Director of Estate and Gift Planning

University of the Pacific • Stockton, CA

9d

About The Position

The Director of Estate and Gift Planning will lead University of the Pacific’s comprehensive estate and gift planning program through frontline fundraising, program administration, strategic marketing, donor stewardship, and collaborative partnership across University Development. Reporting to the Senior Associate Vice President for Development, this role serves as the university’s primary resource on charitable estate and gift planning. The Director will manage a portfolio of planned giving prospects and donors, secure legacy gifts, supervise departmental staff, and partner with development officers, university leaders, donors, and professional advisors to align philanthropic goals with Pacific’s institutional priorities. This is an opportunity to shape and grow a sophisticated planned giving program while helping donors create meaningful, lasting legacies that support future generations of Pacific students.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Five (5) or more years of progressively responsible experience in fundraising, advancement, estate planning, wealth management, financial services, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major and/or planned gifts.
• Experience managing a donor portfolio and building relationships with donors and prospective donors.
• Experience supervising staff or leading cross-functional projects or initiatives.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in higher education fundraising or advancement.
• Demonstrated success securing deferred, blended, and complex charitable gifts.
• Experience collaborating with attorneys, accountants, financial planners, and other professional advisors.
• Experience with Raiser’s Edge NXT , Blackbaud CRM , or a comparable donor management system.
• Experience using planned giving marketing platforms such as Stelter or similar solutions.
• Knowledge of charitable gift planning vehicles, estate planning principles, and current trends affecting philanthropic giving.
• Demonstrated success developing planned giving marketing initiatives, donor stewardship programs, and collaborative fundraising strategies.
• A positive, collaborative approach and demonstrated success working with diverse populations.
• A commitment to fostering an inclusive and welcoming work environment.
• Experience and sensitivity in working with people of diverse backgrounds and cultures.
• Demonstrated experience in advancing social justice, equity, and inclusion in a university setting.
• Ability to engage and integrate culturally responsive practices and knowledge in their work.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of estate and gift planning prospects and donors, advancing relationships through identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and closure.
• Secure documented planned gift commitments through personal outreach and in partnership with development officers.
• Structure and facilitate gifts that may include bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, IRA and insurance beneficiary designations, qualified charitable distributions, gifts of appreciated assets, and other planned giving vehicles.
• Develop and implement an annual Estate and Gift Planning plan with measurable fundraising, marketing, stewardship, donor engagement, and pipeline development goals.
• Oversee planned giving marketing and communications, including vendor partnerships, digital content, publications, donor outreach, and awareness initiatives.
• Create timely and compelling gift proposals, donor correspondence, briefing materials, contact reports, gift illustrations, and stewardship communications.
• Serve as Pacific’s subject matter expert on charitable estate and gift planning.
• Partner with development officers to identify and advance planned giving opportunities across their portfolios.
• Educate colleagues on charitable gift planning strategies and emerging opportunities.
• Collaborate with donors and their legal, financial, and tax advisors to facilitate complex and meaningful charitable gifts.
• Manage the department’s operating budget, monitor performance, maintain accurate records, and ensure compliance with university policies, gift acceptance procedures, and applicable legal and ethical standards.
• Partner with Donor Relations to recognize and steward members of Pacific’s Heritage Society.
• Supervise departmental staff and help build a collaborative, high-performing team.

What This Job Offers

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