Director, Gift Processing and Compliance – University of Calgary

Position Overview

The Department of Gift Compliance in the VP Advancement is currently seeking a Full-time Regular Director, Gift Processing and Compliance.

Reporting to the Associate Vice-President, Advancement Services, the Director, Gift Processing and Compliance oversees two teams: the Gift Compliance team and the Gift Processing and Tax Receipting team. Gift Compliance is responsible for the development and implementation of processes and information management related to gift agreements, sponsorship agreements, student awards fundraising support and financial reporting related to gifts. Gift Processing and Tax Receipting is responsible for the gift processing and tax receipting functions in Advancement.

The primary objective of the position is to provide overall operational leadership for gift compliance, gift processing and tax receipting functions for Advancement. The Director works closely with the AVP, Advancement Services and the rest of the Advancement Services Leadership team to identify strategic initiatives and to implement strategic change leading to a higher level of donor relations and greater organizational efficiencies.

The Director establishes goals and provides meaningful performance measures to evaluate progress and team performance and provides leadership in the development of initiatives, processes and procedures to enhance performance.  In addition, the Director will provide mentoring to the team to ensure a high standard of efficiency and effectiveness in the management and administration processes within the two teams.

The incumbent is responsible for providing guidance, recommendations, and advisory services to fundraising staff, including the review of complex gift agreements and situations, in collaboration with Legal Services. This role will also provide oversight to ensure alignment to philanthropic counting guidelines for the institution, aligned to CASE global counting standards. The successful candidate engages in regular dialogue with peers across Advancement Services and Development and consults with the fundraising leadership to better integrate information sharing and processes. They will be responsible for hiring, coaching, training and mentoring managers, establishing a collaborative and high-performance culture aligned with the University’s core values.

Position Description

Summary of Key Responsibilities (job functions include but are not limited to):

• Provides leadership and counsel to approximately 2 managers and 8-10 indirect reports.
• Evaluates and makes recommendations to the Associate Vice President regarding human resources strategies, including recruits, hires, orientation and ongoing training and support of professional development.
• Conducts regular and ad hoc review meetings with direct reporting staff as well as formal mid-year and annual performance evaluations.
• Ensures that all staff members within the portfolio are well managed and all Human Resources requirements are met.
• In consultation with the Associate Vice President, develops annual comprehensive, measurable, objective plan and budget for the area including ongoing measurement of the achievement of plan results.
• Provides consultative advice to a variety of areas across campus with respect to the generation of gift agreements and or processing of gifts.
• Ensures that the work of the team is analyzed for accuracy and integrity and that suspect data is investigated and adjusted as required in a timely fashion.
• In collaboration with internal and external partners, provides the necessary infrastructure support and continuous improvements in gift processing and fund analysis.
• Plan and report regularly on the initiatives and programs within the portfolio and actively participate in and support achieving overall development goals by ongoing collaboration of integrated Advancement-wide projects.
• Promotes a team environment committed to providing professional client services.
• Stays current on the current compliance trends and approaches.
• Maintains positive working relationships.
• Establishes, communicates, and implements team plans, objectives, and strategies.
• Creates awareness of reports and solutions, procedures, standards, practices and team priorities in the client units and larger university community.
• Participates as a member of the management team of the Advancement Services Leadership Team and actively engages in other cross-functional discussions relating to development data and prospect research and pipeline.
• Establishes and maintains key relationships with Advancement Services client groups and partners.
• Establishes and manages relationships with vendors as required.
• Leads and directs analytic initiatives and the design and development of key management metrics with a focus on trend analysis, benchmarking, process improvement and efficiency while maintaining a high level of accuracy. This would also entail reviewing our existing processes, tools, and databases and making recommendations to streamline where necessary.

Qualifications / Requirements:

• Minimum 6 years of gift compliance and processing experience in complex organizations, in progressive leadership roles, or related experience.
• Demonstrated leadership skills and experience supervising teams (including experience with team-based goal setting and performance management).
• A university degree/ certification, ideally in business or administration, and/or equivalent training or experience.
• Experience in interpreting guidelines, policies and standards from external agencies such as the Canada Revenue Agency, the Office of the Auditor General and charitable monitoring organizations.
• Experience reviewing complex donor agreements and/or legal documents.
• Strong skills in the use of spreadsheets and database software.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to seek multiple and original solutions to emerging challenges.
• Excellent written and verbal communication/Interpersonal/negotiating skills.
• Strong time management skills and ability to multi-task in a varied and high-volume work environment.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, including word, outlook, excel, and SharePoint.
• Ability to work in a cross-functional, team-based environment.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Must be an innovative thinker with high level of initiative, energy and enthusiasm.
• Experience with Blackbaud CRM and Peoplesoft.
• Experience with change management and project management.
• Experience managing operational budgets.

Application Deadline:  March 25, 2024

For a full job listing and to apply for this position, please click this LINK

We would like to thank all applicants in advance for submitting their cover letter with resumes. Please note, only those candidates chosen to continue on through the selection process will be contacted.

Additional Information

This position is classified in the Management Career Band, Level 3 of the Management and Professional Staff Career Framework. 

For a listing of all management and staff opportunities at the University of Calgary, view our Management and Staff Careers website.

About the University of Calgary

UCalgary is Canada’s entrepreneurial university, located in Canada’s most enterprising city. It is a top research university and one of the highest-ranked universities of its age. Founded in 1966, its 36,000 students experience an innovative learning environment, made rich by research, hands-on experiences and entrepreneurial thinking. It is Canada’s leader in the creation of start-ups. Start something today at the University of Calgary. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.

The University of Calgary has launched an institution-wide Indigenous Strategy committing to creating a rich, vibrant, and culturally competent campus that welcomes and supports Indigenous Peoples, encourages Indigenous community partnerships, is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives in all that we do.

As an equitable and inclusive employer, the University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their academic and professional success while they are here. In particular, we encourage members of the designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible/racialized minorities, and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment, we offer accommodation at any stage during the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities. Questions regarding [diversity] EDI at UCalgary can be sent to the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (equity@ucalgary.ca) and requests for accommodations can be sent to Human Resources (hrhire@ucalgary.ca).

Do you have most but not all the qualifications? Research show that women, racialized and visible minorities , and persons with disabilities are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At UCalgary we are committed to achieving equitable, diverse, inclusive and accessible employment practices and workplaces and encourage you to apply if you believe you are right for this role. 

We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, however preference will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.