Manager, Endowment and Restricted Fund Stewardship

Pepperdine University; South Bend (IN); On-site; USD 72,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits package

Job summary

Pepperdine University in South Bend, IN seeks a Manager, Endowment and Restricted Fund Stewardship to ensure accountability and high-touch donor reporting for non-scholarship funds. You will translate multi-source data into impact reports, engage campus partners, and support major donor events.

The role requires strong data fluency, collaboration across Advancement and Finance, and mastery of fundraising systems to manage endowments, gifts, and special funds with integrity and precision.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 3+ years in higher education, preferably in advancement/donor relations or financial data.
• Proficiency with Google Workspace and MS Office; able to learn Marq.
• Comfort with data navigation and analytics.
• CRM experience included.

Responsibilities

• Prepare annual stewardship reports for endowments and restricted funds.
• Produce donor reports detailing pledges, balances, and distributions.
• Collaborate with campus partners to gather narrative impact updates.
• Support donor events and on-site hosting.
• Maintain accuracy and donor intent across systems.

Skills

Data fluency

CRM experience

Google Workspace

Microsoft Excel

Marq publishing tools

Raiser's Edge NXT

PeopleSoft

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Raiser's Edge NXT

PeopleSoft

Simpler

Blackbaud Award Management

Job description

The Manager, Endowment and Restricted Fund Stewardship ensures financial accountability, transparency, and high-touch stewardship for non-scholarship funds through deeply customized donor reporting. This position manages the tracking and stewardship of complex accounts, including capital projects, endowed chairs and professorships, academic and student experience initiatives, and general operational funds.

Acting as a strategic bridge between Advancement, General Accounting, Financial Planning, Financial Aid, and campus partners, this role requires exceptional data fluency, analytical rigor, and collaborative skills. The Manager transforms multi-source financial data into bespoke impact reports that resonate with donors, deepening their engagement and confidence in the University's mission.

Beyond reporting, this position plays an active role in team strategy and major donor events. Above all, the Manager upholds and advances the University’s mission through every aspect of their work, ensuring that donor gifts are managed with integrity, precision, and purpose.

Duties

• Fund Stewardship and Financial Reporting:
  • Manage the annual stewardship and customized reporting for non-scholarship endowments, capital/building funds, endowed chairs and professorships, and restricted program funds.
  • Compile, verify, and deliver accurate fiscal-year impact reports for donors, detailing:
    • Pledge payments and current fund balances.
    • Total donor support and participation count within the fiscal year.
    • Financial distributions and spending activity.
    • Review fund activity alongside gift agreements to ensure donor intent is honored and funds are appropriately utilized.
• Systems, Data and Customized Reporting:
  • Work within Marq to design customized, visually engaging stewardship pieces for major donors.
  • Maintain a high level of proficiency in Blackbaud Award Management (BAM), Excel, Google Sheets, Workforce, and Raiser's Edge NXT for data and project management, manipulation, and report generation.
  • Develop deep operational comfort with PeopleSoft and Simpler to query, reconcile, and audit complex financial and gift data across University systems.
• Campus Partner Collaboration:
  • Build strong, collaborative relationships across campus.
  • Gather qualitative impact updates and narrative content from campus partners to complement financial data in donor reports.
  • Serve as a helpful, proactive resource to campus partners on fund utilization, gift agreements, and stewardship best practices.
• Donor Relations Team and Event Support:
  • Serve as an integral, active member of the Donor Relations team, contributing to overall strategy, team projects, and shared goals.
  • Provide hands-on support for donor events, including guest registration, table seating arrangements, and on-site donor hosting.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Uphold University mission through work performed.

The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.

Skills and Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree.
• 3+ years of professional experience in higher education,preferably within advancement/donor relations, non-profit fund management, or financial data administration.
• Proficiency with Google Workspace and Microsoft Office, along with the technical aptitude to quickly learn custom publishing and design tools (e.g., Marq).
• High level of comfort navigating and managing data.
• Fluency with standard business office operations, digital file management, and professional communication tools.
• CRM experience.

Preferred:

• 4+ years of professional experience in higher education, within advancement/donor relations, non-profit fund management, or financial data administration.
• Strong data fluency with demonstrated proficiency in Excel or Google Sheets.
• Familiarity with databases or advancement platforms (Raiser's Edge NXT, PeopleSoft, Simpler, Blackbaud Award Management, or similar enterprise systems).
• Aptitude to quickly learn and master publishing and design platforms (e.g., Marq) for custom report generation.
• Exceptional attention to detail, strong financial analytical skills, and the interpersonal diplomacy required to build collaborative partnerships across academic and administrative units.
• Raiser's Edge NXT, PeopleSoft, Simpler, Blackbaud Award Management.

This is a Restricted, Exempt, 40 hour per week position.

Expected Pay Range: $72,000 - $80,000 per year

The above pay range reflects what Pepperdine University reasonably expects to pay for this position at time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on relevant factors such as work experience, market conditions, education/training, and skill level. In addition to base pay, Pepperdine offers a robust and highly competitive benefits package.

Pepperdine is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of any status or condition protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Pepperdine is committed to providing a work environment free from all forms of unlawful discrimination and harassment. Engaging in unlawful discrimination or harassment will result in appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from the University.

Pepperdine is religiously affiliated with the Churches of Christ. It is the purpose of Pepperdine to pursue the very highest employment and academic standards within a context that celebrates and extends the spiritual and ethical ideals of the Christian faith. While students, faculty, and staff represent many religious backgrounds, Pepperdine is permitted under applicable law and reserves the right to seek, hire, and promote persons who support the goals and mission of the institution, including the right to prefer co-religionists who support Pepperdine's Christian mission.

Qualified individuals should be able to show respect for workplace differences, and have the ability to work effectively with individuals from different backgrounds.

Offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of a criminal, education, and employment screening. The University conducts such screenings in compliance with applicable laws and with the objectives of evaluating risk and supporting a safe environment for students, faculty, staff, and guests; safeguarding key University assets including people, property, information, and the University’s reputation; and providing comprehensive job-related information to University leaders to enable them to make prudent hiring decisions. Individuals will be required to disclose any criminal convictions on a designated form after receiving a conditional offer of employment; failure to disclose accurate information may result in withdrawal of the offer or termination of employment. Qualified individuals with criminal histories will be considered for employment in compliance with applicable laws, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance.