Director of Alumni Relations
A Director of Alumni Relations builds and manages an institution's lifelong relationship with its graduates, from reunions and regional chapters to volunteer programs and the alumni pipeline that feeds fundraising. This is a sample job description from Excelon Associates that you can adapt as a template for your own hire.
What does a Director of Alumni Relations do?
The Director of Alumni Relations owns the institution's relationship with its graduates. The role designs and runs the engagement program: reunions and signature events, regional chapters, volunteer and mentorship programs, alumni communications, and the data work that tracks who is engaged and who is drifting away.
The director also connects engagement to institutional outcomes, partnering with development on the pipeline from engaged alumni to donors, with admissions on alumni referrals and interviewing, and with career services on mentorship and hiring networks. The role usually sits in the advancement division within higher education.
A Director of Alumni Relations is the leader accountable for alumni engagement as a measurable program: participation, volunteering, giving readiness, and lifelong connection to the institution. The role is senior to an Alumni Relations Officer, who executes programs rather than owning the strategy; see our Alumni Relations Officer sample job description for that role.
What does the Director of Alumni Relations oversee?
Key responsibilities of a Director of Alumni Relations
- Design and execute the annual alumni engagement plan, including reunions, signature events, regional chapters, and affinity groups.
- Build volunteer, mentorship, and career networking programs that give alumni meaningful ways to serve current students.
- Own alumni communications across email, social, and the alumni magazine or newsletter, keeping content worth opening.
- Partner with development to move engaged alumni toward giving, sharing engagement signals that inform gift officer outreach.
- Maintain alumni data quality in the advancement CRM, tracking engagement scores, contact coverage, and program participation.
- Report engagement metrics to advancement leadership, tying program spend to participation and pipeline outcomes.
- Hire, coach, and manage alumni relations staff and student workers, and staff the alumni association board.
- Partner with admissions on alumni referral and interview programs and with career services on alumni hiring networks.
- Represent the institution at alumni gatherings nationally, serving as a visible and trusted face of the alma mater.
Hiring a Director of Alumni Relations? Excelon Associates recruits advancement and alumni leadership for colleges and universities nationwide. Start a search with our education practice.
What qualifications does the role require?
- Bachelor's degree required; a master's degree in higher education, communications, or nonprofit management is preferred.
- At least seven years of progressive experience in alumni relations, advancement, or constituent engagement, including staff management.
- A record of building engagement programs that grew participation, with events experience from intimate dinners to thousand-person reunions.
- Working command of advancement CRMs such as Raiser's Edge or Salesforce and of engagement scoring and reporting.
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Download the TemplateWhy is the Director of Alumni Relations role important?
Alumni are the institution's longest relationship and its most undervalued asset. Engaged graduates refer students, mentor and hire them, defend the institution publicly, and eventually fund it; the Director of Alumni Relations is the person who turns warm feeling into all of that, deliberately and measurably.
The role has shifted from event planning to pipeline building. Advancement offices now expect engagement data that predicts giving, which is why the strongest directors treat every reunion, chapter, and mentorship match as an input to a measurable lifetime relationship rather than a standalone party.
How much does a Director of Alumni Relations make?
Most directors of alumni relations in the United States earn between $70,000 and $110,000 per year as of 2026. Posting-based averages sit in the low $90,000s, self-reported medians land in the mid $80,000s to mid $90,000s, and the typical middle of the market runs from $67,000 to $110,000. Institution size and the scope of the portfolio drive most of the spread.
Directors who also carry development responsibility, with combined alumni relations and giving mandates, commonly earn above $105,000. Large research universities and high-cost metros such as San Francisco and New York run to $130,000 and beyond, while small colleges and independent schools typically pay in the $70,000s and $80,000s.
A hiring note from Excelon
The best alumni relations candidates can tell you what engagement is for. When we interview for these roles through our higher education practice, we ask finalists which of their programs moved a number the advancement office cares about: referrals, volunteer hours, giving participation, or pipeline handoffs to gift officers. Event portfolios all look similar on paper; the candidates who connect programs to outcomes are the ones who earn a seat at the advancement leadership table.
The strongest alumni directors treat every reunion, chapter, and mentorship match as an input to a measurable lifetime relationship rather than a standalone party.
Related sample job descriptions
Director of Alumni Relations: frequently asked questions
What does a Director of Alumni Relations do?
A Director of Alumni Relations designs and runs an institution's alumni engagement program, including reunions and events, regional chapters, volunteer and mentorship programs, alumni communications, and the data that connects engagement to the donor pipeline.
Who does a Director of Alumni Relations report to?
Most directors of alumni relations report to a Vice President of Advancement, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, or Chief Development Officer, since alumni relations typically sits inside the advancement division.
What is the difference between a Director of Alumni Relations and an Alumni Relations Officer?
The director owns the engagement strategy, budget, staff, and metrics, while an alumni relations officer executes programs such as events, chapters, and communications. The officer role typically reports to the director.
What qualifications does the role require?
This sample role requires a bachelor's degree (master's preferred) and at least seven years of progressive alumni relations or advancement experience, including staff management, large-scale events, and advancement CRM fluency.
How much does a Director of Alumni Relations make?
Most directors of alumni relations in the United States earn between $70,000 and $110,000 per year as of 2026, with combined alumni and development mandates commonly above $105,000 and large research universities running to $130,000 and beyond.
Hiring a Director of Alumni Relations?
Excelon Associates recruits alumni relations, advancement, and development leadership for colleges and universities across the United States through our higher education recruitment practice. Retained executive search since 2007, headquartered in Asheville, NC, with offices in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, FL.
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