Coordinator, Principal Gifts

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc.; Firestone Park (CA); Hybrid; USD 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Occidental College is seeking a Coordinator, Principal Gifts to support cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship for principal donors. The role coordinates meeting logistics, drafts senior-level communications, and maintains donor materials with professionalism.

The position reports to the Executive Director, Principal Gifts and requires collaboration with Prospect Research and IA teams to align donor strategies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in liberal arts, communications, data management, or related field.
• Three years of administrative support experience, ideally in advancement or executive operations.
• Experience with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) preferred.

Responsibilities

• 60% - Strategy Support for Principal Gift Cultivation, Solicitation and Stewardship, including coordinating meetings and drafting high-level communications.
• 30% - Coordination and Administrative Support for Principal Gift, calendar management, lifecycle tracking, and data hygiene in CRM.
• Other IA Support - assist with events, liaison duties, and donorrelations activities.

Skills

Administrative support

Executive support

Education

Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, communications, data management, or related field

Tools

Salesforce CRM

Job description

About Occidental College

Founded in 1887, Occidental is a nationally recognized, privatecollege of the liberal arts and sciences, dedicated to providing agifted and diverse group of students with a total educationalexperience of the highest quality -- one that prepares them forleadership in an increasingly complex, interdependent andpluralistic world.

What makes Occidental special? An intellectually rigorous academicenvironment. Small classroom settings where students collaboratewith professors and their peers while pursuing or discoveringtheirpassion. A beautiful residential campus that offers studentshands-on engagement with the cultural and intellectual resources ofLos Angeles. A community open to stimulating conversation anddivergent points of view. Some 2,100 students from 46 states and 28countries choose from 41 majors and minors and participate in onethe country’s top undergraduate research programs. Oxy studentsroutinely win top awards and fellowships; its first Rhodes Scholarwas named in 1907. Dedicated to excellence and equity, Occidentalalso is one of the country’s most economically diverse campuses,according to the New York Times. Some 71 percent of Oxy studentsreceive some form of financial aid; 20 percent are Pell Grantrecipients; and 19 percent are the first in their family to attendcollege

Title:

Coordinator, Principal Gifts

Department:

Institutional Advancement Mgmt.

Duration:

Indefinite

Employment Status:

Non-Exempt, Full-Time, 40 hours perweek

Job Summary

Reporting to the Executive Director, Principal Gifts, theCoordinator, Principal Gifts provides strategic and administrativesupport for the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of theCollege's principal donors (those making gifts of $1 million andabove). The Coordinator manages executive briefings, donor visitlogistics, presidential meeting materials, and follow-up activitiesto deliver exceptional, donor-centered experiences while supportingprincipal gift strategies. Working collaboratively with the Officeof the President, Donor Relations, Prospect Research, and otherInstitutional Advancement teams, the Coordinator maintains prospectpipelines and Salesforce CRM records, tracks proposals andstewardship activities, and ensures effective coordination ofprincipal gift operations. Representing the College withprofessionalism, discretion, and exceptional organizational skills,the Coordinator plays a key role in advancing relationships withthe College's most significant philanthropic partners.

This position is represented for purposes of collective bargainingby SEIU.

Upon successful completion of the onboarding period, thisposition offers the flexibility to work remotely for up to two daysper week.

Required:

Please upload a cover letter as an additionaldocument along with your application.

Job Duties

• 60% - Strategy Support for Principal Gift Cultivation,Solicitation and Stewardship - Provide detailed and energeticsupport for principal gift donor engagement and cultivation byscheduling and coordinating meeting logistics, tracking follow-upactions, and synchronizing with campus partners as needed. Help keyexecutives prepare for donor meetings by drafting, editing andrefining high-level communications including briefings, talkingpoints, donor-facing emails and messages. Support successful donormeetings and visits through in-person attendance focused onseamless logistics, while maintaining tact, discretion anddiplomacy at all times in front of donors. Assist in planning andexecuting bespoke, high-tough campus visits and presidential eventstailored specifically for principal gift prospects. Collaboratewith Prospect Research to request, gather, and compile preliminarydonor research, background materials, and event bio-sheets forsenior leadership prior to visits. Manage data and information flowbetween Institutional Advancement, the Office of the President,OSI, Strategic Engagement, faculty and other internal partners tosupport donor strategy development. Support effective collaborationbetween all offices to ensure alignment and effective execution ofprincipal giving-level donor engagement strategies. -(Essential)
• 30% - Coordination and Administrative Support for PrincipalGift - Coordinate the calendar of the Exec. Dir. of PrincipalGifts and schedule internal meetings for the Principal Gifts team,often collaborating closely with the Executive Assistant to theVice President of Institutional Advancement, the ExecutiveAssistant to the President of the College, and other DevelopmentCoordinators. Track the lifecycle of principal gift proposals andgift agreements; assist in monitoring custom stewardship plans andreporting deliverables in coordination with Donor Relations. Managedata entry into Salesforce with a careful eye toward data hygiene,confidentiality, and compliance with IA’s practices and protocols.Process expense reports, travel reimbursements, credit cardreconciliations, and vendor invoices for the ED Principal Gifts inaccordance with institutional finance policies. - (Essential)
• Other IA Support - Support IA tentpole events and otheron campus activities. Serve as a College ambassador to alumni,parents, donors, and other supporters at events, meetings, andvisits, as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, communications, datamanagement, or a related field relevant to the position's duties,or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Three years of administrative support experience, ideally inadvancement, executive operations, high-end hospitality, or arelated field involving executive support, relationship management,event coordination, and confidential stakeholder engagement.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience with constituent relationship management(CRM) systems (e.g., Salesforce).

EXPECTED HIRING RANGE: $20.19/hr-$26.00/hr

If you are offered this position at Occidental College, your final base salary compensation will be determined based on factors suchas skills, education, experience, and/or geographic location. Inaddition to those factors, Occidental complies with applicable payequity laws and considers internal equity among current employeeswhen developing the final offer. Please keep in mind that the rangementioned above is the base salary range for the role. Hiring atthe maximum of the range would not be typical in order to allow forfuture and continued salary growth. We also offer a generouscompensation and benefits package.