Annual Giving Specialist

Annual Giving Network LLC; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The Advancement and Alumni Relations (AAR) team at Caltech is seeking an Advancement and Alumni Relations Specialist to serve as the central operations hub for the Caltech Fund. You will support executive leadership, fundraisers, and communications across administrative, operations, and donor engagement tasks.

The role requires strong organizational skills, proactive energy, and the ability to manage multiple responsibilities with discretion, confidentiality, and professionalism.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent related work experience.
• Three years or more of progressively responsible administrative, communications, or program logistics experience.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills required.
• Experience coordinating Outlook and other calendar tools, scheduling meetings, and arranging travel.
• Ability to set priorities, organize and work with interruptions and thrive in a team‑based environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Ability to work evenings and weekends.
• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
• Authentic curiosity about science and technology.

Responsibilities

• Provides administrative support to Executive Director and annual fundraisers, including scheduling and expense reporting.
• Manages daily activities of the Caltech Fund staff and donor-related documents.
• Supports marketing and communications projects, including email marketing and social media updates.
• Acts as internal/external point of contact for donor inquiries with professionalism.
• Plans donor engagement projects and event plans with minimal supervision.
• Collaborates with campus peers, volunteers, and students on fundraising stories.

Skills

Communication skills

Calendar management

Microsoft Office

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Outlook

Excel

PowerPoint

CRM tools (Advance/Blackbaud)

Job description

Job Summary

The purpose of Advancement and Alumni Relations (AAR) is to foster a thriving and engaged community of support for Caltech. By strengthening and nurturing the community of people who share and support the Institute’s mission and values, we will ensure the Institute receives the necessary resources to achieve our aspirations and advocate for excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship in perpetuity.

Reporting to the Executive Director, Annual Giving Programs, the Annual Giving Specialist acts as the central operations hub for the Caltech Fund. The Specialist supports overall business activities across the entire annual giving team, providing administrative support to the Executive Director and fundraisers in addition to program and communications support to the integrated marketing and annual giving team. These duties include but are not limited to schedule management, budget reconciliation, simple research and donor list management, donor stewardship communications, marketing and creative campaign support, and basic project management.

The ideal candidate for this role will be a fast learner with high energy and a proactive attitude, who is comfortable managing and prioritizing a variety of interlocking responsibilities that cross administrative, operations, and communications duties.

Essential Job Duties

ADMINISTRATIVE AND OPERATIONS

• Provides administrative support to the Executive Director and annual fundraisers, including but not limited to scheduling, technical support, donor visit and calendar management, and management of expense reports and other reporting or documentation needs.
• Administers the day‑to‑day activities of the Caltech Fund staff, applying thorough internal knowledge in coordinating the daily activities of the department including managing gift agreement documents, filing contact reports, producing simple proposal and briefing documents, and supporting campus visits.
• Provides communications support to Annual Giving Director and the integrated marketing team for marketing and communications projects, including but not limited to mailing list or vendor handling for direct mail, email marketing support, basic project management, and publishing updates to social media and the Caltech Fund website at the direction of the content manager.
• Serves as both the internal and external point of contact for the Caltech Fund, which includes independently addressing, directing, or resolving donor and partner inquiries via email, phone, and in‑person interactions using in‑depth knowledge of AAR processes and the utmost professionalism. This includes proper handling of information of sensitive and confidential nature.
• Conceptualizes and plans multi‑step donor engagement projects, including stewardship communications and event plans, with minimal supervision.
• Acts as liaison with campus peers and volunteers, especially students, faculty, and staff who act as signatories on fundraising letters or as the subjects of compelling fundraising stories. This includes management of our online story library and student features.
• Serves as the team’s content manager for AAR’s intranet, the “Nucleus,” and updates team pages and announcements to AAR on behalf of the Caltech Fund.
• Updates team publication and appeal record libraries, organizes branded team promotional items, maintains office supply and paper stock, and monitors and distributes department mail, email, and voicemails to the appropriate parties.
• Acts as liaison with other departments and offices within AAR and the Institute.

DONOR STEWARDSHIP

• Prepares and analyzes the stewardship report to segment, customize, and send acknowledgment letters, postcards, and ad hoc donor stewardship communications.
• Partner with the integrated marketing team to improve messaging, design, and format for acknowledgment letters, creative stewardship, and digital donor engagement.
• Manage operational tasks related to the Caltech Fund Catalyst gift club, which includes managing member statuses in our database of record, sending welcome letters and materials, and overseeing automated stewardship communications and gift confirmations for best results and continual improvement.
• Oversee and guide various projects related to team success such as identifying and implementing new processes or programs and onboarding new tools to improve team efficiency.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND LOGISTICS

• Maintains and monitors project management software to help track department deadlines as designated by Executive Director to ensure timely task and project completion.
• Structures online SharePoint Library and shared data drive to help project teams stay organized; propose and implement areas for improvement.
• Manage event‑related logistics such as tracking event budgets, reviewing and executing vendor agreements, and tracking and updating event lists on Advance.
• Other duties and special projects as assigned.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent related work experience.
• Three years or more of progressively responsible administrative, communications, or program logistics experience.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills required, including outstanding proofreading skills.
• Experience coordinating Outlook and other calendar tools, scheduling meetings, and arranging travel.
• Ability to set priorities, organize and work with interruptions and thrive in a team‑based environment.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks with absolute deadlines required.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Ability to work evenings and weekends.
• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
• Authentic curiosity about science and technology.
• Demonstrate the ability to practice and adhere to AAR’s Guiding Principles.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a fundraising or advancement unit, particularly in higher education.
• Experience with Advance, Blackbaud, Salesforce or similar fundraising or customer databases (CRM tools).
• Working knowledge of advanced Microsoft Excel functions such as formulas, tables, and data management.
• Familiarity with online communications tools such as MailChimp, SurveyMonkey, iModules/Anthology or similar email and web tools, social media platforms such as Meta, and online content management systems such as Wordpress and other Content Management Systems (CMS) and tools.