Manager, Annual Campaign

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Posting Reason:

Replacement of a regular position

Job Type:

Employee

Anticipated Duration in Months (for contracts and temporary assignments):

N/A

Job Family:

Advancement and Alumni Relations

# of Open Positions:

1

Faculty/Service - Department:

Office of Advancement - Engagement

Campus:

Main Campus

Union Affiliation:

N/A

Date Posted (YYYY/MM/DD):

2026/05/14

Applications must be received BEFORE (YYYY/MM/DD):

2026/05/25

Hours per week:

35

Salary Grade:

Non-Union Grade NM1

Salary Range:

$107 503,00 - $134 379,00

University Advancement plays a pivotal role in fostering meaningful connections between the University and its alumni, donors, and partners. Our team is dedicated to advancing the University's mission by securing philanthropic support, engaging with our vibrant alumni community, and building partnerships that drive innovation and excellence. Through strategic initiatives and collaborative efforts, we help shape the future of the University, ensuring that it continues to thrive as a leading institution of higher education and research. Together, we empower our students, faculty and researchers to make a lasting impact on the world.

Position purpose:

This role provides strategic leadership for uOttawa’s annual giving program, setting direction, driving performance, and ensuring alignment with institutional advancement priorities. The role is accountable for delivering a modern, data-informed, multi-channel fundraising strategy that achieves and sustains annual revenue growth, expands donor participation, and strengthens the long-term pipeline. The incumbent leads and develops a high-performing team, embeds rigorous performance management, and continuously optimizes campaign execution to maximize return on investment and donor engagement.

In this role, your responsibilities will include:

• Strategic Planning: Provides overarching strategic leadership for the University of Ottawa annual campaign, establishing long-term vision, priorities, and measurable performance objectives aligned with institutional advancement goals.  Sets strategic direction for leadership fundraisers in relation to donor acquisition, retention, and pipeline development, ensuring alignment with faculty and pan-University fundraising priorities. Develops the annual campaign framework and defines key performance indicators, revenue targets, and engagement benchmarks. Oversees performance management through data-informed decision-making, establishing accountability structures and evaluating results to drive continuous improvement and sustainable revenue growth.

• Performance Management: Tracks success of the annual campaign and provides regular progress reports to senior leadership and annual campaign network in order to ensure that targets are met within designated time frames. Based on data, industry-wide best practice benchmarking and evidence-based metrics, collaborates with the annual campaign network to recognize opportunities and solutions, recommends and prepares appropriate annual campaign plans to support them.

• Project Management: Acts as strategic leader for all identified and emerging annual campaign activities including, business case development, budget and project management, annual campaign team professional development plans, procurement, advancement services data requests; and coordination of external suppliers and consultants. Work with faculty leaders and Advancement leadership team to ensure the effective management of policies, procedures and guidelines that are essential for the successful delivery of the annual campaign strategy. Leads delivery of all internal and external philanthropy programs, including but not limited to: employee giving, retirees, students and community (United Way/Centraide campaign)

• Budget Management:  Leads annual process to plan and prepare realistic annual budgets and workplans that are supported by measurements, industry metrics and accurate forecasts of staffing, training, and program expenses necessary to ensure an effective and efficient annual campaign. Manages and monitors the budget allocated for execution of the annual campaign while complying with related policies, regulations and procedures

• Team Management & Leadership: Provides overall team leadership, direction and mentoring to the annual campaign team and faculties to build a high performing team where each member meets or exceeds team and individual goals and objectives within designated time frames. Develops and executes a multi-year annual campaign performance strategy for all staff that includes an annual performance appraisal process and goal setting exercise that is based on professional development and annual campaign objectives. Oversees the work of additional staff and external consultants assigned to special projects within the scope of the annual campaign to ensure alignment with overall program goals.

What you will bring: 

• Bachelor’s degree in business, or in a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Minimum of 7 years of progressive annual campaign fundraising and/or direct marketing management experience.

• A proven track record of leading a team towards revenue targets that could include fundraising achievement or elements thereof.

• Bilingualism – French and English (spoken and written).

• Proven experience in strategy development, project and financial management.

• Knowledge of the not-for-profit sector or direct marketing environment, with preference for experience in a University or higher-education environment.

• Experience developing marketing materials including direct mail copy, telemarketing and digital scripts and supported by digital platforms such as peer-to-peer fundraising and crowd-funding.

• Excellent analytical skills to interpret performance metrics in support of evidence-based decision-making.

• Proven abilities in building collaborative and successful working relationships with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders.

• Exercises excellent diplomacy and judgment.

• Superior interpersonal and communication skills.

• Ability to work a flexible schedule, including evenings and weekends, as well as occasional required travel.  

#Li-hybrid

Key Competencies at uOttawa:
Here are the required competencies for all or our employees at uOttawa: 

Planning: Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.
Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.
Client Service Orientation: Help or serve others to meet their needs. This implies anticipating and identifying the needs of internal and external clients and finding solutions on how to meet them.
Teamwork and Cooperation: Cooperate and work well with other members of the team to reach common goal(s). Accept and give constructive feedback. Able to adjust own behaviour to reach the goals of the team.

The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel our quest for research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply, we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women and LGBTQIA2S+ persons. The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible, barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment, assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact hrtalentmanagement@uottawa.ca to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Note: if this is a union position: The hiring process will be governed by the current collective agreement related to the union affiliation noted above; you can click here to find out more.

If this is a front-line position with responsibilities to interact with students, selected candidates must be rated at the Low Advanced proficiency level or higher for both oral comprehension and reading comprehension in their second official language. The rating is determined by a proficiency test designed by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute.

Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as defined in Policy 129 – Covid-19 Vaccination. This policy was suspended effective May 1, 2022 but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.