Associate Director, Gift Planning

Associate Director, Gift Planning

Shape legacies, empower futures and advance your career in a role that blends purpose with professional growth as an Associate Director, Gift Planning at UCLA. Planned giving provides meaningful opportunities for donors to integrate their charitable passions with strategic tax, estate and financial planning. In this role, you'll make a significant impact by helping donors create lasting legacies that strengthen UCLA and support its mission for generations to come. This is a remarkable opportunity to expand your knowledge and expertise in gift planning while ensuring that gifts are not only beneficial to our donors, but also make a lasting difference in areas vital to UCLA.

At UCLA, you won't just join a team, you'll become an integral part of our collaborative and innovative External Affairs community. Working under the direction of the Senior Executive Director and Directors of Gift Planning, you will serve as both a frontline fundraiser and key operational anchor. With a primary focus on bequests and charitable gift annuities, you will manage a designated portfolio of prospects/donors while assisting campus-wide development officers with technical gift planning strategies, custom illustrations and proposals. Additionally, you will drive our program effectiveness by managing pipeline data, generating prospect reports, conducting detailed donor research, and will assist with the annual UCLA Legacy Society stewardship events and gifts. If you bring a strong passion for donor engagement, a synergistic spirit, an analytical mindset and an eagerness to grow, we will provide the guidance, inspiration and supportive environment for you to thrive and expand your fundraising career. UCLA is a great place to work, helping you achieve financial well-being with a pension and other retirement savings plans.

Explore more embark on a rewarding career with us today!

UCLA provides a full pay range. Actual salary offers consider factors, including budget, prior experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business considerations. Salary offers at the top of the range are not common. Visit UC Benefit package to discover benefits that start on day one, and UC Total Compensation Estimator to calculate the total compensation value with benefits.

Qualifications

• Minimum of three years of demonstrated experience in a fundraising, planned giving environment and/or related field involving complex financial arrangements, and legal transactions. (Required)
• Experience and familiarity with estate planning instruments, products, principles and success integrating gift and estate planning into a comprehensive fundraising program is highly desirable. (Preferred)
• Experience preparing complex planned gift or related illustrations, trust documents or working with diverse asset types such as those in the field of real estate or securities. (Preferred)
• Experience conceptualizing, planning and implementing events. (Preferred)
• Demonstrated experience with database systems such as Blackbaud CRM, and the use of databases to track gift pipelines, generate reports and utilize analytical tools to maintain data integrity. (Preferred)
• Working knowledge of the principles and practices of fundraising, preferably to include planned giving, in a university setting with a strong understanding of the goals, functions and services of a research university or institution of equivalent complexity. (Required)
• Working knowledge of basic planned giving vehicles (specifically bequests and charitable gift annuities) and outright gift options. (Required)
• Basic knowledge of the principles of tax-encouraged philanthropy and current tax laws affecting charitable giving; ability to quickly gain familiarity with laws and other legislation affecting the charitable sector to determine its impact upon gifts from individuals. (Required)
• Ability to conceptualize, develop and implement sophisticated strategies for the successful identification, cultivation and solicitation of planned, blended, estate and other complex asset gifts. (Required)
• Engaged, focused and goal-oriented with a high level of initiative, energy and interest in the field of planned giving and tax encouraged philanthropy. (Required)
• Excellent written communication skills with the ability to write and edit reports, business correspondence, letters of acknowledgment, proposals and other cultivation and solicitation materials; ability to prepare clear and compelling materials for planned giving events, initiatives and programs. (Required)
• Proven track record in delivering a consistently high standard and level of customer service; well-developed interpersonal skills to build and maintain collaborative working relationships with a variety of internal and external constituents toward the accomplishment of fundraising goals. (Required)
• Creative and resourceful with strong analytical and critical thinking skills to conduct research, accurately and thoroughly gather, evaluate and prepare prospect /donor information, build summaries and to track and report on planned giving activities. (Required)
• Proficiency with Microsoft suite of applications and Adobe Acrobat PDF including ability to work with and manage data with a high degree of accuracy and to create and maintain databases and complex spreadsheets; ability to learn other software/applications in a prompt and efficient manner. (Required)
• Excellent verbal communication skills to effectively obtain and convey information; ability to persuasively express the mission of the university and the fundraising goals of the campus, especially as they relate to planned giving. (Required)
• Highly detail-oriented with ability to take initiative, work independently and accept responsibility; adept at setting priorities and managing workflow to fulfill objectives and meet goals within deadlines under minimal supervision. (Required)
• Political acumen, tact and mature judgment; skill in handling sensitive materials and situations with discretion while maintaining confidentiality. (Required)

Special Conditions for Employment

• Background Check: Continued employment is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background investigation.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and/or weekends as required for meetings and special events. (Required)

Schedule: 8:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m.

Union/Policy Covered: 99-Policy Covered