Senior Digital Engagement Officer

Pepperdine University•Malibu, CA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Digital Engagement Officer leads the Digital Engagement Officer (DXO) program to build a scalable pipeline of annual, leadership annual, and major-gift prospects across alumni, parents, students, faculty/staff, and friends. Reporting to the Senior Director of Annual Giving, this role both (1) manages and develops the DXO team—owning hiring support, onboarding, coaching, performance management, standards, and analytics—and (2) personally carries an individual portfolio similar in size and rigor to other DXOs. By combining team leadership with hands-on fundraising, the position advances Pepperdine’s mission through measurable growth in discovery, qualification, meetings, solicitations, and revenue, and by improving the donor experience across digital, phone, and video channels.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree (business or related field preferred).
2+ years of experience in prospect research and major gift solicitation in an advancement or fundraising office.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Excellent interpersonal skills for building and maintaining relationships.
Proficiency in time management, project organization, and attention to detail.
Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion.
Prior supervisory experience.

Nice To Haves

A master's Degree.
Experience with continual improvement project management.
Proficiency with Google Office Suite.
Experience with donor databases, preferably Raiser's Edge and Vanilla Soft.
Goal-oriented, self-motivated, and adaptable to evolving environments.

Responsibilities

Manage a personal portfolio with the same volume, stage mix, and goals as other DXOs (discovery→qualification→cultivation→solicitation→stewardship).
Execute high-velocity, high-touch outreach via phone, email, video, text, and social to secure meetings and close gifts at leadership annual levels and early major-gift pipeline.
Craft personalized proposals and impact messaging.
Close gifts aligned to donor interests and University priorities.
Document all activity and outcomes in CRM promptly and accurately.
Lead, coach, and supervise the DXO team; conduct weekly 1:1s, call coaching, and quarterly performance reviews.
Establish and maintain playbooks, outreach cadences, video/email templates, and stewardship standards.
Set weekly activity and outcomes targets (touchpoints, meaningful contacts, meetings set/held, solicitations, dollars) and manage to goals with transparent dashboards through EverTrue.
Partner with Prospect Development to design prospect pools and refresh cycles; ensure balanced coverage across schools, regions, affinities, class years, and campaigns.
Own onboarding/training and a continuous-improvement roadmap (A/B testing, message optimization, channel mix, and conversion funnel health).
Collaborate with IMC/Advancement Communications to align campaigns (e.g., Pepperdine Gives/Waves Give) with DXO workflows and post-campaign cultivation plans.
Coordinate with Major Gifts, Annual Giving, and Alumni Engagement to define lead-handoff SLAs and feedback loops; track downstream outcomes.
Plan and staff digital outreach sprints supporting Pepperdine Gives, Waves Give, crowdfunding, reunions, and micro-campaigns; align team capacity, lists, and scripts to campaign goals.
Coordinate vendor relationships (digital engagement platforms, calling/video tools) and ensure brand and data standards.
Produce after-action reports with insights and next-step cultivation tracks for newly engaged prospects.
Serve as a business owner for DXO workflows in CRM and engagement tools; ensure clean data, reason codes, and stage moves.
Build and maintain dashboards for activity, pipeline, and revenue; identify bottlenecks and implement corrective actions with the team.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Uphold University mission through work performed.