The Office of Advancement exists to connect alumni and friends to advance the mission of William Peace University. We are responsible for alumni engagement, creating and sustaining community partnerships, friend-raising and fundraising for annual (operating), capital, and endowment campaigns. Our vision is to cultivate a philanthropic culture among our alumni and friends, fostering pathways of support for WPU to provide vibrant learning experiences for our students.

The Advancement Operations Specialist and Office Manager is an essential member of the University Advancement team and is responsible for gift processing including receipting and acknowledging gifts. The position also supports the overall administrative duties of the office. The Advancement Operations Specialist and Office Manager strives for and facilitates data integrity and data security; assists with advancement reporting; and produces mailing lists for departmental and university-wide use. The Specialist is the office manager, which is the front-facing position of the office and performs administrative duties to support the success of the Vice President and Directors, as well as the overall Advancement Office. This includes producing correspondence, performing budgetary duties, handling mail, managing calendars, and ordering supplies and materials. The position also supports all advancement-related events and programs.

• Support WPU and University Advancement strategies in all activities and assist the department to plan, organize, and implement annual departmental goals and objectives.
• Perform gift entry and processing including gift log, copying, batch reviews, gift entry for gifts of cash, check, credit card, online, matching gifts (including follow up), in-kind, wired funds and pledges.
• Enter information and maintain information in the donor/alumni database, currently Raiser’s Edge (RE)
• Complete the receipt process and acknowledgement to donors to support the overall donor stewardship plan.
• Ensure that the processing, tracking, reporting and acknowledgement of donations are accessible and performed in accurate and timely fashion.
• Produce giving reports (weekly, monthly, quarterly) and various customized reports as requested for Office of Advancement purposes.
• Serve as a first point of contact for visitors and guests.
• Support the Office of Advancement in executing fundraising strategies and campaigns to meet the financial goals of the Advancement Office
• Assist in writing and standardizing Advancement Services operating procedures and policies.
• Create, and compile statistical data and reports.
• Interface with finance office regarding gift entry, gift posting, gift updates, and gift restrictions
• Track gift agreements and stewardship information as gifts are received from donors and organize data from a variety of sources (donor gift information, scholarship awards, and financial data on endowed funds) to ensure accurate reporting.
• Assist with maintaining and updating information in advancement database, following departmental procedures.
• Manage a variety of technology platforms and CRM systems to complete certain projects; these platforms may include Raiser’s Edge, AlumniFinder, and AlumniConnect.
• Manage data integration between Raiser’s Edge and Alumni Connect
• Assist with the preparation and management of mailings, query list requests, and reports.
• Produce targeted mailing lists for communications, solicitations, invitations, etc., for University Advancement staff.
• Participate in budget planning; make purchases; pay invoices; and reconcile accounts.
• Manage calendars for VP of Advancement and maintain the overall advancement calendar.
• Monitor office supplies and order new stationery, furniture, appliances and electronics as required.
• Answer the main Advancement telephone calls and emails from alumni, donors and various university partners and respond or direct them to relevant staff.
• Record RSVPs, assists with meeting preparation (nametags, agendas, materials, guest lists, etc.)
• Support the VP and Directors in Board (BOT, Foundation, Alumni, Parent) management of including administrative tasks.
• Work with the Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Engagement to manage alumni engagement and event management data.
• Support the overall fundraising and stewardship efforts of the Advancement Office.
• Monitor inventory of insignia items for giveaways and annual giving societies and works with advancement staff to order.
• Participate in other university events and stewardship-related activities such as goal setting, calendar planning, volunteer identification and development, donor relations, database updates and other projects as assigned.
• Effectively work with a diverse population of employees, students, donors, vendors, visitors, and guests
• Perform other duties as assigned

Bachelor’s degree in related field with one year of relevant experience in higher education, non-profit, or other similar entity; experience in database support, data processing or data entry; excellent computer skills including Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Must be well-organized with attention to detail, results oriented, facts driven, a team player, and possess a positive attitude, Must have excellent listening skills and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.

Intermediate or advanced experience in MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, Power Point); publishing software (Adobe suite) is a plus, Prefer experience in Raiser’s Edge, will consider similar CRM (alumni) database maintenance and reporting experience.