Careers

Title: Director, Assistant, Oxy Fund, Leadership Giving

Department: Institutional Advancement Mgmt.

Duration: Indefinite

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

Job Summary

Reporting to the Director of the Oxy Fund, the Assistant Director of the Oxy Fund, Leadership Giving works closely with the Frontline Fundraising team (annual giving, major giving and planned giving). In addition to routine annual giving responsibilities, this external-facing fundraising position is responsible for soliciting leadership-level gifts ($1,000 - $100,000) for the Oxy Fund. This driven, goal-oriented individual will concentrate their efforts on the acquisition, renewal and increase of leadership-level gifts, thus growing financial support of Occidental year-over-year and strengthening the base of future major donors. The Assistant Director manages a young alumni fundraising strategy with the goal of driving participation and creating life-long engagement, serving as the point person for all strategic elements of GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) giving, including young alumni fundraising events, solicitations, stewardship, and the management of the GOLD Alumni Committee.

Job Duties

• 50% - Leadership Giving Officer -Actively qualify a pool of regionally-based, rated prospects, with an emphasis on securing unrestricted support for the College at or above the leadership level ($1,000). Complete at least 10-12 substantive face-to-face (may be virtual) contacts per month, with the purpose of qualifying prospects for the Oxy Fund, Planned Giving, Major Gifts, and current and future Campaigns. Identify new prospects and solicit gifts for the Oxy Fund to build a pipeline of major donors. Document all personal visits, phone calls, and email contact reports in the database. Ensure all next steps, pledges and recommended actions are recorded and followed up on appropriately. Track and measure progress based on established goals and report on work plan metrics throughout the fiscal year. Complete thank you calls to donors on a weekly basis and other stewardship activities to grow membership in the leadership giving societies. - (Essential)
• 20% - Young Alumni Program Management - Develop and execute a GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) engagement strategy that encourages young alumni to support Occidental College. This strategy will have a special focus on boosting giving participation through a number of channels including recurring gifts, multi-year pledges, and stewardship via the McMenamin Society, as well as the following programmatic elements: Manage a portfolio of young alumni who have been identified as having giving potential. Conduct discovery and cultivation visits to determine the best strategy to deepen their relationships with Oxy. Educate prospects about philanthropy and the importance of staying involved with the Oxy community as alumni. Lead the 5- and 10-year reunion campaigns, including the recruitment and management of the giving and planning committees, creation of class giving goals (both dollar and participation goals), and the building of attendance and overall enthusiasm for Alumni Reunion Weekend. Serve as the liaison to the GOLD Committee. Support the GOLD Co-chairs, GOLD committee members, and all committee needs. Facilitate committee meetings, peer- to-peer outreach, and advise GOLD members with respect to their roles as volunteer leaders. Manage GOLD giving for the Day For Oxy, including soliciting challenge gifts, recruiting peer-to-peer advocates, and driving overall GOLD giving in support of this campaign. Draft and execute GOLD appeals, utilizing all channels including print, email, phone and social media. Partner with the Office of Marketing and Communications to maximize use of all social media platforms and increase visibility of Oxy philanthropy. In partnership with Alumni & Parent Engagement staff, organize GOLD events that are accessible and compelling for a younger cohort. - (Essential)
• 10% - Volunteer and Affinity Fundraising - Manage special fundraising initiatives as assigned, which may include efforts driven by affinity groups, class years, and other alumni cohorts. - (Essential)
• 10% - Institutional Advancement Duties - Understands the mission and priorities of the Office of Institutional Advancement and serves as an advocate for the department. Adheres to the 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, Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA) Statement of Ethics and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Code of Ethical Principles and Standards as well as the standards of practice of his/her departmental profession, as appropriate. Participates fully during the planning, as deemed necessary, and execution of “tent-pole events” including and not limited to Homecoming and Family Weekend, Founders Day, and Reunion Weekend. - (Essential)
• 10% - Administrative Responsibilities - Thoroughly documents all donor activity in a timely manner in line with policies and procedures. Adheres to College spending and expense guidelines related to hosting, planning and communicating to the team regarding upcoming visits and travel. - (Essential)

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, fundraising and development, marketing, communications or other fields related to position responsibilities.
• Five years of experience in development and fundraising duties.
• Knowledge of the principles and practices of development and fundraising with an understanding of individual giving programs, such as direct mail, phone-a-thons and personal solicitation 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

• Experienced working knowledge of fundraising in higher education intitutions or comparable professional experience in a performance-based environment with tracking of meeting goals, contacts, and dollars raised.
• Experience initiating and securing a high volume of development visits and personally soliciting gifts.

EXPECTED HIRING RANGE:  $67,000/yr-$69,000/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.