Employment Type: Full Time (40 hrs/wk), Benefits Eligible

Months Per Year: 12

Expected Hours: M–F, 8:30a–4:30p, with evening and weekend events as required

Start Date: Immediately

Position Summary:

The Director of Alumni & Community Engagement plays a central role in strengthening relationships across the Paideia community, with a primary focus on alumni and a strategic lens toward alumni parents, grandparents, and other friends of the school. This is a frontline fundraising role rooted in connection, storytelling, and community-building.

This person will design and lead engagement strategies that deepen affinity, expand volunteer involvement, and grow a pipeline of leadership donors. They will manage a portfolio of prospects and actively solicit gifts, while also serving as a thought partner in shaping how the school engages key constituent groups. This role also takes responsibility for cultivating the school's next generation of alumni, leading the senior class giving program for both students and their families.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Alumni Engagement & Strategy

• Develop and execute a comprehensive alumni engagement strategy that increases participation, strengthens relationships, and builds long-term affinity
• Serve as the primary staff liaison to the Alumni Advisory Council, guiding its work and deepening member engagement
• Partner with colleagues to design meaningful alumni programming and events that reflect the culture and values of the school, working closely with the Advancement Coordinator on logistics and execution
• Collaborate with Communications to ensure strong, consistent storytelling that resonates with alumni audiences

Community Engagement — Alumni Parents & Grandparents

• Develop and lead strategy for engaging alumni parents and grandparents, in partnership with Advancement colleagues
• Serve as staff liaison to the Alumni Parent Council, supporting its growth and effectiveness
• Identify opportunities to deepen connection and philanthropic engagement across these constituencies

Senior Class & Pipeline Development

• Lead the Senior Gift Campaign, setting strategy and cultivating a culture of giving among students before they graduate
• Design programming that connects seniors to the alumni community and introduces them to the Paideia legacy of giving back
• Build engagement strategies for young alumni in the years immediately following graduation, creating early habits of participation and connection

Volunteer Pipeline Development

• Build and sustain a strong volunteer pipeline across alumni and community constituencies
• Recruit, train, and support volunteers including reunion committees, class agents, and event hosts
• Create clear pathways for volunteers to grow in their engagement and philanthropic leadership

Frontline Fundraising

• Manage a portfolio of approximately 25 prospects, with a focus on leadership-level giving
• Conduct qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of assigned prospects
• Partner with the Director of Advancement and other team members on strategy and solicitations as appropriate
• Help identify and move new prospects into the major gift pipeline
• Maintain timely and accurate records of portfolio activity in the database

Events & Collaboration

• Lead the strategy and purpose behind alumni and community-facing events, ensuring they are aligned with broader engagement and fundraising goals
• Partner closely with the Advancement Coordinator on event execution and logistics
• Work collaboratively with Annual Giving, Communications, and Advancement Operations to align outreach, messaging, and data strategy

Required Skills and Abilities:

• Strong relationship builder who is confident, warm, and able to connect across a wide range of constituents
• Skilled in both strategy and execution, with the ability to move fluidly between big-picture thinking and day-to-day follow-through
• Experience working with volunteers and building engagement pipelines
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills
• Proficiency with Google Workspace; willingness to learn tools including Veracross and GiveCampus
• Ability to navigate a complex community with authenticity and good judgment
• Genuine enthusiasm for Paideia's progressive educational mission and community values

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree required
• 5+ years of experience in advancement, alumni relations, or a related field, with demonstrated success in frontline fundraising

Application Notes:

Interested applicants should submit a resume, cover letter, and contact information for three references via our online application.

Salary is commensurate with education and experience. A benefits package is offered for benefits-eligible positions. The Paideia School is an equal opportunity employer.

For more information about our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, our focus on both social and emotional learning with rigorous academic offerings and opportunities for extra curricular learning, please visit our website at www.paideiaschool.org.

About The Paideia School

Paideia is a K-12 college preparatory school of 999 students in the Emory University area of Atlanta; the elementary school enrolls 333 students. The elementary program includes twelve full-day, self-contained classrooms grades K-6. There are two teachers in each class of twenty-six to twenty-eight children. Teachers work together as lead teacher and assistant or as two co-lead teachers. Other than classes with specialists including art, music, physical education, and library, children remain with their own teachers throughout the day. We believe the constellation of relative strengths and weaknesses among any group of students can differ widely; teachers decide when and how to offer extra help, when and where to augment a task to provide extra challenge, and when and why to take a step back to allow a child to process information. Social development is an integral part of a child’s maturation. Teachers help children learn how to work together cooperatively and effectively.

Connections working at The Paideia School