Director of Alumni Relations The Mountain School, Vershire, Vermont
Founded in 1984, the Mountain School of Milton Academy has 2,900 alumni who live all over the world. Each semester, the school provides 45 high school juniors the opportunity to live and work on a Vermont farm while experiencing a challenging curriculum. Outside the classroom, the school models the values of simplicity and sustainability in practices such as food preparation, energy use, and the maintenance of facilities. An important part of the school’s mission—to reach beyond the self and work for common good—has as much to do with the lives of our alumni as with the work of our students on campus. Nearly a third of alumni live in New York, Boston, Seattle, Cleveland, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Los Angeles. 40% of alumni made a gift to the Mountain School in fy2016, totaling $208,000. An impressive percentage of alumni respond to surveys, attend reunions, and express an interest in continuing to maintain their relationship with the school. Director of Alumni Relations: The Director of Alumni Relations will assume full responsibility of Mountain School graduate relations. Reporting to the director and serving on the school’s management team, this person will lead the school’s efforts to welcome and nurture alumni while supervising both the alumni coordinator and the publisher of the newsletter. This full-time position includes salary and benefits, including the possibility of housing.
Responsibilities include: • • • • • •
Host all on-campus reunions, including the hiring and supervision of staff; Manage alumni fundraising, leading a team of alumni volunteers; Oversee all communications with alumni, collaborating with the alumni coordinator, director of admissions, and director; Lead and inspire the faculty to interact meaningfully with alumni, at reunions and otherwise; Support the alumni coordinator in her management of off-campus alumni programming; Know and appreciate the current students and faculty, participating in morning meetings, faculty meetings, and occasional work periods.
Alumni Committee The mission of the Mountain School Alumni Committee is to support a dynamic community of Mountain School graduates by connecting them to each other and helping them to carry forward the intellectual curiosity, celebration of place, and commitment to service we associate with the Mountain School. This twelve-person group represents a diverse set of alumni who work throughout the year and meet twice annually to design and implement alumni programming. The alumni coordinator, a half-time, remote employee, leads this team of volunteers in administering alumni programming and maintaining the alumni website. Some challenges and opportunities for the future • Leading the faculty and alumni volunteers in a team approach to alumni relations that serves the mission of the school; • Involving alumni of color in the school; • Maintaining a strong tradition of alumni giving; • Determining the right constellation of on-campus and off-campus reunions to host, and leading efforts to accommodate larger groups of alumni; • Creating unity of style and brand in all communications to alumni: newsletters, bulletins, emails, social media posts, syrup and sweatshirt sale The successful candidate will likely demonstrate: • • • • • • •
Five or more years of experience working in alumni relations, including the management of volunteers and involvement in fundraising; Excellent written and oral communication skills; A commitment to diversity of all kinds; Enthusiasm for collaborating with colleagues and connecting with teenagers; Strong organizational habits; Willingness to host alumni and travel to see them; A combination of imagination and pragmatism when considering the shape of alumni relations in the future.
Interested Persons Contact: Jonathan K. Ball Managing Associate Carney, Sandoe & Associates 617-933-3450 (dir) jball@carneysandoe.com All inquiries and nominations are kept confidential. The Mountain School does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, religion, race, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability, or national or ancestral origin in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other School-administered programs, or in the administration of its hiring and employment practices. The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.