UX Digital Director

Department: Marketing + Brand Communications
Reports to: AVP Marketing + Brand Communications
FLSA Status: Exempt
 
The anticipated salary for this position starts at $99,800+. The final pay will be determined based on several factors, including qualifications, experience, education, and years within the job or industry, with a strong emphasis on maintaining internal equity.
 
Who we are and what we’re about:
 
KU Endowment is an independent, nonprofit organization and the official fundraising foundation for the University of Kansas.  We partner with donors in providing philanthropic support to build a greater KU.

As an employee of KU Endowment, you’ll witness firsthand the power of our donors’ generosity.  You will join a talented and fun group of people who are inspired to help KU through the support of loyal alumni and friends.  This support fuels excellence, enabling students and faculty to develop innovative programs and research that distinguish the university.  We connect the philanthropic passions of donors with the needs of students, faculty and programs – and everyone benefits.

People are engaged. Purpose is ignited.  Lives are changed.
 

What we are looking for:

You’re a visionary digital leader who understands how technology, user experience, and donor strategy intersect. As the UX Digital Director at KU Endowment, you’ll oversee the digital evolution of our fundraising and brand efforts—building cohesive, branded experiences that attract, engage, and retain donors across every touchpoint.
Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Marketing + Brand Communications, this position leads the digital division of our team and supervises the Digital Strategist. You bring deep experience in website UX, email journeys, paid media, and platform integration—and you’ll use it to develop forward-thinking digital strategies that connect seamlessly with KU Endowment’s philanthropic mission.
You’ll ensure that our investments in tools like Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Seismic are fully leveraged—not just for automation, but for personalized, high-impact donor communications. Your work will inform how development officers present materials, how prospects are nurtured digitally, and how we build lifelong relationships with donors.
 
Hybrid Work Environment: 

Following the initial training period, this position offers a hybrid work schedule, with the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. However, the role requires multiple days per week on-site at our Lawrence, KS office to ensure effective collaboration, team engagement, and alignment with organizational goals. 
 
What’s a typical day look like?

Lead KU Endowment’s Digital Experience Strategy

• Create a unified digital vision and roadmap for the organization, integrating strategy, design, and technology to deliver exceptional donor experiences.
• Guide digital design and UX standards for all branded platforms, ensuring consistency, accessibility, and emotional resonance across web, email, and social.
• Collaborate with brand, content, donor engagement, and fundraising teams to ensure digital experiences align with campaign messaging and our brand identity.

• Direct the development and optimization of websites and landing pages, emphasizing usability, hierarchy, and layouts that drive action and engagement.
• Collaborate on the strategic use of Salesforce Marketing Cloud journeys that are data-driven, dynamic, and deeply personalized.
• Work with the Donor Engagement team to ensure digital interactions align with acquisition, engagement, stewardship, and retention goals.
• Ensure Seismic is integrated meaningfully into the donor journey and equips frontline fundraisers and pipeline teams with the right tools, templates, and content.
• Oversee paid digital campaigns (search, display, social), optimizing creative, targeting, and performance.

• Provide high-level direction while serving as the digital subject matter expert on UX, platform capabilities, and analytics.
• Partner on dashboards and reporting that inform content, design, and donor engagement strategies.
• Ensure team execution follows a clear strategic plan informed by data, trends, and audience behavior.

• Use analytics and digital trends to shape campaigns that attract new donors and deepen connections with existing supporters.
• Strategically experiment with new approaches and formats to ensure donor experiences feel modern, responsive, and relevant.
• Partner with development staff to create digital tools that enhance major gift conversations, campaign engagement, and stewardship.
• Collaborate to develop targeted acquisition and retention strategies that drive donor growth and long-term loyalty.

• Apply brand standards across all digital channels to ensure every touchpoint is clear, cohesive, and elevates KU Endowment’s perception.
• Guide design decisions with a strong eye for layout, hierarchy, and visual storytelling.
• Ensure all assets—from web templates to social ads—honor the visual identity and campaign tone of the organization.

• You think like a digital architect, seeing the big picture of how design, messaging, data, and platform capabilities connect to create a great user experience.
• Collaboration is your superpower, and you thrive in a team environment energized by creative brainstorming, cross-functional input, and feedback that makes the work stronger.
• You’re a builder who is excited to create a stronger digital foundation, processes, and experiences that raise the bar.
• You lead with expertise, knowing what best-in-class digital fundraising and design look like—and guiding others toward it with confidence.
• You believe in donor-centricity, prioritizing the user experience to ensure each step of the donor journey is thoughtful, branded, and effective.
• You know KU deserves the best, and you’re inspired to apply your digital talent to help a beloved institution succeed for generations to come.
• You serve as a trusted advisor to leadership on digital experience strategy.

• Bachelor’s degree in digital media, UX design, marketing, communications, or a related field
• 6+ years of progressive experience in digital strategy, UX and digital marketing leadership with at least 3 years in a supervisory, leadership or principal UX role

• Demonstrated expertise in martech tools such as Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Seismic, CMS platforms, analytics dashboards and social ad platforms

• Strong background in web UX design, web design, email marketing and digital advertising campaigns
• Experience leading digital teams or managing digital direct reports

• Deep knowledge of UX principles, donor journeys, A/B testing and responsive design
• Skilled in digital layout, user flows, wireframes and visual hierarchy
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to translate data into strategy
• Clear communicator, strong collaborator and inspiring digital mentor
• Background in accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and inclusive design.
• Skilled at incorporating qualitative and quantitative user research into design strategies.
• Ability to champion user-centered design while balancing business objectives.

• A valid driver’s license.
• Must have access to reliable transportation to travel between multiple locations for training, donor meetings, networking, events and/or work-related activities.
• Must be able to respond quickly and effectively to directions and safety hazards.

• This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office productivity machinery such as computers, keyboards and a mouse, laptops, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.
• This is largely a sedentary role; however, some filing is required. This would require the ability to move files, open filing cabinets and bend or stand as necessary.

• The ability to observe details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

• The person in this position frequently communicates with donors, colleagues, students, and general public. Must be able to communicate with others effectively.

• Physical effort/lifting is limited - up to 10 pounds
• Light travel required on occasion.

• 100% employer-paid pension plan
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) and Roth 401(k) matching program
• Section 125 flexible benefits
• Generous paid leave including holidays, personal and sick leave
• Volunteer and community engagement opportunities
• Paid Parental Leave
• Life, AD&D, short- and long-term disability insurance
• Legal & ID Theft protection
• Critical Illness
• Accident and Hospital Indemnity insurance
• KU education assistance
• Free parking