Associate Director of Foundation Relations & Strategic Initiatives

Title: Associate Director, Foundation Relations and Strategic Initiatives

Department: Institutional Advancement Management

Duration: Indefinite

Job Summary

The Associate Director develops proposals for the institution and supporting faculty in their grant-seeking efforts. The Associate Director handles the majority of the College's Foundation Relations operations, proactively manages and consistently expands a portfolio comprised of corporations, foundations, and select government agencies and develops strategies to build or deepen relationships. They support the ED in cultivation and solicitation efforts, collaborate on the College's annual grant renewal program and ensure comprehensive stewardship related to key foundation donors. They also provides guidance and works with the OSI Coordinator on Foundation Relations to ensure smooth office operations.

Job Duties

CRF 

• Manage existing and proactively expand portfolio of CFR prospects to support the mission of the College
• Develop institutional grant proposals (narratives and supporting materials), budgets, and LOIs in collaboration with the Director, program directors, faculty, and other campus partners
  -Compose compelling cases for support that represent the College as strongly as possible
  -Oversee the College’s annual renewal program of corporate and foundation donors
  -Ensure adherence to College and funder guidelines, and alignment with institutional fundraising priorities- (Essential)
• Prepare and oversee the development of requisite reports on open grants, working directly with PIs, Grants Office, and other campus offices
  -Collect and validate institutional data as required to demonstrate impact of grants/philanthropic support
  -Ensure grant compliance and timely reporting - (Essential)
• Assist and guide faculty in the development of grant proposals, budgets, and reports to increase overall faculty capacity to compete for extramural funding
  -Develop and sustain relationships with Oxy faculty with the aim of understanding the range of work at the College, where support is needed, and how to best match needs with funding opportunities
  -Ensure adherence to College and funder guidelines - (Essential)
• Maintain and expand inventory of institutional prospects that support faculty research/projects and communicate funding opportunities to faculty and departments as appropriate - (Essential)
• Serve as the OSI liaison on faculty related grant seeking with the Grants Office, Dean’s Office, SRO, and Center for Scholarship and Research - (Essential)
• Partner with Director on proposal management for large and high priority institutional initiatives - (Essential)
• Work with OSI team members to create background materials for the development of fundraising strategies, including profiles and briefings for the President, Director, faculty, and key administrators - (Essential)
• Identify (in collaboration with Prospect Research team) and develop new funding sources for the College and its faculty; Identify fundable projects on campus in accordance with institutional priorities; Respond quickly and effectively to strategic opportunities for increased foundation engagement - (Essential)
• Collaborate with OSI Development Coordinator to ensure smooth CFR operations. This includes overseeing the office’s comprehensive recordkeeping, tracking of grant seeking activities and deadlines, and the CFR acknowledgement process - (Essential)
• Manage site visits and special events to establish, maintain, and improve donor relations; Represent the College in meetings with Foundations together with other administrators or faculty; Ensure appropriate follow-up activity - (Essential)
• Advise Director on prospect management issues, challenges, and opportunities that affect team’s effectiveness - (Essential)

Other

• Write other materials such as acknowledgements, fact sheets, program/project overviews, case statements, and other materials for major gift officers as required - (Essential)
• Support the drafting of major gift proposals for individual prospects as needed; collaborate with gift officers and other campus partners on the customization of persuasive requests - (Essential)

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and five years of experience with grant proposal writing, or the equivalent in education, training, and experience
• Understanding of and/or ability to understand philanthropic principles and practices, and terms specific to CFR fundraising
• Ability to synthesize gathered information and concepts and clearly convey value to funders
• Organized self-starter, who can work independently and can learn quickly
• Superior written and oral communication skills
• Outstanding research, critical thinking, and analytical skills
• Exceptional organizational skills; Adept at setting priorities and managing workflow
• Must be able to manage multiple projects under deadline pressures and with keen attention to detail
• Strong computer literacy; Proficiency with MS Word and Excel
• Experience and aptitude with fundraising databases
• Integrity and discretion; Ability to maintain confidentiality of funder files and other information
• Professional demeanor and comfort with diverse constituencies, including funding agencies, administrators, program staff, faculty members, and Institutional Advancement colleagues

Preferred Qualifications

• Higher education experience
• Knowledge across academic disciplines, and ability to persuasively express the mission of the College and institutional fundraising goals
• Experience planning site visits or other special events
• A commitment to the mission of the liberal arts college

EXPECTED HIRING RANGE: $72,000 - $80,000/yr

If you are offered this position at Occidental College, your final base salary compensation will be determined based on factors such as skills, education, experience, and/or geographic location. In addition to those factors, Occidental complies with applicable pay equity laws and considers internal equity among current employees when developing the final offer. Please keep in mind that the range mentioned above is the base salary range for the role. Hiring at the maximum of the range would not be typical in order to allow for future and continued salary growth.  We also offer a generous compensation and benefits package.