Assistant Director, Volunteer Programs

Cornell University welcomes candidates for the position of Assistant Director, Volunteer Programs in our Alumni Affairs and Development division, based in Ithaca, NY. This role presents an exceptional opportunity to contribute to the university's advancement efforts.

Position Summary

The Volunteer Programs team is dedicated to facilitating flexible, lifelong journeys for alumni through volunteer engagement opportunities with Cornell. As part of our work, the Volunteer Programs team oversees all stages of the volunteer life cycle, provides volunteer management of university-wide organizations, and manages and supports key events and initiatives like Cornell Volunteer Summit and the Alumni Trustee Election. Cornell University's volunteer program is robust, with over 6,000 alumni, parents, and friends participating annually in more than 400 volunteer communities across the university.

The Assistant Director will play an integral role within the team as the communications specialist for Volunteer Programs, manager of Cornell’s CUVolunteer platform, and as the lead for volunteer appreciation and recognition initiatives for Cornell’s alumni volunteer population. This position is a great fit for someone with an interest in volunteer community management, external communications, and who understands the value of volunteer appreciation, recognition, and stewardship. The ideal candidate is creative, detail orientated, deadline driven, and a strong communicator.

Because this role is involved with alumni programs and events, occasional evening and weekend work are required.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee the implementation, oversight, and refinement of the volunteer appreciation and recognition initiatives for Cornell’s alumni volunteer population, including university-wide alumni awards, Volunteer Appreciation Week, recognition of alumni at the Cornell Volunteer Summit, and coordination of recognition for volunteers ending their terms each fiscal year.
• Serve as the direct engagement officer and volunteer manager for the volunteer committees implementing continuous volunteer engagement and off-boarding for Alumni Affairs top volunteer organizations.
• Manage day-to-day operations of Cornell’s alumni volunteer management platform, CUVolunteer, including training and customer service for alumni volunteers, training colleagues, promoting usage of the platform, and working with system vendor to implement system enhancements and upgrades.
• Serve as the Volunteer Programs team communications specialist. Write, edit and distribute newsletters, letters, and other correspondence to facilitate useful and regular communication with various alumni constituencies.
• As part of the larger Engagement Initiatives, Volunteer Programs and College and Unit Partnerships team, participate in executing key alumni and volunteer initiatives and events including – Cornell Volunteer Summit, Frank H.T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Awards (FHTR), Cornell’s Adult University (CAU) events, etc. Additionally, as an Alumni Affairs and Development team member, staff additional signature events including Reunion, Homecoming, and Giving Day.

Required Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s Degree and two to four years of relevant experience or equivalent combination.
• Must be organized, detail-oriented, able to work with and around extremely sensitive and confidential information.
• Excellent interpersonal, relationship management, and customer service skills.
• Effective listening, verbal, and written communication skills; the ability to interpret information and ideas to influence others in various situations.
• Strong technology acumen with demonstrated fluency in standard business software such as the Microsoft Office suite and proficiency in spreadsheets, relational databases, reporting applications, networked information systems, the internet, and communications systems.
• Strategic thinker: Understanding of the importance of "big picture" thinking and planning and ability to apply organizational acumen to identify and maintain focus on key success factors.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, metrics-driven and deadline-driven environment and able to manage multiple projects and competing priorities. Must be highly self-motivated and show excellent time management skills.

Work Location

This position is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement. Employees typically perform this role remotely 3 days per week and in person 2 days per week. The university reserves the right to modify, suspend, revoke or terminate the hybrid work arrangement at any time.

About Alumni Affairs and Development

At Cornell Alumni Affairs and Development, we connect alumni, parents, and friends with opportunities to make a meaningful difference at Cornell and beyond. Our success is built on the strength of relationships, a commitment to excellence, and a culture of collaboration, innovation, inclusion, and continuous learning. As one of higher education's leading fundraising and engagement organizations, we recently completed a record-setting campaign that engaged more than 221K alumni and raised $6.7 billion. Joining our team means growing your career alongside supportive, mission-driven, and high-performing colleagues while helping shape Cornell's future.

Rewards and Benefits

• Cornell receives national recognition as an award-winning workplace for our health, wellbeing, and sustainability.

• Our benefits programs include comprehensive health care options, generous retirement contributions, access to wellness programs, and employee discounts with local and national retail brands. We invite you to follow this link to get more information about our benefits: Understand Your Benefits | Working at Cornell.

• Our leave provisions include health and personal leave, three weeks of vacation and 13 holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, and an end of the year winter break from December 25-January 1. To offer greater flexibility for observing faiths and traditions we also offer two additional floating holidays. Learn more about our generous leave provisions: Holiday and Accrued Time Off | Working at Cornell

• Cornell's impressive educational benefits include tuition-free Extramural Study and Employee Degree Program, tuition aid for external education, and Cornell Children's Tuition Assistance Program. Learn more about our extensive educational benefits: Education Benefits | Working at Cornell

• Follow this link to learn more about the Total Rewards of Working at Cornell:

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

University Job Title:

Alumni Engagement Ofcr I

Job Family:

Alumni Affairs Development

Level:

E

Pay Rate Type:

Salary

Pay Range:

$65,447.00 - $72,994.00

Remote Option Availability:

Hybrid

Company:

Endowed

Contact Name:

Rachel Colunio

Contact Email:

rg50@cornell.edu

Job Titles and Pay Ranges:

Non-Union Positions

Noted pay ranges reflect the potential pay opportunity for each job profile. The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

• Prior relevant work or industry experience

• Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position

• Unique applicable skills

• Academic Discipline

To learn more about Cornell’s non-union staff job titles and pay ranges, see Career Navigator.

Union Positions

The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined in accordance with the rates in the respective collective bargaining agreement. To learn more about Cornell’s union wages, see Union Pay Rates.

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2026-10-05