How to Apply
A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that have prepared you to develop and manage a strategic portfolio of contacts. We are particularly interested to hear how you would approach activating alums from diverse industries to meet the career needs of LSA students.
Who We Are
The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) is seeking an Alum Engagement Manager, reporting directly to the Assistant Director of Alum Engagement. The LSA Opportunity Hub supports liberal arts and sciences students as they develop their professional identities and aspirations. It provides students with career coaching and exploration, access to internships, internship funding, and connections to jobs, employers, and alums. Students can connect their classroom learning to purposeful work and meaningful lives.
The Alum Engagement (AE) team is charged with empowering students in their career exploration by providing a rich array of experiences with mentors from a diverse, global community of LSA alums. As an important member of the AE team, you will expand and diversify the pool of alum volunteers available to LSA students.
This is a great opportunity for someone passionate about enriching the lives of our LSA student and alum community. If you're an initiative-driven collaborator who thrives in a dynamic environment and brings strong listening skills, with the ability to turn conversations into clear, actionable plans, we'd love to connect with you.
Job Summary
The Alum Engagement Manager focuses on expanding and diversifying the pool of alum volunteers available to LSA students. You will ensure that students have a robust community to reach out to for organic connections and that the Hub has a deep well of talent to draw from for future mentorship events and programming. Through intentional relationship-building and strategic partnerships, you will cultivate a network where all students can activate the social capital necessary to build meaningful lives and successful careers.
Responsibilities*
1. Relationship Management & Strategic Recruitment
- Manage a portfolio of alum volunteers that represent key industries. Conduct frequent prospecting meetings to vet and recruit high-quality mentors for the Hub's mentorship offerings; typically requires traveling for 5-6 trips per year.
- Identify and recruit alums from historically underrepresented backgrounds to ensure student-mentor matching reflects the breadth of the liberal arts experience.
- Collaborate with campus partners, such as LSA Advancement, to turn "warm" leads into active volunteers for mentorship program offerings.
2. Mentorship Engagement
- Drive the mentor pipeline, providing onboarding and training across engagements; steward the volunteer journey to ensure mentors have meaningful volunteer experiences.
- Act as the primary point of contact for alum mentors when support is needed; provide strategic interventions to enhance student learning and development.
- Utilize the Hub's digital ecosystem (LSA Connect, LSA Engage, and ClickUp) to drive and document alum engagement.
3. Campus Contribution & Partnership
- Consult with departments and programs across LSA to identify specific gaps in mentor pools and recruit alums to fill those specialized needs.
- Serve as a Project Planner for assigned Hub programming and events, leading the strategy, timeline, and team coordination to meet the Hub's goals.
- Ensure all recruitment and mentorship activities meet the Hub's accessibility standards and reflect our commitment to underserved student populations.
- Serve as an essential resource (planning or producing events, sourcing alums, providing resources, etc.) for other Hub- or College-sponsored mentorship initiatives that involve LSA alums.
What You'll Do
- Facilitate opportunities for alums to engage with students across the College to showcase the value and marketability of a liberal arts degree
- Proactively reach out to alums to align their expertise with the career interests and identities of our student body.
- Develop and sustain long-term relationships with alums empowering them to become impactful mentors.
- Lead alum panels and networking events in close partnership with academic departments and Hub colleagues.
- Use internal systems to track engagement and ensure outreach is organized, equitable, and effective.
- Analyze student career trends to proactively recruit alums from specific industries or backgrounds that meet our students' evolving needs.
Required Qualifications*
- Bachelor's degree and/or equivalent relevant work experience
- 3-5 years of progressively responsible professional experience
- Experience proactively developing and maintaining strong, productive relationships on behalf of an employer or organization (e.g., recruitment, sales, advancement, or similar)
- Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple needs concurrently.
- Ability to work effectively both independently and collaboratively to drive outreach and cross-functional projects forward.
- Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to tailor communication styles for diverse audiences.
- Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex information from various stakeholders and strategically connect it to make strategic recommendations or connections.
Desired Qualifications*
- Experience in alum relations, advancement, volunteer engagement, career services, higher education, or student-facing programming.
- Proficiency using digital tools, databases, CRMs, or project management platforms to document engagement activities, manage outreach efforts, and support strategic decision-making.
- Experience adapting to evolving priorities in a growing organization.
- Experience preparing and briefing volunteers or stakeholders for public-facing roles, including providing guidance on communication styles and goals
- Proven track record of supporting inclusive environments and expanding access for individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Modes of Work
Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.
Union Affiliation
This position is included in the bargaining unit represented by the University Staff United (USU), which represents bargaining unit members in all matters with respect to wages, benefits, hours and other terms and conditions of employment.
Application Deadline
Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.
U-M EEO Statement
The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.