Executive Director of the W Club

Join Wisconsin Athletics in leading one of the most passionate and proud letterwinner groups in college sports - the W Club, home to over 10,000 living alumni. We're seeking a strong, seasoned strategic leader who can connect across generations, turn ideas into action, and bring initiatives to life. This leader will guide traditions like the Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame, the Badger Brotherhood, and lead the W Club board by engaging alumni in target markets, and welcoming them back to Madison to celebrate and honor the enduring legacy of being a Badger.

This position is about turning vision into reality through storytelling, relationships, and creating meaningful opportunities for letterwinners to stay connected for life. You'll help alumni celebrate their history while building a shared vision for the future, advancing priorities like student-athlete career readiness and building the brand of Wisconsin Athletics nationally. If you can inspire pride, foster connection, and carry forward the belief that Once a Badger, Always a Badger, we want you on our team.

• Serves as the subject matter expert regarding alumni campaign strategies and performance goals

• Develops, implements, and monitors communication and branding campaigns and programs

• Identifies, develops, and monitors staff performance and goals

• Exercises supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees

• Assists in the development of strategic planning initiatives and objectives to ensure appropriate use of financial, administrative, and staffing resources and alignment with the strategic plan

• Assists in the development and implementation of alumni relations goals and operating policies and procedures to promote alumni impact and fundraising activities in alignment with the strategic plan

Athletics, Alumni Relations

The typical starting salary ranges from $90,000 to $110,000, depending on qualifications and experience. There may be flexibility for highly qualified candidates.

• 5-10 years of progressive leadership experience in alumni relations, donor relations, athletic administration, professional sports, nonprofit leadership, or a closely related field.

• Demonstrated success leading strategic initiatives, programs, or campaigns from concept to execution with measurable results.

• Proven ability to lead and inspire staff, boards, and volunteers toward shared goals.

• Track record of developing and executing strategic plans that align with organizational mission and priorities.

• Interpersonal skills with the ability to connect authentically with a broad range of constituents, including alumni, donors, student-athletes, coaches, and community leaders.

• Skilled in fostering and maintaining long-term relationships with diverse audiences, including individuals with differing perspectives on organizational change.

• Outstanding written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to represent the organization in high-profile settings.

• Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.

• A confident leader who can both develop big-picture strategy and drive day-to-day execution.

• High degree of professionalism, integrity, and discretion.

• Experience in budgeting and resource allocation

• Familiarity with NCAA regulations and the shifting landscape in collegiate athletics.

• Former Intercollegiate Student-Athlete

• Experience managing advisory boards, councils, or committees, including governance, engagement, and succession planning.

• Experience developing and implementing multi-channel communication strategies to reach diverse alumni audiences.

• Strong network-building skills with an understanding of how to connect current student-athletes with alumni for mentorship, career opportunities, and lifelong engagement.

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  ANYTHING ELSE?

  
  

  • Don't have every skill listed? No problem! We know experience can be built in many ways. If you have relevant skills that aren't reflected in your resume, we encourage you to share them in your cover letter.

  
  

Bachelor's degree required with a preference in business, communications, sports management, nonprofit administration, or related field; advanced degree preferred in sports leadership.

Click the "Apply" button to start the application process.

You will be prompted to upload the following documents:

-Resume

-Cover Letter

Applicants should attach a cover letter and resume detailing their training and experience relating to the required and preferred qualifications referenced above. The application reviewers will be relying on written application materials to determine which qualified applicants will advance in the recruitment process.

Tianwei Miller, tm6@athletics.wisc.edu, 608-265-4138

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, click here.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.