CSU Careers-posted 7 days ago
Full-time • Director
San José, CA
5,001-10,000 employees

The Executive Director of Advancement Operations serves as the university’s senior operations strategist for University Advancement, providing visionary leadership and operational oversight for the systems, data, policies and infrastructure that enable effective fundraising and engagement across the institution. Reporting to the Associate Vice President of University Advancement Strategy and Campaigns, the Executive Director leads a portfolio of business functions that includes gift processing and advancement information technology. The incumbent must ensure the integrity, accuracy and strategic use of advancement data and oversee policies and governance structures required for philanthropic success. The Executive Director establishes the operational core for comprehensive fundraising and engagement efforts, including the university's multi-year comprehensive campaign. As a strategic and hands-on leader, this position builds, strengthens and modernizes advancement operations, including CRM optimization, robust data governance frameworks, cross-system integrations and efficient and compliant gift processing practices. The Executive Director collaborates extensively across the division and campus to ensure compliance with CSU, State of California, IRS, CASE, FASB, PCI, institutional requirements and evolving industry best practices. This position supervises managers and individual contributors and builds high-performing teams, ensuring a service-oriented culture that empowers fundraisers and elevates alumni and donor experience.

  • Provide strategic vision, planning and leadership for all advancement operations departments, ensuring alignment with university goals, fundraising priorities and campaign strategy
  • Oversee the gift processing and advancement information technology teams, supervising both managers and individual contributors
  • Develop a multi-year roadmap for advancement operations, including CRM optimization, data quality improvements, business intelligence expansion and process innovation
  • Serve as a key advisor to the Associate Vice President for Strategy and Campaigns, the Chief Operating Officer for the Tower Foundation of San Jose State University and the Vice President of University Advancement/CEO of the Tower Foundation on operational strategy, prospect pipeline, gift administration, compliance and data governance
  • Cultivate a service-oriented, partnership-driven culture across functional teams
  • Closely oversee the Gift Processing team to ensure systems, processes and workflows reflect best-practice operational standards
  • Oversee accurate, timely and compliant processing and receipting of all charitable contributions to the Tower Foundation
  • Ensure policies and procedures follow IRS regulations, FASB/GAAP, CASE standards, CSU and auxiliary regulations, PCI compliance and audit requirements
  • Develop and maintain the university’s gift acceptance, counting and agreement governance standards and policies in partnership with the Tower Foundation and campus leadership
  • Ensure comprehensive audit readiness and collaborate on internal and external audits
  • Oversee biographical and demographic data integrity for alumni, donors and prospects
  • Direct the Advancement IT team responsible for CRM administration, systems integrations, user support, platform optimization and reporting
  • Lead advancement-wide data governance standards, including stewardship of constituent data, system permissions, data lifecycle management and data quality frameworks
  • Oversee CRM projects, enhancements, maintenance, and user adoption strategies
  • Ensure integration and interoperability across digital engagement platforms, online giving, websites, event systems, email platforms and campus IT infrastructure
  • Implement reporting and analytics solutions to support fundraisers, leadership, colleges/units and campaign operations
  • Partner with campus IT and external vendors to manage system security, compliance and upgrades
  • Demonstrated ability to lead complex operational teams within a higher education advancement or nonprofit environment
  • Strong strategic planning, organizational design and change management skills
  • Ability to build trust, lead through complexity and influence across an organization
  • Commitment to service excellence, team development and cross-unit collaboration
  • Expert knowledge of advancement CRMs (e.g., Salesforce, Slate, Blackbaud CRM, Ellucian, Affinaquest or similar) and related platforms
  • Advanced understanding of systems integration, data governance, database administration and reporting/analytics tools
  • Demonstrated success leading CRM implementation, optimization or multi-phase system rollouts
  • Strong understanding of prospect research and management methodologies, portfolio analytics and fundraising intelligence
  • Deep knowledge of IRS charitable regulations, CASE Reporting Standards, FASB/GAAP principles and gift acceptance/processing best practices
  • Familiarity with CSU or public higher education policies and auxiliary organization requirements
  • Knowledge of PCI compliance, records retention, confidentiality regulations (FERPA) and audit processes
  • Excellent oral and written communication, presentation, and negotiation skills
  • Ability to work effectively with fundraisers, academic leaders, IT professionals, campus administrators and foundation staff
  • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, change-oriented environment with competing priorities
  • Ability to communicate with constituents in a professional and respectful manner.
  • Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent years of experience
  • Five to seven years of progressively responsible leadership experience in advancement services, development operations, higher education administration or a related field
  • Experience supervising professional staff and building teams
  • Experience with CRM systems administration, data governance or gift administration in a complex organizational environment
  • Master’s Degree
  • Experience working in the California State University system, another large public higher education system or a public university foundation environment
  • Direct experience with major CRM implementations or multi-phase optimization projects
  • Experience building or transforming gift processing operations or prospect management frameworks
  • Experience with comprehensive campaign operations, campaign counting standards and campaign reporting systems
  • Experience working in an auxiliary or foundation partnership model
  • San José State University offers employees a comprehensive benefits package typically worth 30-35% of your base salary.
  • For more information on programs available, please see the Employee Benefits Summary
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