Senior Associate Director Of Gift Operations - University Advancement

Washington University in St. Louis; Clayton, St. Louis (MO, MO); On-site; USD 110,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Washington University in St. Louis is seeking a Senior Associate Director of Gift Operations in Advancement Services. The role leads a Gift Operations team, directing gift entry, audits, and donor communications while ensuring compliance with donor intent and IRS guidelines.

Responsibilities include building quality controls, dashboards, and process improvements; collaborating with GEI Accounting and Treasury; and maintaining donor confidentiality and data integrity.

Responsibilities

• Organize, prioritize, assign, and audit workflow in Gift Operations.
• Process gifts and commitments in the ARCH CRM in compliance with donor intent and IRS/CASE guidelines.
• Manage daily gift entry audits and approval of gift batches for deposits and reporting.
• Oversee voids and adjustments in CRM with staff.
• Collaborate with the Gift Operations Analyst as escalation point for questions.
• Monitor Salesforce Cases, assign ownership, and ensure timely completion.
• Review gift documents to ensure integrity, confidentiality, and security.
• Serve as key contact on Gifts-in-Kind documentation and value determination.
• Develop quality controls and dashboards to monitor team performance and improve processes.
• Lead policy reviews, ensure separation of duties, and advocate for Gift Operations.

Job description

Location

SAINT LOUIS, MO 63105

Scheduled Hours

37.5

Position Summary

The Senior Associate Director of Gift Operations is a leadership role in the Advancement Operations area of Advancement Services in University Advancement (UA) at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU). The incumbent is responsible for providing direction and guidance to the Gift Operations team, and all charitable gifts and donors to WashU. Leads and develops a team of FTEs that includes the Gift Operations Analyst, Gift Operations Specialists and Gift Operations Coordinators. This position reports to the Executive Director of Advancement Services.

Job Description

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

GIFT OPERATIONS

• Organize, prioritize, assign, and audit workflow in Gift Operations.
• Engage in all Gift Operations functions including the accurate and timely processing of gifts and commitments in the University Advancement CRM, ARCH; ensure transactions are processed in accordance with documented donor intent and in compliance with relevant IRS, CASE, university, and departmental guidelines.
• Manage daily gift entry audits and approval of gift batches for bank deposits and reporting to WashU Gift, Endowment & Investment (GEI) Accounting
• Manage the complex function of processing gift and commitment voids and adjustments in CRM.
• Partner with the Gift Operations Analyst as the escalation point to address UA and university partner questions and concerns.
• Monitor UA staff requests and inquiries received via Salesforce Cases in CRM, assign ownership to team members and ensure successful and timely completion.
• Review, analyze and process legal documents and gift agreements to ensure university processing and audit standards are met while maintaining donor integrity, confidentiality, and security.
• Key contact with WashU partners and UA staff on Gifts-in-Kind process, documentation, and value determination to ensure adherence to IRS guidelines.

QUALITY & PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

• Develop and maintain quality controls and lead continuous improvement efforts related to donation processing in the CRM to ensure adherence with donor intent, university and department policies and industry best practices; address inconsistencies and errors with staff to improve outcomes.
• Develop, monitor, and maintain key metrics dashboards to evaluate team effectiveness across the department.
• Lead continuous improvement efforts plus leverage best practices and staff talents to increase efficiencies; identify opportunities and develop improved operational processes to gain greater efficiency.
• Maintain appropriate separation of duties per the university's Guide to Internal Controls.
• Ensure team members use Cases to report and track ARCH database concerns, issues, and suggestions.
• Participate in ARCH discussions and planning sessions to address functionality issues and future phases while being an advocate for Gift Operations/Advancement Operations/Advancement Services.
• Assess Gift Operations policies and procedures; update as needed.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & COMPLIANCE

• Collaborate with Gift Operations Analyst and Gift, Endowment & Investment Accounting (GEI) on compliance, controls and implementation of procedures related to processing gifts, gift reporting, daily balancing, and reconciliation.
• Partner with WashU Treasury on banking relationships, credit card merchant processors, and PCI compliance.
• Ensure departmental processes are documented, updated at regular intervals, and are being adhered to.

STAKEHOLDER & TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Execute priorities established in conjunction with Advancement Services and University Advancement leadership.
• Implement established policies and procedures.
• Build strong relationships and collaborate with WashU and UA stakeholders to understand business needs, provide insightful leadership, and ensure teams align with UA goals and objectives.
• Advocate for Gift Operations.
• Partner with ARCH Third Party Systems to create and build relationships with external vendors and serve as a key contact to donation form developers, payment processors, lockbox services, data providers, etc.
• Direct day-to-day operations and create an environment of accountability.
• Recruit, onboard, supervise and mentor full-time department staff.
• Identify and monitor progress toward clear individual and team goals while providing clear direction and encouraging individual thinking and innovation.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Working Conditions

Job Location/Working Conditions

• Normal office environment
• Ability to travel to various on- and off-campus locations
• Occasional evening or weekend hours may be needed

Physical Effort

• Typically working at desk or table
• Repetitive wrist, hand or finger movement
• Occasional lifting (25 lbs or less)

Equipment

• Office equipment

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job dutie