Scholarship & Stewardship Administrator

University of South Florida in; Tampa (FL); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

USF Advancement is seeking a Scholarship & Stewardship Administrator (Finance) to manage USF Foundation Scholarships from advertisement to award and stewardship. You will coordinate review processes with scholarships committees, ensuring donor intent compliance and alignment with USF policies.

Ideal candidates have a Bachelor's degree with at least 1 year of related experience; familiarity with Excel, Canva, financial systems, Salesforce and scholarship management tools is preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and at least 1 year of directly related experience. Degree equivalency allowed; 4 years of direct experience may substitute a bachelor's degree.
• Experience in university advancement, scholarship administration, and/or donor relations preferred.

Responsibilities

• Advertise scholarship funds and raise awareness among students, faculty and staff.
• Respond to inquiries regarding private scholarships.
• Organize, coordinate and execute scholarship review via committees; allocate funds per donor intent.
• Confirm disbursement of funding and reconcile funds.
• Communicate requirements for fund disbursement and renewal to students.
• Stewardship activities including donor communications and campaigns.

Skills

Attention to detail

Effective communication

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Canva

Salesforce

Constituent management systems

Scholarship management software

Donor stewardship/reporting software

Financial systems

Job description

Scholarship & Stewardship Administrator (Finance)

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.

The Scholarship & Stewardship Officer plays a crucial role in managing the advertising, awarding, and stewardship of USF Foundation Scholarships. This position is responsible for organizing, coordinating, and executing the scholarship review process through various scholarship committees, ensuring scholarships are awarded in compliance with donor intent and in compliance with USF policies and procedures, applicable laws, and regulations. Additionally, this position is responsible for serving as a liaison with the Office of Financial Aid and college/campus/unit fund administrators, Foundation Development Teams, Faculty, Staff and Deans.

Employees of USF Advancement live out the values of responsibility, innovation, service, and excellence in each of its highly collaborative departments. We use trusted data and ethical AI to enhance decision-making, strengthen engagement, and enable our teams to focus on what matters most: relationships and impact.

This position requires a Bachelor's degree with at least 1 year of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified. Work experience may be substituted for the degree requirement on a year for year basis. Prefer a candidate with experience working in university advancement, scholarship administration, and/or donor relations or higher education. Experience with Microsoft Excel, Canva, financial systems, constituent management systems, Salesforce, scholarship management software, donor stewardship/reporting software is also 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 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.

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

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.

This job description does not constitute an employment contract.

Scholarship Administration

• Advertise scholarship funds & raise awareness about scholarship opportunities among students, faculty, and staff.
• Respond to student, faculty, staff inquiries regarding private scholarships
• Organize, coordinate and execute review of applicants via various scholarship committees within the colleges and units
• Create spending plans & award funds according to donor intent
• Confirm disbursement of funding & reconcile funds
• Communicate with students to secure requirements for fund disbursement and renewal

Stewardship Initiatives

• Stewardship of scholarship donors through the collection and distribution of thank you letters & ThankView video campaigns
• Organization of donor/scholarship recipient meetings
• Implement new enhanced donor stewardship initiatives