Amherst College


Amherst Campus
Amherst Staff
Regular
Full time
JR637

Amherst has taken a leadership role among highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities in successfully diversifying the racial, socio-economic, and geographic profile of its student body. The College is similarly committed to enriching its educational experience and its culture through the diversity of its faculty, administration and staff.

Job Description:

Amherst College invites applications for the Director of Advancement Administration and Planning position. The Director of Advancement Administration and Planning is a full time, year round position, job group and level AD-2. Given Amherst's distinction as one of the most diverse liberal arts colleges in the country, the successful candidate will demonstrate the w ays in which they bring value to and will work towards supporting a broadly diverse community.

The Director of Advancement Administration & Planning provides strategic leadership in the division's work to create and manage an effective infrastructure that supports the College's fundraising and alumni engagement activities. This position manages Advancement Reporting & Systems, Advancement Data Management (which include biographical data and gift and pledge processing) and Budget & Expense Processing. The Director is responsible for management of software and databases; gift and pledge processing; reporting; data input and retrieval; web application development and maintenance; prospect management and tracking systems; as well as additional duties as assigned by the Chief Advancement Officer. In addition, the Director facilitates cross-departmental projects and represents the CAO when needed. The Director is also a key administrative liaison with several campus departments including Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, Institutional Research, and Registrar.

Summary of Principal Duties and Responsibilities:
Leadership & Strategic Management

• In conjunction with the CAO, develop strategy, set direction and define goals and priorities for Advancement and create metrics to support those goals
• Explore and implement opportunities for continuous improvement in office systems and structures to maximize coordination and productivity, enhance communication, and promote staff inclusion, collaboration and professional satisfaction.
• Ensure that best practices are followed while also fostering a working environment that values creativity, rewards new ideas and risk-taking, and considers new and innovative approaches to engage the diverse and broad array of donors who support Amherst's mission.
• In collaboration with the CAO and with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, apply best practices for equity and inclusion, ensuring these tenets are included in all work from leadership to outreach to communication.
• Partner with the CAO and other division directors in Advancement policy development and decisions.
• Promote excellence through well-defined and measurable goals, inspire and motivate staff through the free flow of information, and continually frame work and projects within the context of Amherst's campaign and advancement priorities and the College's overall strategic plan.
• Oversee reporting of data and results both internally and externally; ensure accuracy of the information and consistency of presentation.
• Serve on college-wide committees to collaborate with other administrators and senior leadership to develop strategic results for the College.
• Work with key partners across advancement to formulate consistent outreach and messaging strategies that align with Amherst's mission and the goals of the campaign
• Collaborate with College administrators, particularly colleagues in the offices of the dean of the faculty/provost and the chief financial officer, to gather information and identify desirable giving opportunities in support of Amherst's institutional fundraising objectives
• Strategize with chief advancement officer and director of prospect information and strategy on efforts to engage the College's top prospects, maximize their relationship with Amherst, and ensure their continued philanthropic support
• Develop and manage the annual $6M+ budget and planning process for Advancement
• Develop and manage campaign budget planning and reporting process for Advancement
• Oversee invoice processing and monitor annual expenses for Advancement
• Oversee general office management including furniture requests, office space, contracts, etc.

Management of Advancement Infrastructure and Data Stewardship

• Oversee delivery of information, data, and services to a diverse group of 60+ staff members, 1,200+ volunteers and 30,000+ constituents with accurate reporting and analysis tools.
• Provide management and direction to all teams to ensure delivery of effective tools and services to end-users and to maintain the accuracy and integrity of all data, processes and systems; Build expertise and trust among users.
• Oversee development of ad hoc analysis resources and use of analytics across Advancement.
• Oversight responsibility for electronic and paper records on 30,000+ constituents, 20,000+ gift and receipt transactions and 2000+ acknowledgement transactions
• Ensure coordination with Administrative Information Systems and the CORE team given the integrated Colleague database. Work to facilitate and improve data-sharing across campus.
• Ensure that procedures and systems are in place to collect and safeguard all information related to alumni, parents and friends (biographical data and gift processing).
• Provide management and direction to Gift & Pledge processing staff to ensure effective and timely processing of all gifts and pledges, the production and distribution of all related receipts and reporting.

Qualifications
Required:

• Bachelor's degree
• Seven to ten years progressively responsible management experience
• Ability to establish policy, motivate talented colleagues and manage internal operations in a collegial setting
• Solid understanding of technology including relational databases, the Microsoft Office and Google suite of programs, and external web applications.
• Demonstrated cultural competency and ability to engage a diverse team.
• Strong interpersonal, analytical, and verbal and written communication skills
• Scrupulous accuracy and attention to detail, as well as the ability to exercise sound independent judgment.
• Working knowledge of tax codes and the ability to interpret IRS rulings as they apply to charitable contributions and fundraising.
• Self-starter with demonstrated ability to work independently and in a team-based environment, utilizing strong project management and problem solving skills; independently manage multiple, diverse and competing priorities while meeting deadlines.
• Ability to handle highly confidential information with respect and discretion.
• Experience working with a diverse community.
• 10 years+ experience

Interested candidates are asked to submit a resume and cover letter online at https://amherst.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/Amherst_Jobs . Please be sure to upload all requested documents in the first step of the application process. Applications cannot be revised once submitted. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

To find information about job group and level (JGL) follow this link.

PI131452138