Senior Associate Vice President
New Mexico State University (NMSU), New Mexico's flagship land-grant and space-grant institution, and the NMSU Foundation seek a highly collaborative, thoughtful, and entrepreneurial professional to serve as Senior Associate Vice President of External Relations. The Sr. AVP of External Relations will join a dedicated advancement team, contributing to the Foundation's growth, and will play a critical role in identifying opportunities to support NMSU community impact, especially for students and faculty. The Sr. AVP of External Relations directs and coordinates the Advancement marketing, communication, alumni relations, compliance, donor relations, stewardship, and strategic initiative activities of the NMSU Foundation, Office of University Advancement and its affiliated programs. The recently completed Ignite Aggie Discovery Campaign, the largest in the university's history, raised over $125 million across three distinct pillars - student discovery, faculty and staff discovery, and NMSU achievement. Of the total, $39 million was dedicated for student support, and $56 million was raised for programmatic and research support. With an endowment of over $230 million, NMSU and the NMSU Foundation have a massive opportunity to raise even more for student, faculty, and community success.
Critical to the continuation and growth of NMSU's impact, the University will rely on talented, motivated development leaders to amplify its fundraising and broader Aggie community engagement strategies. To develop and execute an ambitious growth plan, NMSU is looking to attract professionals with the
unique balance of success, authenticity, and passion for the New Mexico community.
Ideal candidates will be dedicated, hard-working, and curious. A personal and professional commitment to valuing the differences in who we are, what we've experienced, and how we think, is vital. Excellent organizational skills in addition to superior verbal, written and interpersonal skills are essential
Required Education & Experience
- The position requires a bachelor's degree and eight (8) years of professional experience related to the standard duties as outlined.
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University invites you to apply to be a part of a diverse, dynamic and welcoming learning and working environment in Las Cruces, NM. NMSU seeks employees who are creative and flexible in developing and evaluating new ideas and ways to evolve NMSU into the future. Located in the borderlands and adjacent to the mighty Rio Grande, NMSU is a proud Hispanic-serving institution in the minority-majority state of New Mexico. Southern New Mexico features an average of 294 days of sunshine annually, making NMSU ideal for job-seekers who enjoy hiking, mountain biking, canoeing and bird-watching. NMSU is committed to sustainability through improving and maintaining the quality of human life while preserving the integrity, stability, and beauty of ecological systems for the future. We are looking for student-centered employees with a passion for success. NMSU invites you to take the first step to your successful and rewarding career by applying today.
NMSU is New Mexico's land-grant and space-grant institution, a comprehensive research institution dedicated to teaching, research, public service and outreach. In addition, the NMSU system includes a satellite learning center in Albuquerque, Cooperative Extension Service offices located in each of New Mexico's 33 counties, and 12 agriculture research and science centers. New Mexico State University is the institution of choice for more than 15,000 students from 49 states and 89 foreign countries.
The City of Las Cruces is the second-largest city in New Mexico and is located in Doa Ana County, approximately 45 miles north of El Paso, Texas, and 225 miles south of Albuquerque. Las Cruces is the economic and geographic center of the Mesilla Valley, the agricultural region on the floodplain of the Rio Grande which extends from Hatch to the west side of El Paso, Texas. The Organ Mountains, 10 miles to the east, are dominant in the city's landscape, along with the Doa Ana Mountains, Robledo Mountains, and Picacho Peak. Las Cruces lies within a short driving distance of the Mexican border at Santa Teresa, as well as many other locations in the broader borderland region. Geography, climate, demographics, and ambiance of Las Cruces and NMSU combine to offer a truly excellent place to thrive. Family members will discover a warm, open community that offers an attractive array of activities and outdoor recreation, amenities, services and opportunities, whether they are looking for top-notch education, meaningful employment, or simply a safe and comfortable place to live.
Roles & Responsibilities
- Directs and coordinates Advancement marketing, communication, alumni relations, compliance, donor relations, stewardship, and strategic initiative activities of the NMSU Foundation and Office of University Advancement; both external and internal.
- Assists VP of Advancement with strategic planning and implementation of strategic initiatives.
- Oversees development and implementation of Advancement support materials and services.
- Coordinates communication strategies to enhance positive media exposure including earned, owned and paid media opportunities.
- Represents and promotes University Advancement and the NMSU Foundation, increasing visibility and supporting the mission, vision, and goals.
- Leads the development and implementation of University Advancement and the NMSU Foundation brand vision, strategy, and public relations campaigns to engage and motivate alumni and donors.
- Collaborates closely with College and University marketing and Communication divisions.
- Supports university, college and department advancement-focused marketing collateral and messaging.
- Designs, establishes, and maintains an organizational structure and staffing to effectively accomplish the organization's goals and objectives.
- Oversees the supervision of personnel, which includes work allocation and goals, training, promotion and enforcement of internal procedures and problem resolution; evaluates performance and makes recommendations for personnel actions, motivates employees to achieve peak productivity and performance.
- Oversees the overall operations of units reporting to this position.
- Represents the Foundation to various institutional divisions as well as externally to governmental agencies, vendors, students and their parents, donors, alumni, volunteer boards and committees, and the general public.
- Develops and manages annual budgets and performs periodic cost and productivity analyses.
- Creates and initiates effective marketing activities for promoting major, planned and annual giving, capital needs, endowments, and other funding activities.
- Assumes responsibility for overall coordination and day-to-day execution of campaigns.
- Recommends and participates in the development of University policies and procedures, may serve on University planning and policymaking committees.
- Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.
Qualifications
In addition to the abilities to achieve the above core responsibilities, ideal candidates will possess the following qualification and attributes:
- Knowledge and understanding of donor relations, alumni relations, and marketing and communication principles, practices, and standards as applied to public institutions.
- Knowledge of multi-media applications.
- Knowledge of computerized systems used in marketing and communications.
- Knowledge of organization structure, workflow, staffing patterns, job design, and operating procedures.
- Knowledge of project management principles, practices, techniques, and tools.
- Knowledge of financial/business analyses techniques.
- Knowledge of faculty and/or staff hiring procedures.
- Demonstrated success in planning and executing complex multi-year, multi-million-dollar development programs and/or campaigns.
- Knowledge of best practices and current trending within the educational fundraising arena.
- Skill in examining and re-engineering operations and procedures, formulating policy, creating and managing fiscal budgets and the strategic implementation of outcomes.
- Skilled in critical thinking, presenting, and strategic planning that can be delivered to a broad constituency.
- Outstanding interpersonal and community relations skills and the ability to communicate and work effectively within a diverse community.
- Employee development and performance management skills.
- Ability to work across diverse operational units toward a common vision.
- Ability to supervise and train employees, to include organizing, prioritizing, and scheduling work assignments.
- Ability to develop and implement comprehensive goals, strategies, and plans.
- Ability to establish, direct, and maintain an integrated and cohesive institutional external relations function.
- Ability to be a dynamic leader for a multi-unit team.
- Ability to motivate and foster a cooperative work environment that enhances employee development and performance.
- Ability to use independent judgment and to manage and impart information to a range of clientele and/or media sources.
- Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.