The Director of External Relations & Advancement leads Bay Atlantic University’s entire external-facing relationship pipeline: institutional partnerships, community and industry outreach, employer relationships, alumni relations, and fundraising. The Director sets the University’s development strategy, owns major-donor relationships, leads gift cultivation and stewardship at the executive level, formalizes partnership structures with employers and community organizations represents BAU at high-level external events, recruits and engages a fundraising and advisory committee at the Board level, and oversees alumni programming as part of a unified engagement-to-giving lifecycle.
Scope of Responsibilities:
- Institutional and community partnerships — employers, community organizations, industry groups, and international counterparts.
- Fundraising and advancement — major-gift cultivation, annual giving, grant-seeking, donor stewardship, and gift-acceptance policy.
- Alumni relations — programming, communications, reunions, and the engagement-to-giving lifecycle.
- Executive brand representation — BAU’s presence at high-level external events, industry forums, and community convenings.
- Board-level advancement engagement — recruiting and stewarding a fundraising and advisory committee.
DETAILED RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Institutional Partnerships & Community Engagement
- Develop and execute BAU’s external partnership strategy, prioritizing relationships that advance academic programs, student opportunities, and institutional visibility.
- Cultivate and formalize partnership structures with employers, industry associations, community organizations, and mission-aligned institutions in the D.C. region and internationally.
- Identify and pursue mentorship, internship, and experiential-learning partnerships that connect BAU students with real-world opportunities aligned with academic program outcomes in coordination with Student Services Office and Academics.
- Serve as BAU’s primary point of contact for external partners; ensure agreements are documented, tracked, and renewed on schedule.
- Coordinate closely with the Chief Academic Officer, the Director of Admissions, and the Director of Mentora College where partnerships intersect with academic programs, recruitment, or ESL-to-degree pathways.
2. Fundraising and Development Strategy
- Execute BAU’s multi-year fundraising and advancement strategy, aligned with the University’s Strategic Plan and Five-Year Financial Plan.
- Own major-donor relationships — identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship at the executive level.
- Lead the University’s annual giving campaign strategy, working with the Development Manager on execution.
- Ensure gift-acceptance, recognition, and stewardship policies are in place, reviewed annually, and consistently applied.
- Partner with the CFO and Finance Controller on gift posting, grant compliance, and audit-ready accounting for philanthropic revenue.
3. Alumni Relations & Advancement
- Provide strategic direction to the Alumni Coordinator, treating alumni engagement as the front end of a unified engagement-to-giving lifecycle.
- Mobilize the alumni network to support current students through mentorship, career pathways, and employer connections.
- Position alumni as ambassadors for BAU’s brand — sharing their stories, participating in recruitment, and connecting the University to their professional communities in coordination with the Director of Marketing.
- Ensure alumni communications, reunions, and giving campaigns are aligned and reinforce one another.
4. Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Coordination
- Lead, coach, and develop the External Relations & Advancement team — Development Manager, Alumni Coordinator, and Engagement Officers.
- Set shared metrics across the team (dollars raised, donor retention, partnerships closed, alumni engagement) and align individual performance goals to institutional priorities.
- Manage the department budget in coordination with the CFO; ensure activities are prioritized against BAU’s Strategic Plan and Five-Year Financial Plan.
