marketing and content strategy for all annual giving communications, in coordination with OSUF Marketing and Communications. The Director of Marketing is responsible for the planning, execution, and evaluation of a robust annual giving marketing strategy for Oregon State University’s academic units, university priorities, and cause-based initiatives. This includes managing a comprehensive set of annual giving direct response tactics designed to retain and acquire annual giving donors and increase revenue, including direct mail, email, crowdfunding, giving days, web site, and social media marketing. The Director of Marketing is the OSUF Annual Giving team’s lead for the implementation of digital analytics tools, predictive modeling, segmentation, artificial intelligence, and other data-driven techniques to enhance annual giving strategy performance.

The successful candidate will be required to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to the first day of employment.

Work Location

The work location for this position is the Foundation’s Corvallis, Oregon office or the Foundation’s Portland office.

The Foundation offers a program called Core Work Days, a hybrid approach combining remote and in-office work days. Unless traveling for work, Foundation employees are in office on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and work remotely, if preferred, on Monday and Friday.

Key Partners

• The Foundation’s Marketing and Communications, Gift Accounting and Advancement Services teams
• Lead development officers for OSU’s colleges and other units with fundraising goals, including Our Beaver Nation (Athletics).

Measures of Success

The success of this position will be measured by:

• A comprehensive marketing plan for annual giving communications that identifies key audiences and messages and aligns creative multi-channel marketing initiatives with established organizational fundraising and engagement goals
• Meeting annual goals for academic annual giving dollars raised through Annual Giving’s mass solicitation efforts, including unit solicitations, cause-based Initiatives and Dam Proud Day
• Meeting annual goals for the number of $1000+ academic annual giving donors and other key donor segments

Major Duties

Develop and execute an integrated multi-channel marketing plan for OSU’s Annual Giving program that includes email, web, social media, crowdfunding and print strategies in collaboration with other members of the Annual Giving team and the Marketing and Communications, Stewardship, fundraising unit, and Advancement Services teams.

Define clear and measurable goals for annual giving marketing strategies – e.g., number of new donors, retained donors, open rates, length of time viewers engages with video content, etc. Determine appropriate marketing segmentation to achieve goals, track progress, report and evaluate results, and redirect tactics to improve outcomes. Monitor and make appropriate changes to increase performance metrics such as average gift size, donor retention, acquisition, and upgrades, and return on investment. Assist with the development and interpretation of Annual Giving reports.

Ensure coordination of all annual giving solicitations and stewardship communications sent on behalf of Annual Giving, OSU colleges, Athletics, and the OSU Alumni Association.

In collaboration with Marketing and Communications, create compelling and personalized solicitations that move prospective and current donors through a donor journey that results in increased giving and engagement with Foundation content. Tailor messaging, design elements, and videography/animation to audience segments to increase effectiveness.

Lead implementation of data-driven annual giving solicitation plans that use insights to inform and evaluate all annual giving communications, adjusting and improving as analytics suggest, in collaboration with Marketing and Communications and Advancement Services. Lead the Annual Giving team’s work to utilize predictive modeling, social media mining, artificial intelligence and other digital analytics and “listening” tools to target annual giving audiences with the right messages, via the right vehicles, at the right time, to increase the effectiveness of solicitations.

Partner with unit fundraising leads to plan and execute multi-channel solicitation strategies to achieve their annual giving goals, including tailored unit appeals. Will communicate results and progress to goal to fundraising leads in quarterly planning session facilitated by the annual giving leadership team.

Lead the marketing strategy for all cause-based annual giving initiatives and Dam Proud Day, OSU’s Day of Giving. Coordinate with Marketing and Communications and unit fundraising leads, to develop a plan that increases awareness and donors to key fundraising priorities. In collaboration with Senior Director of Annual Giving, create a multi-channel communication strategy for Dam Proud Day that increases donor participation and dollars raised. Provide consultation to units on their Dam Proud Day marketing strategy

Supervise, lead, develop and mentor the Annual Giving Coordinator. Provide regular performance feedback and coaching, develop annual plans with measurable outcomes and accountabilities, conduct performance reviews.

In partnership with the Senior Director of Annual giving, manage the annual giving marketing and communications budget and relationships with vendors. Negotiate contracts with external vendors, including direct mail and printing houses. Manage vendors to produce highly segmented, customized direct mail appeals with complex variables.

Provide thought leadership on emerging marketing and annual giving trends within the organization and at the university.

Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Comprehensive knowledge of:

• Principles of integrated marketing
• Effective mass solicitation techniques
• Digital communications and analytics tools

Demonstrated ability to:

• Develop and implement effective integrated multi-channel direct mail, social media and email marketing campaigns
• Create successful mass solicitation segmentation strategies and customer journeys
• Conceptualize effective communications pieces with a strong and compelling call to action and on-brand storytelling and messaging
• Employ strong written and verbal communication skills
• Utilize quantitative and qualitative information to improve decision-making and outcomes and document results
• Manage complex projects
• Apply creative and entrepreneurial thinking, while applying sound judgment and conducting oneself with integrity
• Approach work assuming the best of intentions from Foundation and campus colleagues
• Effectively represent the interests and fundraising priorities of various colleges/units, while also maintaining a high degree of enterprise perspective by acting in the best interests of the Foundation and the university at all times
• Work with a high degree of flexibility in a highly collaborative, fast-paced, goal-oriented environment
• Be aware of, control, and express one's emotions appropriately, and to handle interpersonal relationships maturely, thoughtfully and empathetically, including the ability to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds
• Maintain good relationships with external vendors, including direct mail and printing houses

Education and Experience Minimum Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and five years of experience in integrated marketing communications. Education and experience equivalencies will be considered.

Core Values

The OSU Foundation strives to be one of the best places to work in the country. We know that the success of the Foundation depends in large part on the people who carry out our mission. It is what we do –and how we do it - that makes the difference. The Foundation’s core values reflect our approach to work and to each other, and we are committed to conduct consistent with these values.