Director of External Relations & Advancement

The Director of External Relations & Advancement leads Bay Atlantic University’s entire external-facing relationship pipeline: institutional partnerships, community and industry outreach, employer relationships, alumni relations, and fundraising. The Director sets the University’s development strategy, owns major-donor relationships, leads gift cultivation and stewardship at the executive level, formalizes partnership structures with employers and community organizations represents BAU at high-level external events, recruits and engages a fundraising and advisory committee at the Board level, and oversees alumni programming as part of a unified engagement-to-giving lifecycle.

Scope of Responsibilities:

• Institutional and community partnerships — employers, community organizations, industry groups, and international counterparts.

• Fundraising and advancement — major-gift cultivation, annual giving, grant-seeking, donor stewardship, and gift-acceptance policy.

• Alumni relations — programming, communications, reunions, and the engagement-to-giving lifecycle.

• Executive brand representation — BAU’s presence at high-level external events, industry forums, and community convenings.

• Board-level advancement engagement — recruiting and stewarding a fundraising and advisory committee.

1. Institutional Partnerships & Community Engagement

• Develop and execute BAU’s external partnership strategy, prioritizing relationships that advance academic programs, student opportunities, and institutional visibility.

• Cultivate and formalize partnership structures with employers, industry associations, community organizations, and mission-aligned institutions in the D.C. region and internationally.

• Identify and pursue mentorship, internship, and experiential-learning partnerships that connect BAU students with real-world opportunities aligned with academic program outcomes in coordination with Student Services Office and Academics.

• Serve as BAU’s primary point of contact for external partners; ensure agreements are documented, tracked, and renewed on schedule.

• Coordinate closely with the Chief Academic Officer, the Director of Admissions, and the Director of Mentora College where partnerships intersect with academic programs, recruitment, or ESL-to-degree pathways.

2. Fundraising and Development Strategy

• Execute BAU’s multi-year fundraising and advancement strategy, aligned with the University’s Strategic Plan and Five-Year Financial Plan.

• Own major-donor relationships — identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship at the executive level.

• Lead the University’s annual giving campaign strategy, working with the Development Manager on execution.

• Ensure gift-acceptance, recognition, and stewardship policies are in place, reviewed annually, and consistently applied.

• Partner with the CFO and Finance Controller on gift posting, grant compliance, and audit-ready accounting for philanthropic revenue.

3. Alumni Relations & Advancement

• Provide strategic direction to the Alumni Coordinator, treating alumni engagement as the front end of a unified engagement-to-giving lifecycle.

• Mobilize the alumni network to support current students through mentorship, career pathways, and employer connections.

• Position alumni as ambassadors for BAU’s brand — sharing their stories, participating in recruitment, and connecting the University to their professional communities in coordination with the Director of Marketing.

• Ensure alumni communications, reunions, and giving campaigns are aligned and reinforce one another.

4. Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Coordination

• Lead, coach, and develop the External Relations & Advancement team — Development Manager, Alumni Coordinator, and Engagement Officers.

• Set shared metrics across the team (dollars raised, donor retention, partnerships closed, alumni engagement) and align individual performance goals to institutional priorities.
• Manage the department budget in coordination with the CFO; ensure activities are prioritized against BAU’s Strategic Plan and Five-Year Financial Plan.