Annual Giving Operations Manager

Santa Clara University; Santa Clara (CA); Hybrid; USD 106,819,000 - 128,340,000; Full time

Job summary

Santa Clara University is seeking an Annual Giving Operations Manager to lead the operations of the Reunion Giving, Direct Appeals, and Digital Engagement teams. This role reports to the Executive Director of Annual Giving and focuses on strategic support, process improvement, and donor data integrity.

The position requires strong leadership, confidentiality, and multitasking across complex calendars, budgets, and donor communications. A Bachelor’s degree and nonprofit experience are preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum five years of professional experience in nonprofit, higher education, or related field preferred.
• Strong organizational, communication, and analytical skills.
• Experience with fundraising databases and financial processes preferred.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day operations of the Annual Giving team and provide strategic support.
• Prepare, submit, and reconcile expenses in WorkDay per university policies.
• Coordinate meetings, travel, and vendor communications for the team.
• Generate monthly budget reports and analyze variances.
• Maintain CLARA donor database and ensure timely data updates.
• Lead on onboarding, staff development, and internal communications.

Skills

Project mgmt

Communication

Attention to detail

Budgeting

Data analysis

People management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Workday

Concur

CLARA

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Position Title: Annual Giving Operations Manager

Position Type: Regular

Hiring Range: $37.31 - $44.79 per hour. Compensation will be based on education, experience, skills relevant to the role, and internal equity.

Pay Frequency: Hourly

Overview

University Relations builds Santa Clara University’s excellence and character by strengthening relations with alumni, parents, and friends of the University, raising public awareness, and increasing private philanthropy. The development division has been recognized with the CASE Educational Fundraising Award, an honor given each year to superior fundraising programs at educational institutions across the country.

PRIMARY PURPOSE OF POSITION

The Annual Giving Team within University Relations seeks an outstanding candidate for the position of Annual Giving Operations Manager. This position reports to the Executive Director of Annual Giving and ensures that the Reunion Giving, Direct Appeals, Digital Engagement, of and Student Digital Engagement teams and the Executive Director receive the highest level of operational and strategic support, enabling them to maintain an outward focus on building relationships and securing gifts.

The diversity of the workload requires leadership, flexibility, efficiency, attention to detail, and the ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines for a wide variety of assignments. This position also requires tact, diplomacy, and confidentiality in dealing with members of the University community and the University's donors.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Annual Giving Operations, Administrative & Strategic Support
• Provide advanced and diversified management of the day-to-day operations of the Annual Giving team, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness, and optimizing the use of available resources.
• Staff meetings and professional development meetings, assist with planning content, oversee the logistics, secure speakers, materials preparation, and follow-up.
• Ensure accuracy of development reporting, gift tracking, and metric reports in coordination with Class Giving Officers, Digital Engagement Officers, and Director of Annual Giving Strategies.
• Prepare, submit and reconcile expenses for all Annual Giving team members in WorkDay, according to University policies and procedures.
• Proactively assist with on-boarding of new employees for the Annual Giving team
• Lead team building and employee recognition activities for the team members.
• Complex calendar management including scheduling and logistics of meetings and events; Independently prioritize calendar activity requests and effectively coordinate with a range of individuals; and provide relevant information and materials in advance of meetings.
• Using the University’s Blackbaud CRM database (CLARA) and other tools, produce and analyze prospect data. Provide analysis for the Annual Giving team and prepare special reports for ED as needed.
• Conduct or request prospect information; assemble and analyze data to prepare reports, customized donor briefings, proposals and other materials in advance of donor visits for use by the Annual Giving team and partners, as needed.
• Schedule and coordinate travel arrangements, including developing itineraries and assembling travel packets for Annual Giving team members.
• Capture and record activities and prospect information in the CLARA donor database, including contact reports and other communications, setting up and monitoring reminders in CLARA.
• Organization of shared print and digital resources on server, Google Drive, etc. Lead internal communications to assess and announce available team resources.
• Submit vendor contracts and invoices for review and approval in coordination with General Counsel and Finance Office. Ensure timely payment of invoices.
• Maintain and update key documents as appropriate and share with the Annual Giving team.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of Annual Giving team operations and recommend changes for enhancement.
• May provide occasional UR front desk support.
• Performs related work as needed or assigned by the Executive Director, Annual Giving
• Support for Executive Director, Annual Giving
• Work closely with the ED to manage and coordinate administrative functions including events, meetings, calendars, and travel.
• As part of the budgeting process, submit and reconcile expenses for the ED in Concur, according to University policies and procedures.
• Generate and share with the ED the monthly budget figures for the Annual Giving department using Workday.
• Prepare budget projections for a new fiscal year, track spending throughout the year, and analyze the projections and actual expenses.
• Submit financial transaction adjustment requests (FTARs) as necessary
• Manage job candidate searches and hiring flow including administration of candidates in Workday software, leading communications with candidates and search committees, and ensuring overall timeliness of the process.
• Provide the ED with prospect meeting logistic support and set-up.
• Schedule and coordinate travel arrangements, including developing itineraries and assembling travel packets for the ED
• Assist in the drafting and editing of correspondence, briefings, and reports
• Capture and record activities and prospect information in the CLARA donor database, including contact reports and other communications, setting up and monitoring reminders in CLARA for the ED.
• Upload gift agreements for e-signatures. Once completed, update the donor's file and mail the signed copy to the donor.
• Create and maintain appropriate filing systems to ensure organization and quick retrieval.
• Support ED with high quality documents that may include minutes, agendas, excel reports, and power points.
• Produce monthly departmental reports including past due pledges, progress to goals, unlinked gifts and others as requested by the ED.
• Interact responsively, intelligently, and cordially with constituents and campus.
• Handle confidential and sensitive information.
• Assist the ED with special strategic projects and participate in assigned special projects as required.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The items below are representative of the knowledge, skills, abilities, education, and experience required or preferred.

This position requires the ability to effectively establish and maintain a healthy, fair and inclusive work environment by promoting diversity, exercising teamwork, and collaboration with diverse groups, donors, volunteer groups, and coworkers.

Knowledge

• Direct knowledge of financial, hiring, and other operational practices.
• Knowledge of higher education and development preferred.
• Understanding and appreciation of the mission of Santa Clara University and the vision and values of a Jesuit Catholic educational institution.

Skills

• Proactive and well-organized individual who can demonstrate accountability, initiative, creativity, and focus in a rapidly changing environment.
• Exceptional verbal, writing, and research skills, preferably demonstrated in an academic setting.
• Expert planning, coordination, and organizational ability, including managing numerous projects simultaneously.
• Proficiency in using fundraising database (or similar).
• Excellent computer skills; proficiency in using advanced functions of word processing, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint, Google products (i.e., Google docs, Gmail, etc.) database, and web resources. Willingness to learn new software if needed.
• Positive attitude and flexibility.

Abilities

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate, build alliances, and achieve results within a population that may possess competing interests, opinions, and /or expectations.
• Ability to motivate, build long-term relationships with and gain the respect of internal and external colleagues and donors.
• Demonstrated sound judgment in situations requiring independent decision-making and in handling confidential and sensitive material.
• Demonstrated ability to manage time and workload to multitask and achieve goals in a deadline-driven environment while maintaining a strong attention to detail.
• Demonstrate a genuine appetite to contribute to a collaborative and professional team environment with a positive attitude, sense of humor, and flexibility.

Education And Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Minimum five years of professional experience working for a non-profit organization, higher education institution, or related field preferred.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Considerable time is spent at a desk using a computer and phone.
• Required to travel to other buildings on the campus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Typical office environment.
• Mostly indoor office environment with windows.
• Offices with equipment noise.
• Offices with frequent interruptions.
• Ability to work remotely or in a hybrid model and ability to work with a team who may also be working in a hybrid or remote model.

Telecommute

Santa Clara University is registered to do business in the following states: California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and Illinois. Employees approved to telecommute are required to perform