Chief Experience and Engagement Officer

Job Posting Location:

Claremont, CA

Job Posting Title:

Job Description:

ABOUT POMONA COLLEGE: Located near Los Angeles, California, Pomona College is widely regarded as one of the nation's premier liberal arts colleges. Established in 1887, Pomona College is known for small classes, a challenging curriculum, close relationships between students and faculty, and a range of student research and leadership opportunities. Pomona is a member of The Claremont Colleges.

JOB PURPOSE: Reporting to the Vice President for Advancement, the Chief Experience and Engagement Officer (CEEO) is responsible for leading strategies and overall planning to help Pomona College create positive campus, faculty, student, alumni, family, and community experiences and engagement.

Responsible for the strategic leadership, staffing, performance, and executive oversight of Advancement Communications, Office of College Events (OCE), and Alumni and Family Engagement (AFE) teams, the CEEO develops programs to facilitate and strengthen lifelong engagement between the College and its constituents ; to lead the strategic planning, execution and logistical operations of College events; to maintain and strengthen the authentic Sagehen standard of community, excellence, and hospitality for all internal and external guests; and support alumni participation and giving growth.

This senior leader is responsible for cultivating lifelong, mutually beneficial relationships between the College and its 26,000+ living alumni and family communities worldwide through integrated strategies spanning communications, career engagement, experiential programming, volunteerism, and philanthropy.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Reporting directly to the VP for Advancement, the CEEO performs the following essential duties and responsibilities.

Strategic Leadership:

• Create and implement a long-term strategy and vision for the development and advancement of constituent (alumni, families and friends) engagement programs and fundraising goals.
• Build a collaborative team model with other teams within Advancement to support strategic initiatives.
• Provide vision, leadership, and oversight to the Alumni Association Board Executive Committee (AABEC) and Family Leadership Council, and other partners and committees to plan, design, and execute the vision and strategy of the College related to engagement for alumni, families, and friends of the College.
• Strategically integrate alumni and family involvement and their resources into the College fabric through direct or liaison-based partnerships with other College offices including Academic Dean, Academic Departments, Career Development Office, Student Affairs, Athletics and President’s Office in consultation with the Office of the VP for Advancement.
• Strategic development and implementation of meaningful and impactful events that foster strong relationships with the college, support the academic mission, and increase revenue.
• Improve marketability and profitability of campus events and facilities. Regularly interface with the College’s senior leadership, liaisons and volunteers.
• Manage, coach, train, and mentor the ACT, OCE and AFE teams, building organizational capabilities and a culture of care for the Sagehen community.
• Leverage data analytics, engagement scoring, predictive modeling, and alumni research to: inform strategy, assess program effectiveness, and allocate resources; develop tools and enhance strategies for engaging alumni, families and friends; and fully utilizing the Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) system and data insights for alumni and family engagement program needs and performance management.
• Monitor progress of programs against planned outcomes and key performance indicators (KPIs) and developing and managing program plans and budgets.
• Serve as a member of the VP for Advancement’s Senior Leadership Team.
• Other duties as assigned.

College Events:

• Develop and oversee the strategy and planning for the Office of College Events, including campus and regional events, third-party rentals, conferences, signature events, academic events, and donor-focused experiences, while extending the Sagehen standard of community, excellence, and hospitality for all internal and external guests.

• Maintain a standard of commitment to advancing a shared vision for how Pomona’s most significant gatherings support the academic mission, strengthen community, and reflect the College’s mission.

• Create and execute authentic, meaningful, emotionally charged experiences that transform ordinary interactions into powerful memories that inspire sustained engagement with the College; foster and strengthen a sense of belonging, community, and loyalty; turn attendees into advocates; and involve potential donors and key volunteers in activities to encourage gifts that support College priorities.
• Cultivate a College-wide community of practice for events leadership, serving as a trusted advisor to academic and administrative leaders by strengthening shared standards and playbooks, and modeling and encouraging collaboration across campus.
• Utilize advanced data analytics and reporting tools to gain insights into attendee behavior, engagement levels, and event success to identify opportunities and develop and implement program enhancements with key stakeholders.

Engagement Programs:

• Build, manage, and grow dynamic regional communities for Sagehen alumni, families, and friends in the U.S. and around the world with a focus on areas with large concentrations of alumni and strategic opportunity for the College.
• Ensure both AFE staff and volunteer leaders understand and align on the mission, priorities, and goals of Pomona, the Advancement team, and AFE. Ensure that recent graduates, families, and where appropriate students are welcomed and included in all Sagehen communities. Recruit, train, and manage volunteers in all core markets to help carry out the mission of the AFE programming.
• Develop, implement, and continuously refine a comprehensive multi-year alumni engagement strategy aligned with College Advancement priorities and campaign goals, especially the College’s new strategic plan and current campaign.
• Set, track, and report on measurable goals and progress across CASE's (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) four engagement dimensions: philanthropic, volunteer, experiential, and communications.
• Ensure reach, yield, and penetration which more broadly and deeply engages alumni and family communities in the life of the College in ways that authentically, dynamically and effectively resonate with Pomona's strategic plan and priorities.
• Expand experiential and lifelong learning opportunities, including faculty-led master classes, virtual/hybrid events, regional programming, and alumni travel programs.
• Assess program effectiveness through attendance data, engagement metrics, satisfaction surveys, and cost-benefit analysis; sunset underperforming programs and innovate new offerings based on constituent interests and needs.
• Increase the breadth and depth of alumni participation in events and programming, with emphasis on engaging early-career, mid-career, and diverse alumni populations.
• Oversee the creation and expansion of opportunities for alumni and families to engage and connect virtually, assessing needs and bandwidth to accomplish both in-person and virtual events, and offering hybrid engagement opportunities when appropriate.
• Create student and young alumni engagement plans to build life-long connections and facilitate continued engagement and support for the College, directing the strategy of the Alumni Association Board Executive Committee (AABEC) and the work of its subcommittees.

Advancement Communications:

• Provide strategic oversight of Advancement Communications Team (ACT), including developing and implementing effective communications strategy for alumni and families to design and implement a creative and effective multi-channel marketing plan (email, digital, social media, print, video) to strengthen overall community engagement.
• Leverage technology and digital tools to build, grow, and activate a connected, engaged global alumni community.
• Provides strategic oversight of integrated communication strategies for fundraising, capital campaigns, and alumni engagement. • Utilize data-driven decisions to plan, design, execute, and evaluate the effectiveness of Advancement communications with an ongoing commitment to adaptation to audience insights, content affinity, segmentation trends, and continuous improvement.

Engaged Philanthropy:

• Ensure alumni and family programming consistently reinforces a culture of philanthropy and provides clear pathways from engagement to giving.
• As a secondary staff contact, maintain a portfolio of 50-75 assigned alumni prospects, primarily volunteer leaders and advisory board members, who may be involved in qualification, cultivation and solicitation with a member of the development staff. Work collaboratively to ensure momentum in the engagement of those prospects.
• Partner with Development colleagues; Leadership, Annual Giving and Reunion; and Stewardship teams to align engagement strategies with fundraising goals and build a robust engagement-to-giving pipeline.
• Oversee the development and management of an effective volunteer system and related programming that support the objective of engaging alumni and families in meaningful volunteer opportunities that translate their time and talent into resources for students, faculty, and staff.

Volunteer Management:

• Oversee the strategic direction and governance of the Pomona College Alumni Association Board, including recruitment, onboarding, training, and stewardship of board members, led by Director, AFE.
• Build and manage a diverse, inclusive volunteer pipeline with clear pathways from initial engagement to board-level leadership. Dramatically expand the overall base of volunteer leaders for Pomona College.
• Ensure all volunteer structures have clear goals, operating plans, succession planning, and measures of success.
• Develop and support regional chapters and family engagement volunteer leadership.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience that provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the position.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible professional experience with alumni and family relations, fundraising and/or volunteer engagement, including at least five years in senior management or leadership role overseeing alumni engagement for an organization with a significant constituent base, preferably within a liberal arts college or higher education environment.

Experience:

• Demonstrated ability to engage individuals and articulate institutional needs while exercising discretion and maintaining confidentiality.
• Demonstrated success in developing and managing programs.
• Proven ability to set goals and to develop strategies and timelines to complete projects and reach goals.
• Demonstrated high-level project management skills.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively and independently in order to work across all areas of the College and its constituents to ultimately achieve fundraising and engagement goals.
• Prior supervisory experience with a proven history of motivating and developing direct reports to achieve goals and grow within an organization.
• Proven experience recruiting, managing, and stewarding high-level volunteer boards and advisory committees.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain productive relationships with senior College administrators, trustees, faculty, staff, and volunteers.
• Demonstrated ability to engage individuals and articulate institutional needs, while exercising discretion and maintaining confidentiality.
• Sophisticated writing, editing, and presentation skills.
• Proven experience as an effective fundraiser.
• Proven success leading large-scale, high-visibility events, including establishing strategy, setting priorities, working with high-profile guests and dignitaries, and guiding teams and partners to deliver high-impact experiences.
• Demonstrated commitment to work within a diverse environment and interact openly with individuals of different backgrounds.
• Demonstrated experience in creating and managing budgets.
• Ability to work effectively with volunteers, colleagues, and various constituencies globally.
• Demonstrated experience using data analytics, engagement scoring, and CRM systems to inform strategy, measure outcomes, and drive continuous improvement.
• Proficiency with advancement CRM systems (e.g., Ellucian Advance, Salesforce, Blackbaud) and the Microsoft Office suite; familiarity with digital engagement platforms and emerging technologies.
• Effective communication skills.
• Valid driver’s license.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule including evenings, nights, weekends and holidays as needed. Some travel is required.
• Demonstrated commitment to work within a diverse environment and to interact openly with individuals of different backgrounds.
• Prior Supervisory Experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Record of successful collaboration with sophisticated volunteers and senior administrative officers.
• Experience with higher education, nonprofits, alumni relations or related field.
• Experience supporting or leading a comprehensive fundraising campaign.
• Knowledge of CASE alumni engagement metrics, benchmarking, global reporting standards, and best practices.
• Experience with digital engagement platforms, AI-driven personalization tools, and virtual/hybrid event technologies.
• Demonstrated experience in fundraising.
• Demonstrated experience in event planning.

REQUIRED HOURS: The regular hours for this full-time position are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday – Friday. Weekend and evening work hours will be required. Travel will be required. Regular hours may vary due to needs of the College or division.

ADDITIONAL POSITION DETAILS: This is a regular, full-time, exempt position. Annual Salary for this role is between $220,000-$250,000 with a competitive benefits package. The specific factors that the College will consider when offering a salary to an individual will include, but not be limited to: education, training, relevant prior experience, and performance in prior roles. All staff positions are ineligible for visa or permanent resident card sponsorship. As a California employer, Pomona College requires all employees to be residents of California.

ADA/OSHA: This job description defines the essential job duties of this position. The College expects that employees hired for this position can perform the essential functions of this job without imposing risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of themselves or others. It may also include marginal functions, generally defined within Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

DISCLAIMER: This job 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 position. When duties and responsibilities change and develop, the College will review this job description and make changes of business necessity.