Assistant Director of Donor Relations, Social Sciences Division (7547U) #89571

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom, and belonging makes it a special place for students, faculty, and staff, who are among the most talented and accomplished anywhere, including Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and MacArthur Fellows. Since our founding in 1868, we have been an engine for innovation - driving intellectual, economic, and social progress that benefits California, the U.S., and beyond. Together, we change the world.

At Berkeley, the best careers are built on a foundation of continuous learning and growth. We actively support professional development by providing all full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours of paid time per year and provide space for supportive colleague communities via numerous employee resource groups.

We invite applicants who are inspired by our Principles of Community and who are eager to be part of our exciting Strategic Plan, which charts Berkeley's next era of excellence.

Learn more about some of our accomplishments at Points of Pride.

Departmental Overview

The Division of Social Sciences in the College of Letters & Science is the largest academic division on campus, with an annual budget of approximately $160M, 276 permanent faculty FTE, and undergraduate enrollment averaging approximately 30,000 per semester. It is also among Berkeley's most diverse academic divisions, with faculty studying every dimension of the human experience.

Its academic departments include African American Studies, Anthropology, Demography, Economics, Ethnic Studies, Geography, Gender and Women's Studies, History, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. The division is also home to the Interdisciplinary Social Science Programs, including Political Economy, Global Studies, and Cognitive Science, as well as Social Science Matrix, D-Lab, and several related research units.

Position Summary

The Assistant Director of Donor Relations serves as a frontline fundraising professional responsible for identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding leadership-level prospects within the Division of Social Sciences. This position independently manages a fundraising portfolio of approximately $500,000 - $1,000,000 and works with Prospect Research, development colleagues, and current donors to identify and develop new prospects through the Division's pipeline program, the Dean's Circle, and leadership-giving opportunities. The Assistant Director of Donor Relations focuses on increasing annual and special gift support, with particular emphasis on unrestricted giving.

Application Review Date

The First Review Date for this job is November 2, 2026. For full consideration, please apply by the first review date.

Responsibilities

Leadership Giving & Portfolio Management

• Independently manages a dynamic fundraising portfolio of approximately $500,000 - $1,000,000, consisting of 120-200 leadership giving prospects.
• Conducts approximately 120 substantive donor contacts annually through in-person meetings, Zoom, and telephone engagement.
• Identifies, qualifies, cultivates, solicits, and stewards prospects and donors to increase annual and special gift support.
• Partners with the Director of Annual Programs and Assistant Dean of Development to expand membership in the Deans Circle and 1903 Society and supports key fundraising initiatives, including Big Give, through solicitation of challenge gifts and donor participation.
• Collaborates with Major Gift Officers, Annual Giving Officers, Gift Administration, Stewardship, Institutes/Centers, University Relations, and campus development colleagues to ensure prospects are appropriately engaged, solicited, and stewarded.
• Directly or indirectly secures $500,000 - $1,000,000 in unrestricted support annually and increases giving among personally and jointly managed prospects by 10-30%.

Annual & Long-Term Fundraising Strategy

• Supports annual and long-term strategies to increase the number of donors at leadership giving levels.
• Uses knowledge of the donor and prospect base to inform outreach, appeals, and department-specific fundraising messaging.
• Participates in short- and long-range strategic planning to achieve fundraising goals and align philanthropic opportunities with donor interests.

Donor Stewardship & Communications

• Coordinates donor stewardship efforts, including donor meetings, ongoing engagement, and written and verbal communications.
• Develops and contributes to persuasive fundraising and stewardship materials communicating the strengths and priorities of Leadership Giving programs, including the Deans Circle and 1903 Society.
• Engages donors as appropriate for profiles and other communications and tracks donor interactions with faculty and students to inform stewardship activities.

Donor Pipeline Analysis

• Independently analyzes donor giving reports to identify trends, opportunities, and potential areas of donor attrition.
• Uses donor data and engagement information to strengthen the leadership giving pipeline, identify prospects for increased giving, and inform cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies.

Donor Cultivation, Stewardship & Fundraising Events

• Organizes, manages, and leads donor cultivation, stewardship, and fundraising events in support of divisional fundraising objectives.
• Coordinates donor outreach and follow-up and works with divisional colleagues and other campus partners to use events as opportunities to cultivate prospects, strengthen donor relationships, and advance fundraising engagement.

Required Qualifications

• Thorough working knowledge and understanding of fundraising, donor relations, and development concepts, principles, techniques, procedures, and practices.
• Working knowledge of the campus, its vision, mission, goals, objectives, achievements, and infrastructure, or comparable institutional knowledge.
• Thorough written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills, including political acumen, to build and maintain effective working relationships throughout the organization and with donors and other external constituencies.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and critical-thinking skills, including effective decision-making, problem identification and resolution, and project management.
• Ability to independently develop and implement donor identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies in support of established fundraising goals.
• Ability to analyze donor and prospect information to identify fundraising opportunities, strengthen the donor pipeline, and inform engagement strategies.
• Ability to articulate a compelling case for annual and leadership-level philanthropic support for higher education.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and fundraising initiatives independently while working collaboratively with colleagues and campus partners.
• Strong skills in maintaining confidentiality and appropriately handling sensitive donor and institutional information.
• Ability and motivation to meet or exceed established fundraising goals and objectives.
• Ability to occasionally travel and work evenings and weekends as required to meet with donors and support fundraising activities.
• Bachelor's degree in a related area and/or equivalent experience/training

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience personally soliciting gifts of $10,000 or more from individuals.
• One or more years of experience in a frontline, face-to-face fundraising role involving leadership-level gifts of $10,000 or greater.

Salary & Benefits

For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University, please visit the University of California's Compensation & Benefits website.

Under California law, the University of California, Berkeley is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role and should not offer a salary outside of the range posted in this job announcement. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, analysis of internal equity, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience.

The budgeted annual range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $100,000 - $125,000.

• This is an exempt, monthly-paid position.
• This is a full-time (40 hours/week) Career position eligible for UC benefits.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.

Other Information

This is not a visa opportunity. This position does not include sponsorship of a new consular H-1B visa petition that would require payment of the $100,000 supplemental fee.

Conviction History Background

This is a designated position requiring fingerprinting and a background check due to the nature of the job responsibilities. Berkeley does hire people with conviction histories and reviews information received in the context of the job responsibilities. The University reserves the right to make employment contingent upon successful completion of the background check.

Misconduct

As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

"Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy

UC Anti-Discrimination Policy

Abusive Conduct in the Workplace

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.