Senior Director for Advancement Services and Operations

The Senior Director of Advancement Services and Operations provides strategic leadership and oversight for all operational aspects critical to the University's fundraising and alumni relations efforts. The Senior Director leads database management and reporting, gift and financial administration, prospect and donor management, prospect research, and donor stewardship across the University Advancement division. Working in close collaboration with the Director of Advancement Services and Operations, the Senior Director sets strategy, standards, and priorities across these areas, while the Director leads day-to-day data, systems, and prospect-management execution - ensuring alignment with divisional goals, CASE/VSE standards, and industry best practices.

Essential Functions:

Provide leadership and direction to the Director of Advancement Services and Operations, who manages the day-to-day data, systems, gift-processing, and prospect-management operations, ensuring their work aligns with divisional strategy and standards.

Strategic Leadership: Direct and administer operations of the Advancement Services Office, ensuring alignment with strategic goals. Establish and enforce policies and procedures in accordance with Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and Voluntary Support of Education (VSE) standards, fostering compliance and best practices. Lead efforts to streamline processes, automate tasks, and maintain data integrity across CRM systems.

Gift Processing and Financial Management: Oversee the accurate and timely processing of donations, adhering to CASE Gift Processing Guidelines. Manage gift fund creation, reconciliation, and reporting to ensure financial transparency and compliance. Monitor Advancement Services budget, including oversight of invoices, payments, and financials.

Database Management and Reporting: Develop IT solutions and strategies to enhance database functionality and ensure data accuracy. Provide expertise in CRM Advance to support advancement initiatives and data-driven decision-making. Generate and analyze reports to inform fundraising strategies and enhance donor engagement.

Prospect and Donor Management: Oversee the prospect management tracking system, collaborating on moves management strategies. Conduct prospect research using advanced tools to assess philanthropic capacity and inclination. Prepare comprehensive donor profiles and briefing documents for senior leadership.

Stewardship and Engagement: Enhance donor stewardship efforts through personalized acknowledgments and stewardship reports. Collaborate with Development Officers to support cultivation and solicitation strategies. Monitor Advancement Services budget. Oversee invoices and payments.

Review and/or create procedures within Advancement Services. Identify opportunities to streamline and automate daily processes to audit data quality, ensure accuracy and increase productivity. Oversee the account creation and security rights for users of the CRM database.

Participates with the Director and Associate Vice President to establish, implement and enforce policies and procedures. Oversee the execution of business procedures for the Advancement Services Office which include general oversight and compliance with government regulations and reporting standards for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) standards and Voluntary Support of Education (VSE). Participates as part of a team to establish policies and procedures regarding gift acceptance functions in University Advancement, including the recording and receipting of donors, policies, and compliance reports.

Oversee the accurate entry and timely processing of donation data using CASE Gift Processing Guidelines and Best Practices. This position is responsible for the recording and acknowledgement of Barry University’s constituents’ donations. Receive and process checks, online credit cards, crowdfunding gifts, ACH payments, pledges, recurring gifts, and in-kind donations across multiple software platforms.

Monitor Advancement Services budget. Oversee invoices and payments.

Provide leadership and direction to the Director of Advancement Services and Operations, who manages the day-to-day data, systems, gift-processing, and prospect-management operations, ensuring their work aligns with divisional strategy and standards.

1.     Strategic Leadership: Direct and administer operations of the Advancement Services Office, ensuring alignment with strategic goals. Establish and enforce policies and procedures in accordance with Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and Voluntary Support of Education (VSE) standards, fostering compliance and best practices. Lead efforts to streamline processes, automate tasks, and maintain data integrity across CRM systems.
 

2.     Gift Processing and Financial Management: Oversee the accurate and timely processing of donations, adhering to CASE Gift Processing Guidelines. Manage gift fund creation, reconciliation, and reporting to ensure financial transparency and compliance. Monitor Advancement Services budget, including oversight of invoices, payments, and financials.
 

3.  Database Management and Reporting: Develop IT solutions and strategies to enhance database functionality and ensure data accuracy. Provide expertise in CRM Advance to support advancement initiatives and data-driven decision-making. Generate and analyze reports to inform fundraising strategies and enhance donor engagement.

4. Prospect and Donor Management: Oversee the prospect management tracking system, collaborating on moves management strategies. Conduct prospect research using advanced tools to assess philanthropic capacity and inclination. Prepare comprehensive donor profiles and briefing documents for senior leadership.

5. Stewardship and Engagement: Enhance donor stewardship efforts through personalized acknowledgments and stewardship reports. Collaborate with Development Officers to support cultivation and solicitation strategies. Monitor Advancement Services budget. Oversee invoices and payments.

6. Review and/or create procedures within Advancement Services. Identify opportunities to streamline and automate daily processes to audit data quality, ensure accuracy and increase productivity. Oversee the account creation and security rights for users of the CRM database.

7. Participates with the Director and Associate Vice President to establish, implement and enforce policies and procedures. Oversee the execution of business procedures for the Advancement Services Office which include general oversight and compliance with government regulations and reporting standards for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) standards and Voluntary Support of Education (VSE). Participates as part of a team to establish policies and procedures regarding gift acceptance functions in University Advancement, including the recording and receipting of donors, policies, and compliance reports.

8. Oversee the accurate entry and timely processing of donation data using CASE Gift Processing Guidelines and Best Practices. This position is responsible for the recording and acknowledgement of Barry University’s constituents’ donations. Receive and process checks, online credit cards, crowdfunding gifts, ACH payments, pledges, recurring gifts, and in-kind donations across multiple software platforms.

9. Monitor Advancement Services budget. Oversee invoices and payments.

Provide strategic leadership and oversight of the Division's constituent database management and reporting, ensuring the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of information on alumni, donors, prospects, and friends. In collaboration with the Director, set data-quality standards and reporting priorities and review outcomes, while the Director carries out system configuration, record updates, and report production.

1. Ensure accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of information maintained on alumni, donors, prospects, students, parents, employees, and friends in support of University Advancement initiatives.

2. Provide feedback on the impact of system issues or improvements for data quality and delivery and bring corrective strategies and recommendations to the Associate Vice President and other colleagues for project approval and development. Verify and update biographical information in CRM Advance from gift batches, returned mail, emails, department requests, data services and special projects.

3. Generates lists for and performs mail merge for official University gift receipts, pledge reminders, acknowledgements, and stewardship

Lead the University's prospect management program, setting moves-management strategy and portfolio-assignment policy. Collaborate with the Director - who administers the prospect tracking system, manages the pipeline, and prepares prospect-management dashboards - to advance prospects and support Development Officers:

1.Adds and Removes Prospect Managers (PMs) from prospects. Manages the prospect pipeline (prospects who are not currently assigned to a PM).

2. Collaborates on the successful moves management of donors and prospective donors.

3. Provides and updates Development Officers Prospect Management Dashboards and reports prior to prospect management meetings.

4. Assist in entering prospect activities for the Vice President as needed.

Oversee Financial Reporting and Gift Fund Management:

1.Provide monthly donation reconciliation reports from CRM Advance to the Finance Office.

2. Coordinate and create new gift funds with the Department of Finance while following auditing procedures and donor agreements. Act as a liaison to campus partners for gift fund management.

3. Communicate regularly with Custodians to ensure timeliness of information regarding monthly financials and new or adjusted gift funds. 

4. Create all account receivable invoices and pledge reminders for donors.

5. Evaluate and revise current procedures to accomplish new departmental procedures.

Set the strategy, standards, and priorities for prospect and donor research and donor stewardship. In collaboration with the Director - who conducts research and prepares profiles and briefings - ensure leadership receives timely, high-quality intelligence on capacity and philanthropic inclination for the President, Vice President, and senior leadership:

1. Develop and maintain documentation for recording procedures. Exhibits proficient use of prospecting tools such as Donor Search (Aristotle), Lexis Nexis, Alumni Finder, and other research tools to ascertain and then report financial ability and philanthropic inclination of parents, alumni, community leaders, faculty, staff, and friends.

2. Create briefings, including financial capacity and philanthropic inclination, for Office of the President, and Vice President of Institutional Advancement

3. Evaluates, organizes, and edits confidential data into well written, comprehensive, concise, articulate biographical profiles on board members, major donors and prospects.

4. Continuously searches for improved research tools and systems to keep up to date on emerging trends to enhance research capabilities.

Qualifications/Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in computer science, management information systems, accounting, management or similar field.
• Master's Degree preferred.
• 8 years of experience in accounting, advancement services, computer sciences or closely related area.
• Strong problem-solving abilities, an acute attention to detail, excellent organizational skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects at once.
• Well developed computer literacy with experience in word processing, spreadsheet and fundraising databases, advanced internet skills e
• specially search engines.  Ellucian CRM Advance experience preferred.
• A good knowledge of philanthropy with an emphasis on cultivation, stewardship and solicitation
• A knowledge of general accounting practices and fund balances
• Ability to work accurately and efficiently with minimum supervision.
• Proactive approach to responsibilities; proven success working with stakeholders; project management skills; experience in a data-driven environment; and organizational skills.
• Good analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Must be a good communicator; interpersonal skills; and the ability to work collegially and interact effectively with a diverse constituency.
• A willingness to work during evenings and weekends when requested.
• Ability to do in-depth research and follow-up.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Maintain a proactive approach to problem-solving and project management.
• Collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders both internally and externally.
• Conduct in-depth research and analysis to support fundraising efforts and strategic initiatives.

Benefits: Barry University offers a comprehensive benefits package to full-time employees that includes health, dental, vision, life insurance, retirement, tuition assistance, paid time off and work/life balance initiatives such as wellness programs, spirituality in the workplace, and training and development.

Barry University is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment.