Careers

Title: Director, Associate Gift Plan Administration & Stewardship

Department: Institutional Advancement Mgmt.

Duration: Indefinite

Employment Status: Exempt, Full Time, 40 hours/week

Job Summary

Reporting to the Senior Director of Gift Planning, the Associate Director assists in the implementation of activities to support the planned giving program to achieve annual fundraising goals. The Associate Director manages daily administrative and functional operations of the Gift Planning Office; supports planned giving proposal writing and gift analyses and acts as liaison with donors, investment managers, attorneys, governmental agencies and outside vendors. Working on trust asset reconciliation, security, real estate, IRA and cash transfers associated with trust and annuity pools, this professional manages estate and trust issues and payment processing while overseeing, training and managing student workers. Responsibilities also include overseeing research and publication processes and working in partnership with the Associate Vice President of Individual Giving, collaborating with additional members of the Individual Giving team including major gift officers, Oxy Fund officers and the development coordinator for Individual Giving.

Job Duties

• 30% - Estate and Gift Management: Manages the administration of all gifts payable on death of a donor (estate gifts, trust distributions, beneficiary designations) to Occidental College. Reviews, analyzes, and interprets estate planning and administration documents, including wills, trust agreements, beneficiary designation forms, probate notices, gift agreements, and fiduciary accountings to protect Occidental’s interest in the estate. Sets priorities and implements best practices for estate gifts; utilizes both the Business Office, the General Counsel and outside Counsel to effectively and efficiently monitor estates and trusts in which Occidental has an interest and process distributions. Collaborate with estate attorneys, trustees, paralegals, probate court personnel, and others to ensure efficient and proper receipt of estate distributions. Obtains distributions held at financial institutions by researching process and submitting required forms and documentation with signature by an authorized staff member. Assists with the design of complex gift vehicles through partnership with Crescendo, Kaspick and the gift planning team. Provide administrative support for processing non-cash gifts, such as gifts of securities, donor-advised funds, wire transfers, and other contributions. - (Essential)
• 30% - Communication and Record Keeping: Proactively communicates with leadership regarding each estate to provide pertinent information and updates; respond to questions about estate gifts as needed. Prepares explanatory memoranda and sends documents to leadership for signature. Creates and maintains current and accurate database records of all pertinent information concerning status of estates, seeking assistance from Advancement Services when necessary; tracks current gift planning donors (BCS) Creates and maintains accurate action and proposal entries in Banner, seeking assistance from Advancement Services when necessary; tracks gift planning MOUs Enters estate gifts into relevant database(s), seeking assistance from Advancement Services when necessary. Obtains and shares donor/family information and explanation of estate gift in order for internal colleagues to provide appropriate stewardship and acknowledgment of gifts. Develops and prepares internal reports monthly that inform leadership and divisional colleagues of the status and purpose of estate gifts, previously credited pledges, and incoming revenue. Contributes to production and editing of marketing materials, assists with venders, mail houses. Produces routine correspondence and gift acknowledgements to donors, banks, trust offices; Prepares proposals, thank you letters and other general correspondence; Assist with contact reports when necessary. - (Essential)
• 30% - Office of Gift and Estate Planning: Assists with the stewardship of current and prospective donors, managing a small portfolio of BCS Members that require stewardship only. Responds to inquiries with professional, welcoming demeanor, supports information on a wide range of planned giving vehicles, provides suggested forms of bequest language. Provides back-up assistance for personal tours, purchasing of recognition gifts, arranges special lunches, dinners and meetings; Provides support for BCS events. Researches information on donors and prospects as needed, prepares prospect tracking reports, assists directors with planning donor visits/trips. Recruits, trains and supervises student workers, providing on-going training and oversight of their work; Administers student labor budget Pays expenses for Office of Gift Planning; reallocates resources and makes all necessary purchases - (Essential)
• 10% - Institutional Advancement Duties: Serves as a member of the Gift Planning team and a resource to all Institutional Advancement and campus partner team members about various estate gifts, asset transfers and audit issues and other matters. Understand the mission and priorities of the Office of Institutional Advancement and serve as an advocate for the department. Complies with principles of ethics and standard practices as articulated in the Council for Advancement and Support of Advancement (CASE) Donor Bill of Rights from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Participate fully during the planning, as deemed necessary, and execution of "tent-pole events" including and not limited to Homecoming and Family Weekend and Reunion Weekend. - (Essential)

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, fundraising and development, marketing, communications or other fields related to position responsibilities.
• Six years of progressively responsible experience in a Development/Advancement or in a legal/trust field.
• Knowledge of the principles and practices of development and fundraising with an understanding of individual giving 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced certification (recognizing certifications including CFRE, CSPG, etc.).
• Experience in higher education with familiarity of highly selective liberal arts college. Knowledge of planned giving terminology.
• Familiarity in planned giving software (PG Calc, Crescendo)

EXPECTED HIRING RANGE:  $88,000/yr-$99,000/yr-$110,000/yr

If you are offered this position at Occidental College, your final base salary compensation will be determined based on factors such as skills, education, experience, and/or geographic location. In addition to those factors, Occidental complies with applicable pay equity laws and considers internal equity among current employees when developing the final offer. Please keep in mind that the range mentioned above is the base salary range for the role. Hiring at the maximum of the range would not be typical in order to allow for future and continued salary growth.  We also offer a generous compensation and benefits package.