Director of Alumni Relations, Executive Director of the W Club

EXPIRED

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.

Job Category:

Limited

Employment Type:

Regular

Job Profile:

Alumni Relations Director (B)

Job Summary:

Join Wisconsin Athletics in leading one of the most passionate and proud letterwinner groups in college sports — the W Club, home to over 10,000 living alumni. We’re seeking a strong, seasoned strategic leader who can connect across generations, turn ideas into action, and bring initiatives to life. This leader will guide traditions like the Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame, Homecoming, and lead the W Club board by engaging alumni in target markets, and welcoming them back to Madison to celebrate and honor the enduring legacy of being a Badger.

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Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.

Job Category:

Limited

Employment Type:

Regular

Job Profile:

Alumni Relations Director (B)

Job Summary:

Join Wisconsin Athletics in leading one of the most passionate and proud letterwinner groups in college sports — the W Club, home to over 10,000 living alumni. We’re seeking a strong, seasoned strategic leader who can connect across generations, turn ideas into action, and bring initiatives to life. This leader will guide traditions like the Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame, Homecoming, and lead the W Club board by engaging alumni in target markets, and welcoming them back to Madison to celebrate and honor the enduring legacy of being a Badger.

This position is about turning vision into reality through storytelling, relationships, and creating meaningful opportunities for letterwinners to stay connected for life. You’ll help alumni celebrate their history while building a shared vision for the future, advancing priorities such as supporting a life changing student-athlete opportunity and building the brand of Wisconsin Athletics nationally. If you can inspire pride, foster connection, and carry forward the belief that Once a Badger, Always a Badger, we want you on our team.

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Exercises supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees

• Assists in the development of strategic planning initiatives and objectives to ensure appropriate use of financial, administrative, and staffing resources and alignment with the strategic plan

• Assists in the development and implementation of alumni relations goals and operating policies and procedures to promote alumni impact and fundraising activities in alignment with the strategic plan

• Serves as the subject matter expert regarding alumni campaign strategies and performance goals

• Develops, implements, and monitors communication and branding campaigns and programs

• Identifies, develops, and monitors staff performance and goals

Department:

Wisconsin Athletics, W Club

Compensation:

The minimum salary is $130,500, depending on qualifications and experience.

Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as:
-  Generous vacation, holidays, and paid time off;
- Competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits;
- Badger gear & season tickets for Badger football, men's basketball and men's hockey, and/or the varsity sports pass.

More Benefits information can be found here.

Required Qualifications:

• 5–10 years of progressive leadership experience in alumni relations, donor relations, athletic administration, professional sports, nonprofit leadership, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated success leading strategic initiatives, programs, or campaigns from concept to execution with measurable results.
• Proven ability to lead and inspire staff, boards, and volunteers toward shared goals.
• Track record of developing and executing strategic plans that align with organizational mission and priorities.
• Interpersonal skills with the ability to connect authentically with a broad range of constituents, including alumni, donors, student-athletes, coaches, and community leaders.
• Skilled in fostering and maintaining long-term relationships with diverse audiences, including individuals with differing perspectives on organizational change.
• Outstanding written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to represent the organization in high-profile settings.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• A confident leader who can both develop big-picture strategy and drive day-to-day execution.
• High degree of professionalism, integrity, and discretion.
• Experience in budgeting and resource allocation
• Familiarity with NCAA regulations and the shifting landscape in collegiate athletics.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Former Intercollegiate Student-Athlete
• Experience managing advisory boards, councils, or committees, including governance, engagement, and succession planning.
• Experience developing and implementing multi-channel communication strategies to reach diverse alumni audiences.
• Strong network-building skills with an understanding of how to connect current student-athletes with alumni for mentorship, career opportunities, and lifelong engagement.
  • Don’t have every skill listed? No problem! We know experience can be built in many ways. If you have relevant skills that aren't reflected in your resume, we encourage you to share them in your cover letter. 

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree required with a preference in business, communications, sports management, nonprofit administration, or related field
• Advanced degree preferred in sports leadership

How to Apply:

For the best experience completing your application, we recommend using Chrome or Firefox as your web browser.
 

To apply for this position, select either “I am a current employee” or “I am not a current employee” under Apply Now. You will then be prompted to upload your application materials.
 

Important: The application has only one attachment field. Upload all required documents in that field, either as a single combined file or as multiple files in the same upload area.
 

Upload required documents:

• A cover letter detailing how your qualifications and experiences align with the responsibilities of the position.
• Resume
   

Please note that reference checks will be conducted for finalists. Applicants selected to proceed in the selection process will be notified directly. All applicants will receive notification once a final selection has been made and the search is complete.
 

Conditions of Appointment: This is a 100% Limited Staff appointment. Salary will be assigned within the appropriate range, commensurate with the candidate's qualifications and experience. An excellent benefits package is also included. Successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment.

Contact Information:

Kayla Weisensel at kw4@athletics.wisc.edu

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment. 
 
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7). 
 
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.

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