Records Specialist

University of South Florida; Tampa (FL); On-site; USD 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

University of South Florida is a large employer in the Tampa Bay area, with about 16,000 employees and a strong focus on student success, research, and academic excellence. The USF Foundation team raises substantial funds annually to support priorities and manages endowments and donor gifts.

This role involves meticulous gift processing, data integrity, and adherence to policy guidelines within a confidential environment.

Qualifications

• This position requires a high school diploma or equivalent with three years of fiscal support duties; college coursework may substitute.
• Associate's degree and four years of related experience preferred; relevant administrative experience may count.
• Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive information and adhere to policy guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Reviews, approves, and processes gifts, pledges, and pledge payments for current and future commitments to the USF Foundation.
• Autonomously researches and verifies data completeness for all gift, pledge and pledge functions.
• Reconciles and balances deposits for completeness and accuracy.
• Maintains accurate receipt and batch journals.
• Investigates discrepancies and incomplete items.
• Follows CASE guidelines and IRS tax-deductibility rules.
• Reviews past due pledges and writes off outstanding pledge balances.
• Must maintain strict confidentiality.
• Completes projects and updates related to biographic data maintenance and gift and pledge processing as assigned by Director of Central Records.
• Creates reference documentation of how to handle tasks in a timely manner (right after each task is learned).
• Manages tasks: pickup/delivery of deposits, verify and prepare daily receipts for mailing; update addresses; handling, scanning, logging, filing deposits.
• Cross-trains on other tasks related to biographic data maintenance and gift/pledge processing.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Skills

Gift processing

Data entry

Reconciliation

Confidentiality

IRS rules

Education

High School diploma

Associate's degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Excel

CRM/database management

Job description

Job Description

USF Advancement connects the university with donors who want to make a difference by providing philanthropic support to promote student success, research, academic excellence and other strategic priorities. With an endowment that now exceeds $700 million in value, our dedicated team of approximately 200 professionals, including 60 fundraisers, encompasses alumni, development and foundation operations. The team is responsible for raising more than $150 million annually and has broken records year after year with more than $184 million raised in fiscal year 2025.

Job Description

USF Advancement connects the university with donors who want to make a difference by providing philanthropic support to promote student success, research, academic excellence and other strategic priorities. With an endowment that now exceeds $700 million in value, our dedicated team of approximately 200 professionals, including 60 fundraisers, encompasses alumni, development and foundation operations. The team is responsible for raising more than $150 million annually and has broken records year after year with more than $184 million raised in fiscal year 2025.

Responsibilities

• Reviews, approves, and processes gifts, pledges, and pledge payments for current and future commitments to the USF Foundation.
• Autonomously researches and verifies data completeness for all gift, pledge and pledge functions.
• Reconciles and balances deposits for completeness and accuracy.
• Maintains accurate receipt and batch journals.
• Investigates discrepancies and incomplete items.
• Follows CASE guidelines and IRS tax-deductibility rules.
• Reviews past due pledges and writes off outstanding pledge balances.
• Must maintain strict confidentiality.
• Completes projects and updates related to biographic data maintenance and gift and pledge processing as assigned by Director of Central Records.
• Creates reference documentation of how to handle tasks in a timely manner (right after each task is learned).
• Manages the following tasks: pick up and delivery of deposits from and to the Foundation Business Office; verify and prepare daily receipts to be mailed; research and update addresses for returned mail; and handling, scanning, logging, filing and storing of deposits.
• Cross-trains on other tasks related to biographic data maintenance and gift and pledge processing in order to learn and handle when teammates are out-of-office.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

This position requires a High School diploma or equivalent with three years of work experience in positions with fiscal support duties. College or other relevant post‑secondary coursework may substitute for the experience requirement on a year for year basis. Associate's degree and four years fiscal support related experience; or, six years directly related administrative experience is preferred.

Degree Equivalency Clause: Four years of direct experience for a bachelor’s degree.

• Senate Bill 1310- The Florida Senate (https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/1310) is conditional upon meeting all employment eligibility requirements in the U.S.
• SB 1310: Substitution of Work Experience for Postsecondary Education Requirements
• A public employer may include a postsecondary degree as a baseline requirement only as an alternative to the number of years of direct experience required, not to exceed:
• (a) Two years of direct experience for an associate degree;
• (b) Four years of direct experience for a bachelor’s degree;
• (c) Six years of direct experience for a master’s degree;
• (d) Seven years of direct experience for a professional degree; or
• (e) Nine years of direct experience for a doctoral degree
• Related work experience may not substitute for any required licensure, certification, or registration required for the position of employment as established by the public employer and indicated in the advertised description of the position of employment.
• Minimum Qualifications that require a high school diploma are exempt from SB 1310.

About Us

Working at USF

With approximately 16,000 employees, the University of South Florida is one of the largest employers in the Tampa Bay area. We are dedicated to cultivating a talented, engaged and driven workforce that strives to be bold. Employees excel in USF‘s rich academic environment, which fosters their development and advancement. In 2025, Forbes recognized USF as one of Florida’s best large employers, ranked No. 1 among the state’s 12 public universities.

Our first-class benefits package includes medical, dental and life insurance plans, retirement plan options, employee and dependent tuition programs, generous leave, and hundreds of employee perks and discounts.

About USF

The University of South Florida is a top-ranked research university serving approximately 50,000 students from across the globe at campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and USF Health. USF is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a top 50 public university and the best value in Florida. U.S. News also ranks the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine as the No. 1 medical school in Florida and in the highest tier nationwide. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a group that includes only the top 3% of universities in the U.S. With an all-time high of $738 million in research funding in 2024 and as a top 20 public university for producing U.S. patents, USF uses innovation to transform lives and shape a better future. The university generates an annual economic impact of more than $6 billion. USF’s Division I athletics teams compete in the American Athletic Conference.

Learn more at www.usf.edu.

Compliance and Federal Notices

This position may be subject to a Level 1 or Level 2 criminal background check.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Applicants have rights under Federal Employment Laws:

The University of South Florida is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on any characteristic protected by law. The University maintains programs for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Applicants for USF employment are entitled to request reasonable accommodation(s) in the application process. A request is to be made at least five (5) working days prior to the time the accommodation(s) is needed. Visit the Central Human Resources ADA Accommodations webpage for more information on requesting an accommodation during the application/interview process.

The University of South Florida is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on any characteristic protected by law. The University maintains affirmative action programs for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws. This job description does not constitute an employment contract.