Associate Director, Leadership Giving

Occidental College Careers • Los Angeles, CA

19d

About The Position

Reporting to the Senior Director of Development, Major Gifts, the Associate Director, Leadership Giving serves as a member of the Individual Giving team, partnering closely with colleagues in major giving, principal giving and planned giving teams to steward, qualify, cultivate, and solicit prospects through the donor pipeline. The Associate Director position is responsible for soliciting leadership-level gifts ($1,000 < $100,000) with a focus on fundraising for the highest priorities of the College, unrestricted dollars, financial aid, and scholarships. This driven, goal-oriented individual will concentrate their efforts primarily on the acquisition of new gifts while renewing and increasing leadership-level giving, thus growing the College’s financial support year over year and strengthening the base of future major donors. The Associate Director manages a portfolio of alumni, parents, and families of the College and will cultivate relationships with said individuals to increase support. The Associate Director collaborates closely with the Alumni and Parent Engagement team and other campus partners to strengthen all constituent relationships with the College. The Associate Director develops and oversees alumni fundraising strategy with the goal of driving participation and creating life-long engagement, serving as the point person for strategic fundraising elements for assigned affiliation groups. The Associate Director recruits for and leads these volunteer committees to increase engagement and drive philanthropic initiatives. The Associate Director may manage student workers and projects that support departmental needs.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, Marketing, Business Administration, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Five years of experience in development or related field.
• Knowledge of the principles and practices of development and fundraising with an understanding of individual giving programs, such as direct mail, phone-a-thons and personal solicitation programs.
• Ability to adapt to a variety of cultures and customs to engage donors and potential donors in philanthropic conversations.
• Ability to handle confidential information in a discrete and professional manner.
• Ability to analyze, synthesize and organize data, and present findings in a comprehensible manner for different audiences.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google drives/folders/forms, Adobe Acrobat, Web Editing, and social media applications or any combination of productivity programs applicable to position responsibilities.
• Demonstrated ability to be detail-oriented and thorough; skilled at anticipating and preventing potential problems and handling a wide variety of tasks with efficiency and accuracy.
• Strong commitment to a quality work product.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate verbally, in writing and electronically.
• Effective interpersonal skills as evidenced in the ability to collaborate with a variety of constituencies.
• Demonstrated commitment to justice, equity, inclusion & diversity.
• Demonstrated skill in adapting to and performing work effectively in high-volume, high accountability, confidential environment with multiple and changing priorities.
• Effective organizational, logistical, time management and planning skills with the ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks/projects simultaneously, prioritize and fulfill the functions of an office in a timely manner.
• Ability to self-motivate and work independently.
• Ability to provide effective leadership and training, and to work effectively and professionally across functions, disciplines, levels, and with diverse groups.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working knowledge of fundraising in higher education institutions or comparable professional experience in a performance-based environment with tracking of meeting goals, contacts, and dollars raised.
• Experience initiating and securing a high volume of development visits and personally soliciting gifts.

Responsibilities

• Leadership Annual Giving & Stewardship - Actively qualify a pool of regionally based, rated prospective donors, with an emphasis on securing unrestricted support for the College at or above the leadership level of $1,000 and more. Complete at least 10-12 substantive face-to-face (may be virtual) contacts per month, with the purpose of qualifying prospects for Planned Giving, Major Gifts, and current and future Campaigns. Identify new prospects and solicit gifts to build a pipeline. Encourages donors and prospects to participate in Oxy’s marquee fundraising campaigns including Calendar Year End and Day for Oxy by identifying challenge donors, soliciting the portfolio, and generating new donors outside the portfolio through discovery and stewardship Document all personal visits, phone calls, email, and contact reports are in the database. Ensure, all next steps, pledges and recommended actions are recorded and followed up on appropriately. Track and measure progress against established goals and report on work plan metrics throughout the fiscal year. Complete thank you calls to donors on a weekly basis and other stewardship activities to grow membership in the leadership giving societies. Consult with Donor Relations and Stewardship colleagues on developing ways to recognize donors, encourage their continued support and grow membership in the leadership giving societies.
• Volunteer Engagement and Affinity Fundraising - Manage special fundraising initiatives as assigned, which may include campaigns led by affinity groups, class years, athletics and other targeted alumni cohorts. Affinity fundraising will include recruiting alumni to help direct and fundraise for Oxy; managing a small portfolio of donors who are committed to supporting a specific funding affiliation; partnering with other gift officers who manage prospects with similar interests; and collaborating with volunteers to elevate peer-to-peer fundraising. This strategy will place a special focus on boosting giving participation through multiple channels, including recurring gifts, multi-year pledges, and stewardship. In partnership with Alumni & Parent Engagement staff, the role will help plan and organize affiliation-specific events, with logistics managed by Alumni and Parent Engagement staff
• Institutional Advancement Duties - Understand the mission and priorities of the Office of Institutional Advancement and serve as an advocate for the department. Adheres to the principles and standards outlined in the Donor Bill of Rights from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the Statement of Ethics from the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA), and the Code of Ethical Principles and Standards from the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), as well as the standards of practice relevant to one’s professional role. Participate, as needed, in the planning and execution of major “tent-pole” events, including but not limited to Homecoming and Family Weekend, Founders Day, and Alumni Reunion Weekend.
• Administrative Responsibilities - Thoroughly documents all donor activity through contact reports and opportunity management in a timely manner in line with policies and procedures. Adheres to College spending and expense guidelines related to hosting, planning and communicating to the team regarding upcoming visits and travel.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level