Director of Gift Administration
- Employer
- American University
- Location
- Washington, District of Columbia, United States
- Salary
- Competitive Salary
- Date posted
- Dec 20, 2024
View more categoriesView less categories
- Position Type
- Administrative, Business & Administrative Affairs, Other Business & Administrative Affairs, Financial Affairs, Development & Advancement
- Employment Type
- Full Time
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American University is a student-centered research institution located in Washington, DC, with highly-ranked schools and colleges, internationally-renowned faculty, and a reputation for creating meaningful change in the world. Learn more about American University
Department:
UA University Programs
Time Type:
Full time
Work Modality:
Hybrid 01 (On Campus 3-4 Days/Week)
Union:
Job Description:
Summary:
The Director of Gift Administration will lead a robust team by designing and implementing policies and procedures for the successful recording, maintenance, receipting, documentation, and collection of philanthropic commitments and non-federal grants to American University. With a donor-centric orientation and
a commitment to collaboration with University Advancement (UA) and other university colleagues, the Director will position the gift administration unit for success, anticipating and responding to an increased volume and complexity of gifts in our daily work and in preparation for future campaign initiatives.
The incumbent will also work closely with their Advancement Operations counterparts to include Data Quality and Reporting and Analytics teams and will also serve on the steering committee that guides UA’s consideration of a future CRM migration.
Essential Functions:
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
1.) Quality Control and Customer Service
- The Director ensures the integrity of gift records, responds to
specific donor and staff requests where necessary, ensures the
University’s compliance with IRS regulations regarding the
processing and receipting of charitable gifts, and maintains
effective customer service policies and procedures.
- Meets with and corresponds with donors, their advisors or
representatives, staff, faculty, and administrators regarding gift
transactions and the delivery of assets to the university.
- Oversees gift administration data quality and transaction
accuracy and prioritizes customer service related to the
university’s charitable contributions.
- Reviews and reconciles transaction and cash reports and
receipts regularly; reconciles gift accounts internally and with
the university accounting office on a regular basis.
- Leads pledge review process and oversees the semi-annual pledge
reminder process to assure the collection of funds expected by the
university.
- Verifies the accuracy of information communicated to donors and
development staff, and proposes and directs modifications to
technical processes that support this activity.
- Ensures regulatory compliance with charitable gift accounting
policies and reporting standards as outlined by CASE, NACUBO, FASB,
and the IRS.
- Monitors and understands the IRS regulations as they pertain to
gift acceptance, processing, and receipting, and to 501(c) 3
organizational operations
- Hires, trains, and directs gift administration staff.
- Ensures that all staff are trained extensively on internal gift
accounting practices, policies, and procedures, and have a thorough
understanding of the University Advancement database and external
guidelines (CASE, NACUBO, FASB, IRS, etc.) that govern the
recording, receipting, and reporting of gifts.
- Directly supervises the Assistant Director of Gift
Administration and indirectly supervises at least two gift
specialists.
- Ensures that the team’s workload is distributed efficiently and
is executed with precision.
- Designs and implements policies and procedures, relying on
advanced technological solutions such as custom reports and audit
dashboards, to evaluate staff performance and identify deficiencies
in real time.
- Oversees the corporate matching gift program, ensuring that
matching gift forms are processed promptly and accurately.
- Directly supervises the Assistant Director of Gift
Administration, Special Gifts. Ensures that complex contributions
such as non-federal grants, planned gifts, estate administration,
securities gifts, and contributions from VIPs, trustees,
corporations, foundations, and donor-advised funds are handled with
precision.
- Directs the Gift Administration unit to provide maximum
customer service to donors, staff, faculty, and administration with
minimal complaints. Judgement is exercised in administering daily
operations and in evaluating the efficiency and utility of
procedures and personnel.
- Monitors new commitments, status of work in progress, and unit
and interdepartmental problems encountered.
- Continuously leads strategic and tactical planning for the
department.
- Maintains professional affiliations, keeps abreast of
legislative activities affecting charitable gift issues, and
participates in professional and continuing education training
(including webinars and conferences) to remain current on trends
and challenges in non-profit gift administration for higher
education.
- Monitors activity corporate matching gift policies, corporate
philanthropy, and non-federal foundation grants and re-trains staff
accordingly to ensure compliance.
- Serves as a resource and primary liaison to various
constituency groups served by Gift Administration on matters of
gift entry, reporting, gift data quality, and gift record
management in the database.
- Communicates directly with finance staff, divisional business
officers, chief development officers and other fundraisers, and
other administrators as needed.
- Provides advice and assistance to university colleagues on gift
handling practices, gift acceptance policies, campaign counting
policies, and reconciliation of gift revenue.
- Partners closely with the Reporting and Analytics unit to
produce and distribute accurate detailed and summary gift reports,
including campaign and fiscal year cash and commitment
reports.
- Partners closely with the Donor Relations unit to produce
pledge reminders, conduct the annual pledge write-off review,
produce gift and pledge accountings, and complete other joint
projects both planned and ad hoc.
- Serves as a member of the Advancement Operations leadership
team, meeting regularly with other Advancement Operations directors
and partnering on joint projects.
- Reports to University Advancement and university leadership as
needed with timely updates on fundraising progress, industry-wide
trends, AU trends, and relevant federal and DC legislation.
- Performs other related duties as requested or required.
- Assistant Director of Gift Administration.
- Assistant Director of Gift Administration, Special Gifts.
- 2 Gift Specialists.
- 1 Part Time Employee.
- Building and Supporting Teams.
- Championing Customer Needs.
- Developing Plans.
- Evaluating and Implementing Ideas.
- Making Accurate Judgments and Decisions.
- Managing Talent.
- Full-Time.
- 35 hours per week.
- Expected 3 days in office, 2 remote.
- This position may be designated as essential and required to
work during the university’s winter holiday break.
- $100,000-$125,000 annually.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent with a preference for
accounting, finance, or a related field
- 8-10 years of experience in Development, with increasing level
of responsibility.
- Prior supervisory experience.
- Extensive knowledge in areas of financial controls, gift
acceptance, accounting, and information systems.
- Experience with data entry, preferably in an accounting or
fund-raising environment.
- Familiarity with gift processing and fundraising required,
preferably in higher education.
- Strong leadership capabilities, excellent judgement and
decision-making abilities, ability to interpret and evaluate
policies and procedures, and skill in producing and analyzing
data.
- Effective written and oral communication skills, presentation
skills, and organizational and interpersonal skills.
- Must be able to manage multiple competing priorities in a
deadline-oriented environment.
- Must be able to communicate effectively at all levels of the
organization.
- Proficiency with MS Office, particularly Word and Excel, is
required.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality of donor information is
required.
- Must maintain and exhibit the highest standards of ethical
conduct.
- Commitment to hiring and leading a diverse team.
- Please note this job description is not designed to cover or
contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or
responsibilities that are required of the employee for this
job.
- Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time
with or without notice.
AU offers a competitive benefits package including a 200% matching retirement plan, tuition benefits for full-time staff and their families, several leadership development certificates, and has been recognized by the American Heart Association as a fit-friendly worksite. Click here to learn about American University's unique benefit options .
Other Details
- Hiring offers for this position are contingent on successful
completion of a background check.
- Employees in staff positions at American University must
deliver their services to the university from either the District
of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, or perform work on-site at the
university.
- Please note this job announcement is not designed to cover or
contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or
responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job.
Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time
with or without notice.
- American University is an E-Verify employer.
American University current employees must apply through their employee Workday account. If you are a current employee at American University, please log into Workday and select the Find Jobs report which will take you to our internal career listings.
Contact Us
For more information or assistance with the American University careers site, email theworkline@american.edu .
American University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution that operates in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The university does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), age, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, personal appearance, gender identity and expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, source of income, veteran status, an individual’s genetic information or any other bases under federal or local laws (collectively "Protected Bases") in its programs and activities.
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