Executive Director of Advancement & Community Relations

About the role

Ivy Tech Community College Evansville is seeking a senior fundraising, marketing, and community relations leader to build visibility, strengthen regional partnerships, and grow philanthropic support across southwest Indiana.

Responsibilities

• Lead campus fundraising, marketing, communications, public relations, and community engagement strategies that support student success, enrollment, donor support, and regional visibility.
• Build and manage fundraising plans focused on individual donors, corporations, foundations, alumni, and community partners.
• Personally manage a portfolio of approximately 75 to 150 major gift and principal gift prospects, including donor identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Develop and guide major campaigns, donor communications, brand positioning, public messaging, and visibility initiatives that support campus priorities.
• Strengthen community partnerships with employers, civic organizations, nonprofit partners, alumni, donors, and regional leaders.
• Lead campus storytelling that highlights student success, workforce impact, community partnerships, and the value of accessible education.
• Manage public relations, media relations, crisis communications, reputation management, and executive messaging.
• Advise campus leadership on communication strategy, community positioning, donor opportunities, and reputation-related issues.
• Set priorities for advancement-related budgets, resources, staff work, donor engagement, and marketing efforts.
• Supervise, coach, and support team members in fundraising, donor stewardship, communications, marketing, and community relations best practices.
• Represent the campus in community, donor, alumni, employer, and public-facing settings.
• Support cross-functional projects that advance campus goals and strengthen community awareness.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• Seven to ten years of progressive experience in fundraising, development, nonprofit leadership, marketing, communications, public relations, community relations, or a closely related field.
• Experience leading fundraising, donor relations, marketing, communications, public relations, or community engagement strategies.
• Working knowledge of philanthropy, annual giving, major gifts, donor stewardship, fundraising campaigns, special events, planned giving, marketing communications, media relations, and public relations.
• Ability to build relationships with donors, business leaders, community partners, alumni, staff, and executive leadership.
• Strong written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Experience supervising staff, setting goals, managing priorities, evaluating performance, and leading teams.
• Ability to manage confidential donor, student, employee, and institutional information with sound judgment and high ethical standards.
• Ability to connect fundraising, marketing, communications, and community engagement into one coordinated strategy.
• Commitment to creating a respectful, inclusive environment for students, employees, donors, alumni, and community partners.