Employment Category: Staff; Exempt, Full Time

Supervisor: Assistant Head of School for Advancement

Supervises:  Special Events Manager, Advancement Communications Coordinator, Advancement Associate, Advancement Research Manager, and Database Assistant.                   

Position Summary

The Director of Stewardship and Operations provides strategic oversight and leadership across key functions of the Advancement Office, including donor relations and stewardship, operations (including campaign operations), communications, research, and special events. Reporting to the Assistant Head of School for Advancement, this leader plays a central role in strengthening constituent engagement and ensuring donors experience meaningful, high-impact interactions that build long-term investment in The Ethel Walker School. This highly collaborative and external-facing role combines strategic thinking, project management, execution, and team leadership to deliver high-quality donor experiences and support the School’s philanthropic goals.

Key Responsibilities

Donor Relations and Stewardship

• Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive, donor-centered stewardship program that reflects the mission and values of Walker’s.
• Audit existing acknowledgment and stewardship practices; design and implement a refreshed stewardship matrix that ensures consistency, personalization, and meaningful donor recognition across all giving levels.
• Oversee stewardship strategies for all levels of giving, including the 1911 Fund, endowment, capital priorities, and planned giving.
• Partner with advancement leadership and school leaders to deliver customized engagement and recognition for experiences for top donors, including personalized reports and communications.
• Develop and manage donor recognition societies and signature stewardship events.
• Ensure timely and meaningful acknowledgments, reports, and touchpoints that illustrate the impact of philanthropy.
• Monitor and assess stewardship efforts using data analysis to inform strategic and continuous improvements.

Advancement Operations

• Oversee advancement services functions in collaboration with database and operations staff, ensuring the integrity of data and efficiency of reporting systems.
• Ensure compliance with fiduciary responsibilities and donor intent.
• Maintain and evolve policies and processes for gift acceptance, naming opportunities, and recognition signage.
• Collaborate with advancement leadership to generate campaign and fundraising reports that inform strategic decision-making.
• Support the ongoing audit and enhancement of the Advancement CRM to ensure clean, reliable data and actionable insights.
• Oversee interactions with endowed fund donors to share impact of their gifts, thank them for their support, and ensure that funds are being expended in alignment with Endowed Fund Agreements (EFAs) and donor expectations.

Events

• Provide strategic direction to the Special Events Manager, ensuring all events align with advancement objectives and enhance donor and volunteer engagement.
• Oversee the planning and execution of events that strengthen relationships with donors, alumnae, current parents, families, and other key constituents.
• Ensure consistency, excellence, and creativity across event communications, print materials, and experiences.
• Staff events on and occasionally off campus, completes donor stewardship meetings in person, virtually, and through travel.

Communications

• Serve as the Advancement team’s liaison to the Marketing and Communications Office.
• Lead strategy and content development for advancement communications, the Annual Report for Philanthropy, campaign materials, and digital engagement. Serves on the Editorial Board of the Sundial Magazine.
• Collaborate on donor-specific communications from the Head of School, advancement leaders (annual giving, alumnae relations, and capital giving), and trustees.
• Develop strategic fundraising communications for prospects and toolkits for Advancement team members and volunteers focused on the priority needs of Walker’s.
• Develop the comprehensive planned giving communications strategy in partnership with the Senior Director of Development and Engagement.
• Create segmented messaging and compelling content that conveys the impact of giving and strengthens Walker’s culture of philanthropy.

Other Responsibilities

• Develop and manage budgets related to donor relations, events, and advancement communications.
• Stay current on best practices and trends in fundraising, donor relations, stewardship, and campaign operations.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; equivalent experience in advancement or nonprofit leadership may be considered.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in advancement, donor relations, or a related field.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Effective strategic thinking, creative problem solving, attention to detail, and the ability to identify key issues proactively. Proven ability to formulate recommendations for change or improvement.
• Keen project management skills and the ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects at a time.
• Mature judgment and ability to act with discretion and confidentiality in all matters.
• Aptitude for technology and efficient production of communication projects. Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, Google Suite, Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, or comparable platforms. Familiarity with databases, ideally Raiser’s Edge, and a project management platform.
• Professional and courteous demeanor and the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and all constituents.
• Ability and interest to maintain working knowledge of best practices in the field of donor relations and stewardship.
• Strong collaborator who thrives in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
• A passion for education and an appreciation for independent school culture are a must

To apply, please submit your resume, cover letter and contact list of three (3) professional references in one (1) pdf document to: careers@my.ethelwalker.org.

About The Ethel Walker School

For more than 100 years, The Ethel Walker School has been preparing young women to make a difference in the world. At Walker’s, we seek to foster and cherish the joyful development of girls into young women so that they may reach their full potential as astute thinkers and doers in the world. Our grounding values of integrity, respect, confidence, courage, conviction, and love of learning provide a solid framework for personal, ethical, and social growth. Our grades 6–12 plus postgraduate education serves not only as preparation for college, but for life itself in this century of constant change. Walker’s graduates, whatever field they pursue, are societal engineers, reworking and rewiring the very mechanisms of our world. Our ethos of warm receptivity to new ideas and people, as well as enduring and deep friendships over time, emerges out of Ethel Walker’s philosophy of education and her desire to provide girls with a foundation for lifelong learning and intellectual curiosity. At Walker’s, girls can be themselves, discover their true passions and purpose, and achieve their best performance in every aspect of life. The Walker's campus is located on 175 expansive acres in ...Simsbury, Connecticut. Recent large-scale projects include a state-of-the-art residence hall designed with a focus on sustainability, featuring solar panels that will provide 50% of the energy for the building. Walker’s boasts a nationally recognized equestrian program operating with over 50 horses on site, a 100+ acre on-campus facility with a nationally renowned head of riding, and superb equestrian trainers. Walker’s facilities include excellent classrooms and science laboratories, as well as outdoor turf and grass fields and tennis courts, and the 70,000 square-foot Centennial Center, a multi-use facility housing impressive athletic facilities including a pool, squash, basketball, and volleyball courts, dance studios, student center, athletic training room, and medical services.

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