Associate Director of Leadership Giving

Reporting to the Director of Development, and in close collaboration with the Director of Alumni and Student Programs and Executive Director, the Associate Director of Leadership Giving provides frontline fundraising leadership for the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate's leadership annual giving and mid-level donor pipeline.

About the role

The incumbent identifies, qualifies, cultivates, solicits, and stewards a portfolio of donors and prospects with primary emphasis on gifts up to $49,999+, including current students, alumni, REAG members and prospects, and REAG Endowment Circle membership renewals and upgrades ($5,000 membership per two-year cycle). The incumbent develops and implements individualized donor strategies aligned with Ziman Center priorities, drives donor retention and growth, and advances qualified prospects to the Director of Development for $50,000+ major gifts and planned giving conversations through warm handoffs and coordinated strategy.

In addition, the incumbent supports select programmatic activities that directly advance fundraising outcomes, maintains accurate CRM reporting and pipeline visibility, and leads special projects that strengthen leadership giving operations and long-range donor pipeline development. The incumbent is responsible for meeting or exceeding assigned annual fundraising, renewal, upgrade, and donor engagement activity goals within the leadership giving portfolio, and for collaborating closely with UCLA Anderson Development colleagues to ensure a coordinated, donor-centric experience across the School.

Provides day-to-day direction, training, and task prioritization for student workers/clerks supporting development operations, donor engagement, communications, and CRM/data entry needs, under the direction of the Director of Development.

Responsibilities

• Identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of donors and prospects for gifts up to $49,999+
• Develop and implement individualized donor strategies aligned with Ziman Center priorities
• Drive donor retention and growth, advancing qualified prospects for $50,000+ major gifts and planned giving
• Support programmatic activities that advance fundraising outcomes
• Maintain accurate CRM reporting and pipeline visibility
• Lead special projects to strengthen leadership giving operations and donor pipeline development
• Meet or exceed annual fundraising, renewal, upgrade, and donor engagement activity goals
• Collaborate with UCLA Anderson Development colleagues for a coordinated, donor-centric experience
• Provide day-to-day direction, training, and task prioritization for student workers/clerks

Requirements

• Minimum of two years of demonstrated annual giving, fundraising, donor relations, or related experience with measurable outcomes (Required)
• Experience managing a donor/prospect portfolio and executing cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies (Required)
• Experience conceptualizing, planning, and implementing donor cultivation and stewardship events (Required)
• Excellent written and oral communication skills for donor correspondence, briefing materials, and event/solicitation communications (Required)
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of donor files and sensitive information; impeccable integrity and discretion (Required)
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends to support donor engagement activities (Required)
• Experience with Blackbaud CRM or comparable development database (Preferred)
• Working knowledge of fundraising principles and practices in a major research university or comparable institution (Preferred)
• Experience recruiting, training, organizing, and supervising staff, student workers, and/or volunteers (Preferred)
• Ability to conceptualize and implement donor identification, cultivation, and solicitation strategies (Required)
• Excellent writing and editing skills for clear and compelling donor communications and proposals (Required)
• Excellent interpersonal skills to build and sustain relationships with donors, alumni, volunteers, faculty, administrators, and colleagues (Required)
• Ability to persuasively articulate program priorities and philanthropic impact; professional judgment and diplomacy in donor-facing situations (Required)
• Strong organizational skills; ability to prioritize, manage workflow, and meet deadlines in a dynamic environment (Required)
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and willingness to learn new programs (Required)
• Knowledge of data management and segmentation for reporting and pipeline visibility (Preferred)
• Experience with University advancement systems (CRM, email marketing tools) and applying data to drive fundraising outcomes (Preferred)

Pay

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.

Benefits

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.

Schedule

• Standard hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Occasional evenings and weekends as needed to support donor engagement activities

Candidate(s) must be 18 years or older to be eligible to be hired.