Senior Development Coordinator

Pepperdine University; South Bend (IN); On-site; USD 38,572 - 42,705; Full time

Job summary

Pepperdine University seeks a Senior Development Coordinator to drive operational efficiency for University Advancement. You will manage administrative and financial infrastructure, provide high-level data analysis, and support frontline fundraisers and senior leadership.

This role supervises part of the Development Coordinator team and ensures compliant, mission-aligned processes. Responsibilities include budget coordination, CRM data governance, meeting management, and cross-team

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; 3+ years admin/office management experience.
• 1 year supervisorial experience required.
• Excellent writing and communication skills; attention to detail.
• Proficient in Google Workspace and MS Office, especially Excel/PowerPoint.
• Ability to maintain discretion and confidentiality.

Responsibilities

• Serve as operational liaison to Director and frontline fundraising team.
• Oversee budget coordination and expense reconciliation.
• Maintain Raiser's Edge/NXT data accuracy and CRM usage.
• Develop meeting agendas and briefings; track next steps.
• Supervise Development Coordinator staff and workflows.

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Tools

Raiser's Edge/NXT

PeopleSoft

PageUp Hiring

Power BI

Evertrue

Canva

Job description

The Senior Development Coordinator serves as the primary operational lieutenant to the Director of Development Operations and a strategic partner to the frontline fundraising team and Senior Vice Chancellor’s office. This role is responsible for the management and optimization of the administrative and financial infrastructure that supports University Advancement’s goals as well as targeted frontline fundraiser support functions. In addition to fundraiser support functions, this position provides high-level data analysis, performance tracking, event coordination, project management assistance, and fiscal oversight for the entire frontline team. By supervising part of the Development Coordinator cohort and managing complex internal workflows, the position ensures the Director can focus on department-wide strategy while the administrative engine remains high-performing, compliant, and mission-aligned.

Duties

• Frontline Analytics & Performance Tracking:
  • Act as the primary data liaison between the Prospect Development department and frontline fundraiser team.
  • Assemble and analyze portfolio and metrics data.
  • Organize and catalog Frontline workplans and proposals.
  • Assist in tracking the progress of new initiatives.
  • Analyze data insights for review by the Director and Senior Vice Chancellor.
• Project Data analyst:
  • Assist the Director by tracking, compiling, analyzing, and maintaining various lists for events, outreach, travel, and other projects as assigned by the Director and Senior Vice Chancellor for Development.
• Fiscal Oversight & Budget Coordination:
  • Lead budget management for the entire frontline team.
  • In concert with the area budget manager, coordinate all financial activities, including expense reconciliation and substantiation, vendor payments, and travel budget tracking for the Senior Vice Chancellor's office.
  • Maintain oversight over all financial processes and procedures for the frontline team, ensuring timely and accurate submission in alignment with University Financial policies.
• Strategic Meeting Management and Briefing:
  • Partner with the Director and Senior Vice Chancellor to set agendas for team meetings, individual meetings, and leadership briefings.
  • Gather and synthesize data points that are required for high-level decision-making.
  • Ensure that all meeting participants are briefed with relevant data in advance, allowing for a focus on strategy rather than information gathering.
  • Track and maintain next steps and coordinate with the Director to disseminate and track ongoing meeting action items.
• Direct supervision of the Development Coordinator team.
• Manage daily workflows, set performance standards, and provide ongoing mentorship and professional development.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for administrative troubleshooting and ensure a consistent standard of excellence across all support functions.
• Assist in the hiring, onboarding, and management of new development Coordinator staff, along with other recruitment activities for the department as assigned by the Director.
• Oversee office operations and internal systems.
• Ensure all frontline activity is accurately reflected in Raiser's Edge/NXT.
• Assist the director in monitoring the implementation and usage of other CRM and outreach platforms, such as Evertrue.
• Maintain departmental SOPs and ensure that administrative staff are compliant with University gift‑processing policies, and Frontline SOPs.
• Prepare, compose or edit, and execute various correspondence & mailings including annual gift renewals and donor proposals.
• Interface, as necessary, with appropriate fundraisers, staff, faculty, and deans in the creation of gift acknowledgments and stewardship efforts including thank you cards, birthday cards, holiday cards, and other stewardship programs.
• Communicate with donors and other constituents as requested or needed.
• Manage special projects as assigned by Advancement leadership and Director of Development Operations.
• 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.
• Minimum of 3 years of administrative experience as an office manager, Executive Assistant, or related office experience.
• Minimum of 1 year of supervisorial experience.
• Excellent writing and communication skills, including outstanding spelling and grammar.
• Outstanding skills in Google Suite, including docs, sheets, slides, and Microsoft office suite including Excel and PowerPoint.
• Ability to maintain discretion and confidentiality in dealing with sensitive information.
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and independently.
• Willingness and ability to incorporate the mission of Pepperdine University into daily work General office equipment knowledge (computers, multi-line phone system, copy machine, etc.).

Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Minimum of 5 years of administrative work experience in higher education or a non‑profit fundraising environment.
• 3 years of managerial experience
• Familiarity with Raiser's Edge, PeopleSoft, PageUp Hiring software, Microsoft Power BI, Evertrue, and Canva.
• Prior event coordination experience.
• Prior management experience in Advanced Excel/Google Sheets, Project Management software such as Trello or Asana.

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

Expected Pay Range: $28.12 - $31.25 per hour

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.