Position Summary:

 The Manager of Advancement Operations and Special Initiatives plays a critical, elevated role within the University Advancement team, responsible for leading comprehensive gift processing, supporting campaign operations, and contributing to the strategic growth of philanthropic support. This position works closely with colleagues across Advancement, including Donor Relations, Major Gifts, and Alumni Engagement—to manage and optimize core operational functions that underpin the university’s fundraising success.

The manager reports to the Executive Director of Advancement Operations and Prospect Research and is a member of the University Advancement team.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum of 3–5 years of progressively responsible experience in advancement services, development operations, or related roles.
  

Job Duties:

 Demonstrate an attitude and behavior that reflects the values and mission of the department and University.

• Gift Processing and Acknowledgement Oversight
  • Lead and manage all aspects of gift processing, including timely and accurate entry, receipting, and acknowledgement of contributions in accordance with university, CASE, and IRS standards.
  • Maintain strong data integrity practices and collaborate with Advancement Operations team members and Campus Technology Services on system functionality and integration.
  • Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, compliance, and donor experience in the gift processing lifecycle.
• Campaign and Strategic Initiative Support
  • Serve as the operational lead for campaign-related activities, supporting the coordination of campaign tracking, reporting, and milestone recognition in collaboration with Donor Relations.
  • Oversee prospect identification and tracking activities; partner with frontline fundraisers to ensure alignment of data, strategy, and activity.
  • Develop and manage reports and dashboards to communicate campaign progress, donor engagement metrics, and gift trends to internal stakeholders.
  • Complete projects in a timely manner and produce and edit/proof materials that help move the campaign forward (e.g. materials, presentations, mailings, brochures, emails, thank yous, follow-up calls, etc)
  • Research and customize solicitation materials for major gifts prospects.
  •  Help with private foundation grants management- tracking, applying, and grant reporting.
• Donor Recognition and Stewardship Coordination
  • Collaborate with the Donor Relations team to ensure proper and timely donor recognition, including naming opportunities and acknowledgment of campaign gifts and milestone gifts.
  • Help maintain and track donor naming inventories and recognition lists in support of building a long-term culture of gratitude.
• Operational Leadership
  • Act as a central resource for advancement operations and internal training on best practices related to data entry, reporting, and stewardship protocols.
  • Monitor and analyze fundraising data to support strategic planning, forecasting, and goal setting.
  • Contribute to an environment of continuous improvement by proposing and implementing operational enhancements. 
• Other duties as assigned.