Director of Advancement Services

Pitzer College • Claremont, CA

1d • $92,000 - $95,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Reporting to the Associate Vice President for Advancement, the Director of Advancement Services provides strategic leadership and oversight for advancement systems, data management, gift administration, reporting, and compliance. The Director leads the day-to-day operations of the Advancement Services department and develops policies, procedures, and operational strategies that support the College’s fundraising, engagement, and stewardship efforts. The Director is responsible for ensuring the integrity, accuracy, and security of constituent and gift data within the Advancement CRM and related systems, including establishing data governance standards and overseeing compliant gift processing and financial reconciliation. The Director also oversees reporting and analytics that support fundraising performance tracking, strategic decision-making, and reporting to institutional leadership and external stakeholders. Working closely with Advancement leadership, the Director translates fundraising priorities into effective data strategies, systems, and operational processes. The Director supervises Advancement Services staff and serves as the primary liaison to Information Technology, the Data Management & Integrations office, the Finance Office, and relevant vendors on matters related to advancement technology, data governance, and system integrations.

Requirements

• Incumbent must possess knowledge, skills, and ability to be able to successfully perform the essential functions of the position or be able to explain or demonstrate how the essential functions will be performed with or without reasonable accommodation, using some other combination of skills and abilities.
• Direct experience with Raiser’s Edge NXT and knowledge of relational databases, data warehousing, multidimensional data modeling and reporting software, with a strong preference for Power BI.
• Demonstrate a proven track record of successful information management
• Demonstrate skill for communication using reporting platforms, with a preference for Power BI, but examples can also include Cognos and Excel.
• Superior logical, analytical and communication skills required.
• Must be able to think strategically and effectively communicate with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to work effectively within a team-oriented environment.
• Ability to work as an effective teacher, trainer, and motivator.
• Ability to create a vision for using technology to enhance the College’s Advancement operations.
• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• Direct experience overseeing a Raiser’s Edge database, direct experience writing operational reporting within Advancement (preferably using Power BI),and five years of Advancement Services experience within an institution of higher education is required.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for Advancement Services, overseeing advancement systems, data management, gift administration, and reporting.
• Partner with Advancement leadership to translate fundraising goals into data strategies and performance metrics.
• Supervise and mentor Advancement Services staff, establishing clear priorities, workflows, and performance expectations and fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Evaluate and implement technology solutions that enhance advancement operations, data integration, and fundraising performance.
• Lead process improvement initiatives that streamline operations and enhance the quality and accessibility of advancement data.
• Develop a process for skills-appropriate cross training between positions within the department to ensure coverage and continuity.
• Oversee administration and strategic use of the advancement CRM (Raiser’s Edge NXT), including configuration, integrations, training, user support, and system enhancements.
• In partnership with IT, establish and maintain data governance standards to ensure the accuracy, integrity, and security of advancement data.
• Evaluate and implement technology solutions that improve advancement operations, data integration, and fundraising effectiveness.
• Recommend system enhancements, upgrades, or retirement of tools as appropriate.
• Provide vision, direction, and a plan for ensuring ongoing enhancement and support of the Raiser’s Edge and other information management systems.
• Serve as the primary liaison with user groups on technical matters and act as principal liaison with IT, Data Management & Integrations, and vendors as appropriate for implementation and support.
• Work with other Pitzer departments to minimize the proliferation of additional databases that might affect Advancement’s record-keeping efforts.
• Maintain adequate levels of IT equipment and training for a smoothly operating office environment.
• Oversee inventory of all equipment, software, licenses, etc. maintained in Advancement.
• Provide and/or oversee onboarding and periodic training for all staff in group settings and individually, as required.
• Oversee projects and processes related to attaining constituent information from campus partners, determining where that information is stored within the database, and ongoing maintenance and retrieval of the data.
• Direct gift processing operations to ensure timely, accurate, and compliant recording, acknowledgment, and reporting of philanthropic contributions.
• Ensure compliance with institutional policies, donor intent, IRS regulations, and CASE standards related to gift administration and reporting.
• Oversee Advancement’s joint effort with the Finance Office to reconcile gift information between Raiser’s Edge and Pitzer’s financial database, Workday.
• Serve as primary liaison with the Finance Office to coordinate financial reconciliation, reporting alignment, and audit support.
• Develop and maintain reporting frameworks, dashboards, and analytics that support fundraising performance tracking and strategic decision-making.
• Provide data insights and reporting to advancement leadership and institutional stakeholders, including the Pitzer Board of Trustees.
• Oversee the timely development and submission of reports to external groups in compliance with CASE, FASB and IRS regulations.
• Ensure Advancement compliance with all applicable government regulations with particular attention to gift and tax regulations and privacy issues.
• Collaborate with the Prospect Management, Research, and Analytics team, to develop systems and procedures for identifying and locating lost alumni and assist in the development of key reports needed for prospect management activities.
• Oversee reporting for ongoing data integrity reports regarding constituent, event, and other records.
• Represent Advancement Services, the Office of Advancement, and Pitzer College on committees as appropriate.
• Lead and/or support specific Advancement workgroups as requested by Advancement leadership.
• Represent Advancement in IT support and other appropriate Pitzer-wide groups.
• Represent Advancement in the Data Management and Integrity Group.
• Represent Pitzer in consortium-wide advancement services groups and in any relevant Raiser’s Edge and other user groups.
• Provide support in other areas as required/ requested including assisting with Advancement events and interfacing with donors as necessary.

Benefits

• Pitzer College is committed to providing comprehensive benefits to eligible employees and their eligible dependents.
• Our benefits package includes competitive compensation, health, dental, and vision insurance, retirement savings plans, generous paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick time, parental leave, bereavement, etc.), tuition reimbursement, tuition exchange program participation and more.

What This Job Offers

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