Philanthropic Communications Officer

Philanthropic Communications Officer

Location: New York, NY

Department: Institutional Advancement

Reports to: Assistant Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Employment Type: Full-Time

Position Overview:

Hunter College is seeking a strategic and versatile Philanthropic Communications Officer to help advance our mission as one of the nation’s premier public institutions for academic excellence, social mobility, and civic engagement. Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Institutional Advancement, the successful candidate will craft compelling, donor-facing communications that convey the impact of philanthropy at Hunter College. This role will play a vital part in donor cultivation, stewardship, and solicitation by preparing narratives that highlight the College’s strengths—from high-performing students and life-changing scholarships to urgent initiatives and faculty excellence across Hunter’s five schools.

The Philanthropic Communications Lead will support multiple facets of Hunter’s development strategy, including campaign communications, annual fund appeals, and school-specific initiatives. They will manage the relationship with an external annual fund partner and collaborate with colleagues across Advancement and Communications to ensure materials are tailored, persuasive, and mission-aligned.

Key Responsibilities:

• Create and manage written content for a variety of philanthropic communications, including donor proposals, stewardship reports, case statements, campaign collateral, and impact stories.
• Develop and refine annual fund appeals across multiple platforms (print, digital, email), ensuring consistency of tone, urgency, and messaging.
• Oversee the relationship with Hunter’s external annual fund partners, coordinating messaging, segmentation strategy, timelines, and deliverables.
• Craft messaging in response to urgent or time-sensitive initiatives, student success stories, scholarship milestones, and faculty achievements—tailored to resonate with prospective and existing donors.
• Collaborate with Advancement colleagues to align materials with donor intent and institutional priorities; work cross-functionally with Communications, Deans, and school-based liaisons as needed.
• Support the creation of future campaign materials, including concept development, storytelling strategy, and project management across internal and external partners.
• Ensure all donor-facing materials adhere to professional writing standards, reflect Hunter’s institutional voice, and maintain brand consistency.
• Track content needs and manage multiple writing projects from start to finish, balancing quick-turnaround requests with longer-term planning.
• Collaborate with other Communications and Marketing functions to contribute alumni and donor content for Hunter magazine.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Journalism, English, or a related field.
• Minimum of 8 years of professional experience in philanthropic communications, development writing, or related nonprofit/fundraising communications.
• Demonstrated excellence in writing and editing, with the ability to distill complex academic and programmatic information into clear, compelling narratives.
• Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to balance multiple priorities.
• Experience with donor-centric storytelling and a strong grasp of fundraising communications best practices.
• Comfortable working both independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Experience managing external partners or vendors preferred.
• Familiarity with higher education or public institutions is a plus.

Compensation and Benefits:

Salary commensurate with education and experience. Range for the position is $115,000 - $130,000

CUNY’s benefits contribute significantly to total compensation, supporting health and wellness, financial well-being, and professional development. We offer a range of health plans, competitive retirement/pension benefits and savings plans, tuition waivers for CUNY graduate study and generous paid time off. Our staff also benefits from the extensive academic, arts, and athletic programs on our campuses and the opportunity to participate in a lively, diverse academic community in one of the greatest cities in the world.

How To Apply:

Interested candidates should submit a resume, cover letter, and 2-3 writing samples (preferably donor-facing materials) to HTR-IARecruitment@hunter.cuny.edu with the subject title: Philanthropic Communications Officer.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Hunter College is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.