Role Title: Direct Marketing Manager - Acquisition and Retention 

Status:    Permanent, full-time contract  

Salary:    €55k - €67k, commensurate with experience.    

Company: Trinity Development & Alumni, Trinity College Dublin  

Reports to: Head of Regular Giving & Legacy Giving 

Closing Date: Friday, 12th December 2025

At Trinity Development & Alumni (TDA), our mission is to advance the education and research goals of Trinity College Dublin through the power of philanthropy and engagement. Through creative and inspiring regular giving and legacy giving programmes, we connect alumni and supporters who want to make a difference and help Trinity transform lives through education and research. We are now seeking a Direct Marketing Manager - Acquisition and Retention to play a key role in growing this culture of giving. 

As Direct Marketing Manager, you will lead the development and delivery of impactful direct marketing programmes across regular and legacy giving. Working closely with Regular Giving & Legacy Giving team, you will design compelling multi-channel appeals - including direct mail, email, telephone, and social media - that blend powerful storytelling, audience insight, and performance analysis to attract new donors, strengthen relationships, and grow long-term support. Working collaboratively across Fundraising, Alumni Relations, and Communications, you will ensure that regular and legacy giving is embedded in everything we do. 

If you are an experienced not-for-profit direct marketing professional with a flair for storytelling, a data-driven mindset, and a passion for building meaningful donor relationships, we'd love to hear from you.  

Key Responsibilities 

• Develop and deliver the global acquisition and retention Direct Mail programme across regular giving, mid-level and legacies working with various in-house and external service providers.  
• Develop and implement cases for support for multi-channel appeals across regular giving, mid-level and legacy programmes to acquire new, and retain existing donors.  
• Work with Development Manager (Telephone Campaigns and Stewardship) to build internal relationships across Trinity to collect appeal content, beneficiary case studies and reporting that demonstrates the impact of philanthropy across the University. Maintain central repository for appeal content.  
• Drive development and improvement of acquisition and retention strategies to maximise the use of direct mail, email, telephone and social media.  
• Collaborate across Development, Alumni Relations and Marketing and Communications to embed regular giving and legacies messaging in all Trinity Development & Alumni communications as appropriate.  
• Oversee data analytics, reporting, data management and data compliance, working with the Business Intelligence and IT Systems Support team.  
• Manage appeal budget line and income forecast with clear focus on maximising value for money across regular giving and legacy appeals.   
• Undertake other duties as may be assigned from time to time by line manager.   

Role Requirements   

This is a hybrid role that requires regular on-campus presence. The number of on-campus days will vary from week to week, depending on activity and agreed priorities.  

The Person 

Qualification and Experience  

You will have… 

• A minimum of four years' experience working in a similar role in a non-profit direct marketing team. Experience in the Higher-Education is desirable but not essential.  
• A third-level qualification and/or professional qualification in fundraising, marketing or direct marketing is desired but not essential.  
• Experience developing and delivering direct mail and multi-channel approaches to donors; donor care; upgrades, cash to direct debit, legacy  
• An understanding of the direct mail development process including liaising with third party agencies, print and fulfilment houses is essential.  
• Experience working with bespoke databases/customer relationship management systems.  
• IT literacy and experience of using Microsoft Office.  

Skills and Knowledge  

You will have… 

• Excellent written and oral communication with an eye for detail.  
• strong organisational, planning and analytical skills as well as experience of taking ownership of campaign delivery and performance.  
• experience in managing multiple projects with tight deadlines.  
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with demonstrable ability to build good relationships with colleagues and other stakeholders (internal and external to the University). 
• Motivation, innovation and a passion for working in a fast-paced environment.  
• Knowledge and understanding of philanthropy and charitable giving. 

Key Relationships  

You will be expected to engage proactively with a wide range of stakeholders including TDA colleagues, academics and Trinity personnel and external stakeholders of the University.  

Why Work with Trinity Development & Alumni 

At Trinity Development & Alumni (TDA), we turn generosity into lasting impact. As Ireland's most successful university fundraising offices - and among the top six across the UK and Ireland - we raise between €35 million and €50 million annually to advance Trinity's mission in education, research, and innovation.  

Our work connects more than 150,000 alumni and supporters in over 140 countries with Trinity. Through alumni initiatives, regular and legacy giving, major gift fundraising, events and publications, we strengthen the University's global network and create meaningful opportunities for engagement and support.  We find it rewarding to work with alumni and friends who want to “give back” - whether through donations, legacies, mentoring, or volunteering. Their generosity is driven by a shared sense of connection to Trinity and to Ireland, where the University continues to play a decisive role in driving economic, cultural, and social progress. 

At TDA, you'll join a dynamic team of over 50 passionate professionals who believe in making a difference every day. Driven by purpose and guided by shared values, we strive for excellence, act with integrity, and celebrate success.  Together, we are ambitious and driven by the belief that philanthropy transforms lives.  As the Direct Marketing Manager, this means working alongside talented and passionate colleagues to inspire philanthropy, grow participation, and ensure that every campaign contributes to something bigger — helping students, advancing research, and shaping the future of one of the world's great universities. 

What we will offer you 

In addition to structured training in relation to the role, you will be offered an attractive benefits package which includes generous annual leave arrangements, annual salary increments, hybrid working, and a tiered contribution to TDA's defined contribution pension scheme (providing for pension, life assurance and prolonged disability pension), in a supportive, inclusive, and collaborative team environment.  

Your continued professional development is important to us, and you will be encouraged and supported as you participate in training, be that on-the-job, participation in externally delivered workshops or courses, or conference attendance. For more information, visit: https://www.tcd.ie/alumni/about-us/careers/  

Application, Assessment, and Interview Process  

Submit your CV along with a with a Cover Letter to https://tda.bamboohr.com/careers . Shortlisted candidates will be invited for a first-round interview online. Candidates invited for a second-round interview will be expected to attend in-person and complete a series of competency assessments. A subsequent third-round interview may be required.  

Trinity  Foundation, operating  as  Trinity  Development  and   Alumni (TDA), is  an  independent charity (RCN 20028626) established to support Trinity's funding priorities.