Assistant Director of Stewardship

University of California; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 68,000 - 104,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Dental & Vision Insurance

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Tuition reimbursement

Onsite counseling

Job summary

Caltech seeks an Assistant Director of Stewardship to support a donor-centric stewardship program. You will maintain accurate data, generate stewardship reports for hundreds of funds, and collaborate with the Stewardship team to ensure donor satisfaction and program efficiency.

You will manage ThankView content, assist with gift acknowledgments, and help coordinate donor communications while upholding confidentiality and high service standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent related work experience.
• 3+ years in nonprofit or higher education with data management and admin support.
• Experience in donor stewardship and institutional advancement principles.
• Excellent organizational, time management, and project skills; ability to work with limited oversight.
• Meticulous attention to detail; ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office; advanced Excel; experience with large data sets.

Responsibilities

• Audit new and old gift fund records to preserve data integrity.
• Run reports for annual fund stewardship reporting for 700+ funds.
• Prepare content for stewardship reports (scholarship/fellowship data).
• Manage ThankView data to enable donor videos distribution.
• Facilitate mass uploads of scholarship and endowed fund data.
• Maintain inventory of endowed professorships and leadership chairs.
• Track donor gifts and stewardship preferences with campus partners.
• Coordinate mailings of donor impact reports (digital and print).
• Maintain gift fund data with confidentiality and discretion.
• Support major-donor stewardship strategies and milestone tracking.
• Assist daily gift acknowledgment and gift agreement processes.
• Provide outstanding internal customer service and cross-team support.
• Identify and resolve issues impacting donor intent; train others as needed.
• Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.

Skills

Organizational skills

Time management

Project coordination

Communication skills

Customer service

Data management

Microsoft Office

Advanced Excel

Confidential data handling

Team collaboration

Training others

Curiosity about science/tech

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Ellucian Advance

Encompass

ThankView

InDesign

SharePoint

Power Automate

Job description

Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world’s brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions. We thrive on finding and cultivating talented people who are passionate about what they do. Join us and be a part of the diverse Caltech community.

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 Director of Stewardship, the Assistant Director of Stewardship is charged with supporting Caltech’s comprehensive donor-centric stewardship program, which enhances the donor experience through accurate and consistent stewardship reporting. The Assistant Director possesses exceptional organizational skills, high attention to detail, an ability to meet deadlines, and a strong commitment to customer service. Partnering with other members of the Stewardship team, the Assistant Director helps ensure the long‑term sustainability of Caltech’s donor stewardship efforts by maintaining accurate data, mastering internal reporting processes, and creating additional efficiencies within the unit’s reporting systems.

• Regularly audit new gift fund records, as well as systematically review older fund records, to preserve Stewardship’s data integrity through consistent data collection and regular maintenance and enhancement of information within the AAR database.
• Run reports and provide relevant data for the team’s centralized, annual fund stewardship reporting activities for more than 700 endowed and current‑use funds.
• Help request and compile content for stewardship reports, such as student questionnaire responses for scholarship and fellowship reports.
• Manage data within the ThankView system to facilitate the collection and distribution of stewardship videos from scholars, fellows, and other members of the campus community.
• Compile information for and facilitate mass uploads of scholarship recipient, fellowship recipient, and endowed fund financial data to the AAR database.
• Maintain a comprehensive inventory of endowed professorship and leadership chair faculty appointments at Caltech; provide regular updates to Faculty Records, the Provost’s office, and Fund Accounting.
• Work collaboratively with Advancement Information team and stewardship colleagues to track donor gifts and monitor, maintain, and regularly update information about giving society members and stewardship preferences.
• Help coordinate e‑and hard copy mailings of donor impact reports and other donor stewardship efforts.
• Maintain gift fund data and the highest level of confidentiality and discretion necessary when working with financial and gift information.
• Working with stewardship team members, support the tracking of data for individualized stewardship strategies and plans for major donors. This includes:
  • Preparing donor data for stewardship team and prospect manager review.
  • Tacking donor stewardship milestones such as birthdays and anniversaries of significant donor‑funded centers, institutes, and related initiatives.
• Support the daily processing of gift acknowledgment correspondence, as needed.
• Support generation of gift agreements, as needed.
• Provide outstanding customer service to AAR colleagues and other internal stakeholders regarding inquiries about annual stewardship reporting activities.
• In conjunction with stewardship colleagues, proactively identify and resolve issues that impede the fulfillment of donor intent or provide information to campus partners that provides clarity to donor intent.
• Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent related work experience.
• Three years or more of experience in a nonprofit or higher education setting, with progressive responsibilities in administrative support, data management, and project coordination.
• Experience with the philosophy and practices of institutional advancement and the principles of donor stewardship.
• Excellent organizational, time management, and project management skills; ability to work collaboratively as well as manage projects proactively and independently to completion with limited oversight.
• Meticulous attention to detail and accuracy.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other programs that provide the ability to interpret, manage, and track large quantities of data.
• Experience using business databases to maintain and extract data.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including outstanding proofreading skills; ability to communicate effectively and efficiently with co‑workers and the campus wide community.
• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
• Strong customer service orientation and skills, demonstrating a professional and friendly demeanor, including the ability to anticipate and provide helpful service to internal and external customers.
• Ability to articulate process and procedures in order to support and train others.
• Authentic curiosity about science and technology.
• Demonstrate the ability to practice and adhere to AAR’s Guiding Principles.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency with Ellucian’s Advance advancement and alumni relations database software or similar CRM.
• Experience with other applications/tools such as Encompass, ThankView, InDesign, or other donor stewardship technologies.
• Experience with SharePoint, Power Automate, and/or some basic coding skills a plus.

Required Documents

• Resume.

Hiring Range

$68,400 - $104,000 per year

The salary of the finalist(s) selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, internal equity, experience, education, specialty and training.

As one of the largest employers in Pasadena, CA, Caltech is committed to providing comprehensive benefits to eligible employees and their eligible dependents. Our benefits package includes competitive compensation, health, dental, and vision insurance, retirement savings plans, generous paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick time, parental leave, bereavement, etc.), tuition reimbursement, and more. Non‑benefit eligible employees will have access to some benefits such as onsite counseling and sick time. Learn more about our benefits and staff perks .

EEO Statement

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Caltech is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

Caltech complies with the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We consider reasonable accommodation measures that may be necessary for eligible applicants and employees to perform the essential functions of a position.

If you would like to request an accommodation to complete this application, interview, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please contact Caltech Recruiting at [e-mail] .

Additionally, if you do not meet the basic qualifications of a role but believe you can perform the essential functions of the job with reasonable accommodation, please reach out to Caltech Recruiting at [e-mail] .