Assistant Director, Major Gifts - Donor Partnerships

University of Southern California; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 102,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Southern California’s Advancement team seeks an Assistant Director, Advancement - Major Gifts to build and manage a portfolio of ~100 prospects with gifts $100K–$250K. You will develop strategies, conduct donor visits, and craft proposals in collaboration with leadership and faculty.

Qualification includes proven fundraising experience and strong written/verbal communication. The role is hybrid, with travel and flexible scheduling to engage donors and support school priorities.

Qualifications

• Experience in development, maintaining meaningful relationships with a wide variety of internal/external stakeholders.
• Ability to self-manage, prioritize work assignments and manage multiple deadlines.
• Experience maintaining and interpreting large datasets and database systems.
• Excellent planning, organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Detail oriented with excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office.

Responsibilities

• Qualify assigned prospects based on philanthropic capacity, interests, inclination, and engagement, and build and manage a portfolio of approximately 100 prospects.
• Develop and implement individualized strategies to cultivate, solicit, and steward prospective donors.
• Conduct substantive donor outreach and visits to advance relationships and secure philanthropic commitments.
• Develop fundraising proposals, donor briefings, and follow-up communications in collaboration with the Managing Director, faculty, academic leaders, and Advancement colleagues.
• Identify donor interests and align them with School priorities, developing opportunities for meaningful philanthropic support.
• Serve as the Major Gifts team liaison to Annual and Alumni Giving, supporting lead qualification and donor transfers.
• Assist with prospect research and qualification for both Assistant Director- and Director-level prospects and assignments.
• Coordinate and support Major Gifts regional activities, board engagement, and related initiatives.
• Coordinate with university and school partners to advance prospect relationships, solicitations, gift planning, recognition, and stewardship.
• Maintain accurate and timely prospect records, contact reports, forecasts, and next steps in accordance with University Advancement policies and procedures.
• Achieve established fundraising revenue, activity, pipeline, and proposal goals.

Skills

Relationship-building

Donor cultivation

Proposal development

Communication skills

Portfolio management

Microsoft Office

Education

Bachelor's degree

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

University of Southern California’s Advancement team seeks an Assistant Director, Advancement - Major Gifts to build and manage a portfolio of ~100 prospects with gifts $100K–$250K. You will develop strategies, conduct donor visits, and craft proposals in collaboration with leadership and faculty.

Qualification includes proven fundraising experience and strong written/verbal communication. The role is hybrid, with travel and flexible scheduling to engage donors and support school priorities.