Company Description

Job Description

The Executive Director of the Notre Dame Alumni Association and Associate Vice President for University Relations provides strategic leadership for Notre Dame’s lifelong engagement with its alumni, parents, families, and friends around the world. Reporting to the Vice President for University Relations, the Executive Director serves as the University’s senior leader for alumni engagement and as a highly visible ambassador and spokesperson for Notre Dame.

The Executive Director leads a high-performing Alumni Association team and an extensive network of volunteer leaders, building connections that strengthen the Notre Dame family and advance the University’s Catholic mission. The successful candidate will bring exceptional energy, judgment, relationship-building ability, and a deep appreciation for Notre Dame’s distinctive mission, traditions, and global community.

The position requires significant travel and frequent evening and weekend commitments and calls for a leader who draws energy from people and remains genuinely enthusiastic about engaging the Notre Dame family wherever they may be.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Vision

• Establish a compelling vision and long-term strategy for alumni engagement aligned with the priorities and mission of the University and University Relations.
• Anticipate the changing needs and expectations of alumni across generations, geographies, backgrounds, and stages of life, continually evolving the Alumni Association’s programs and engagement strategies.
• Use data, technology, research, and alumni feedback to evaluate impact, establish priorities, allocate resources, and identify new opportunities for engagement.
• Serve as a member of the University Relations leadership team and a trusted advisor to the Vice President for University Relations and other University leaders.

Team and Organizational Leadership

• Recruit, develop, inspire, and retain an exceptional Alumni Association team, creating a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, service, and care for one another.
• Set clear expectations and empower leaders throughout the organization so that the collective impact of the team is greater than the sum of its individual parts.
• Ensure organizational structures, talent, resources, and programs are aligned with the Association’s highest strategic priorities.
• Develop future leaders and create meaningful opportunities for professional growth and succession.

Alumni Board and Volunteer Leadership

• Build an exceptional partnership with the Notre Dame Alumni Association Board of Directors, engaging its members as ambassadors and volunteer leaders.
• Work closely with the Board president, president-elect, past president, executive committee, and other volunteer leaders to strengthen alumni engagement.
• Inspire, equip, and steward Notre Dame’s extensive network of club, class, affinity, professional, and other volunteer leaders.
• Ensure volunteers understand University priorities and are prepared to represent Notre Dame thoughtfully and effectively in their communities.

Alumni Engagement and Community

• Strengthen lifelong relationships between Notre Dame and its alumni through opportunities for faith, service, learning, career and professional development, student engagement, fellowship, travel, athletics, and connection with the University.
• Provide leadership for major alumni experiences and traditions, including Reunion, football weekends, club and class engagement, alumni travel, and other signature programs.
• Deepen engagement with alumni across generations and around the world, ensuring that alumni see opportunities both to receive value from and contribute value to the Notre Dame community.
• Partner across colleges and schools, Athletics, Student Affairs, Mission Engagement and Church Affairs, and other University units to connect alumni with the broader life and mission of Notre Dame.

University Ambassador and Spokesperson

• Serve as one of Notre Dame’s most visible representatives to alumni, parents, friends, volunteers, and communities around the world.
• Communicate the University’s mission, priorities, opportunities, and challenges with authenticity, warmth, credibility, and clarity.
• Represent Notre Dame at alumni gatherings, University events, athletic events, celebrations, memorials, and other occasions requiring senior University presence.
• Build trusted relationships across a broad and diverse Notre Dame family, demonstrating exceptional interpersonal judgment and discretion.

Leadership in a Complex Environment

• Navigate complex cultural, social, institutional, and public issues with wisdom, diplomacy, courage, and sound judgment.
• Build relationships across differing perspectives while keeping Notre Dame’s Catholic mission, institutional values, and commitment to community at the center.
• Anticipate issues that could affect alumni relationships or the reputation of the University and partner appropriately with University leadership and communications colleagues.
• Model civil dialogue, intellectual openness, respect, and a commitment to sustaining relationships even amid disagreement.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Significant progressively responsible leadership experience, preferably in alumni relations, advancement, higher education, nonprofit leadership, external relations, constituent engagement, or another highly relational organization.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Significant experience working with boards, volunteer leaders, or other influential external constituencies.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships with individuals representing a wide range of experiences, perspectives, generations, and backgrounds.
• Strong strategic thinking and organizational leadership capabilities, including experience using data and insights to guide priorities and resource allocation.
• Exceptional judgment, discretion, integrity, and emotional intelligence.
• Ability and enthusiasm for extensive travel and frequent evening and weekend responsibilities.

Preferred

• Advanced degree.
• Senior leadership experience within a complex, mission-driven institution.
• Experience in higher education, advancement, alumni engagement, volunteer management, or a similarly relationship-intensive environment.
• Demonstrated understanding of and appreciation for the mission, traditions, culture, and global community of the University of Notre Dame.
• Experience engaging geographically dispersed constituencies and leading large-scale volunteer networks.
• Familiarity with the opportunities and challenges facing contemporary higher education and alumni engagement.

Additional Information

Salary Commensurate with Experience.

This position will close on Sunday, October 25th

The University of Notre Dame seeks to attract, develop, and retain the highest quality faculty, staff and administration. The University is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or age in employment. Moreover, Notre Dame prohibits discrimination against veterans or disabled qualified individuals, and complies with 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-300.5(a). We strongly encourage applications from candidates attracted to a university with a Catholic identity.