Writer, Annual & Leadership Giving

Date Posted: 02/26/2026
Req ID: 47093
Faculty/Division: VP - Division of University Advancement
Department: University Development
Campus: St. George (Downtown Toronto)
Position Number: 00052133
Existing Vacancy: Yes

Description:

About us:

The Division of University Advancement (DUA) aims to sustain and enhance the University of Toronto’s academic mission, leadership, and worldwide impact, by engaging alumni and private sector constituentsmeaningfully in the mission of the University, building mutually beneficial relationships of increasing value and satisfaction over time.

DUA at the University of Toronto is engaged in a transformation agenda deeply rooted in the University’s vision for growth and innovation. We are focus on growing fundraising efforts; enhancing the effectiveness and satisfaction of alumni engagement and programs; building advancement talent capacity within and across divisions; creating an organization and culture that fosters diversity and inclusiveness.

Your opportunity:

Annual and Leadership Giving team provides strategy, direction and management to the growing of U of T’s annual giving programs. As a member of the annual and leadership giving team, you will support fundraising and stewardship efforts to grow mass philanthropic engagement and individual philanthropic engagement. We hire outstanding people from a variety of backgrounds and currently seek a Writer, Annual & Leadership Giving to join our diverse group of talent.

Working under direction from Director, Annual and Leadership Giving and dotted line to Director, Strategic Content, the incumbent, will be responsible for producing creative concepts for the annual leadership giving core and special campaigns. These concepts will be utilized for creating unique elements of the marketing campaign for various channels including direct marketing, email and tele-fundraising and digital marketing. In addition, the incumbent will write compelling stories of impact for the ALG stewardship materials for our various channels. They will have close working relationship with the Advancement Communications and Marketing and the ALG Creative teams to produce high standard quality work that meets the standards of the new university brand and campaign expression.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Planning and implementing a content editing approach for direct marketing
• Liaising with divisional and central clients to develop client briefs and clarify direction of creative development for annual and leadership giving campaigns
• Advising on approaches to content generation for writing assignments
• Drafting storyboard content that demonstrates donor impact and presenting to clients as options
• Generating original concepts and writing copy for annual and leadership giving campaigns
• Producing promotional and outreach materials that support solicitation and stewardship activities for the annual and leadership giving programs
• Editing content for style and tone and ensuring the style and tone meets the new university brand and campaign expression
• Liaising with creative professionals and vendors to generate and deliver creative concepts

Essential Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree; or acceptable combination of equivalent experience in communications.
• Minimum five years of progressive professional in development writing for higher education or nonprofits, or other persuasive writing experience.
• Excellent and efficient writing skills and the ability to deliver high-quality content in meaningful, inspiring ways in formats appropriate for a range of audiences on a variety of communication channels and digital platforms
• Demonstrated professional-level writing ability with respect to style, organization and structure, rhetoric, appropriateness to subject, breadth of subject matter and clear understanding of target audience(s) and presentation of key message(s)
• Excellent proofreading and editing skills, including abilities to prepare materials using best practices in proposal development writing, understanding the university's branding.
• Experience writing speaking remarks for senior leaders
• Experience with direct marketing appeals for multichannel, email, mail and digital experience in higher education
• Knowledge of digital communications practices and tools such as WordPress and various analytics measures.
• Strong organizational, interpersonal and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and navigate a complex work environment.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, results-oriented environment, and demonstrated ability to complete project deliverables to deadline and per requirements
• Demonstrated ability to produce high-level and effective written materials.
• Ability to be creative and to work independently
• Strong interpersonal skills to establish and maintain working relationships within University Advancement and the greater campus community.
• Possess a high level of professionalism and commitment to confidentiality with sound judgment and discretion.

To be successful in this role you will be:

• Efficient
• Meticulous
• Multi-tasker
• Organized
• Proactive
• Resourceful

Closing Date: 03/06/2026, 11:59PM ET
Employee Group: USW
Appointment Type: Budget - Continuing
Schedule: Full-Time
Pay Scale Group & Hiring Zone:
USW Pay Band 13 -- $86,340. with an annual step progression to a maximum of $110,415. Pay scale and job class assignment is subject to determination pursuant to the Job Evaluation/Pay Equity Maintenance Protocol.
Job Category: Administrative / Managerial
Recruiter: Fiona Chan

Lived Experience Statement
Candidates who are members of Indigenous, Black, racialized and 2SLGBTQ+ communities, persons with disabilities, and other equity deserving groups are encouraged to apply, and their lived experience shall be taken into consideration as applicable to the posted position.

A job description is available upon request

Diversity Statement

The University of Toronto embraces Diversity and is building a culture of belonging that increases our capacity to effectively address and serve the interests of our global community. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, Black and racialized persons, women, persons with disabilities, and people of diverse sexual and gender identities. We value applicants who have demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and recognize that diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise are essential to strengthening our academic mission.

As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a brief Diversity Survey. This survey is voluntary. Any information directly related to you is confidential and cannot be accessed by search committees or human resources staff. Results will be aggregated for institutional planning purposes. For more information, please see http://uoft.me/UP.

Accessibility Statement

The University strives to be an equitable and inclusive community, and proactively seeks to increase diversity among its community members. Our values regarding equity and diversity are linked with our unwavering commitment to excellence in the pursuit of our academic mission.

The University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment, assessment and selection processes as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities.

If you require any accommodations at any point during the application and hiring process, please contact uoft.careers@utoronto.ca.