About the Job
Reporting to the Vice President of University Advancement, the Director of Advancement Services serves as part of the Advancement Leadership Team (one of three Directors with VP), specifically responsible for managing the University's donor database (Blackbaud Raiser's Edge), donor communication, and the operational back-end of the University Advancement Office. The position oversees a Manager of Advancement Services and Student Workers.
This position manages the daily coordination, processing, and documentation of all donations received by the University. The Director of Advancement Services is the primary administrative user for all Advancement software and systems. This includes a mastery of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) database of Raiser’s Edge (RE). This CRM houses constituents (alumni, donors, foundations, parents, etc.) to support the philanthropic efforts of the University. The Director of Advancement Services is responsible for “clean” data within the database. This includes but is not limited to: merging duplicate records, identifying accurate contact information (mailing, email, phone, etc.), appending constituents to better identify philanthropic roadmaps, generating lists and queries, as well as adding other users. The Director of Advancement Services will also provide statistical and analytical reports to be used by Senior Directors, University Cabinet Members, and University Board members to assist with the University’s vision and mission. This could be a hybrid position; in-office presence is required.
About CCU
Colorado Christian University is the premier interdenominational Christian university in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region, delivering world class education to thousands of students. The fully accredited, nonprofit University is located in Lakewood, Colorado, a suburb of Denver.
Colorado Christian University was founded in 1914. CCU’s motto is--grace and truth. This motto comes from John 1.14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (ESV)
CCU's mission is Christ-centered higher education transforming students to impact the world with grace and truth.
Colorado Christian University cultivates knowledge and love of God in a Christ-centered community of learners and scholars, with an enduring commitment to the integration of exemplary academics, spiritual formation, and engagement with the world. We envision graduates who think critically and creatively, lead with high ethical and professional standards, embody the character and compassion of Jesus Christ, treasure the gospel, and who thereby are prepared to impact the world in their callings.
CCU embraces an educational model that was present at the foundation of many of the great western and American universities. It is made up of three pillars—competence, character and Christ-centered faith. Secular universities have abandoned two of those pillars. We think this is a major oversight that eventually undermines education. Furthermore, we believe this classical educational model is both life-giving and greatly needed in our time.
A leader in higher education, CCU has been consistently ranked in the top 2 percent of colleges and universities nationwide for its core curriculum by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. CCU has had ten consecutive years of enrollment growth and has been named one of the five fastest-growing master’s granting universities by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
CCU offers more than 200 degree program options for traditional and adult students through its two colleges--the College of Undergraduate Studies and College of Adult and Graduate Studies. More than 9,000 students attend the University on the main campus, throughout Colorado, and online.
What is most appealing about working at CCU?
- Faith-friendly: CCU’s culture is unique to higher education. Where else can you pursue academic excellence yet read the Holy Bible, pray with teammates and students at work, and work to impact our culture in support of Christian values?
- Convictionally Christian: As a university, we have an enduring commitment to Christ, his kingdom and the truth of God’s Word.
- Live out your calling: We are a traditional evangelical university where you can invest your God-given talents and abilities alongside coworkers and teammates, while having a profound influence on students as they deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ.
- Equip students for kingdom work: You can be a part of helping students discover their callings and preparing them for positions of significant leadership in the church, business, government, education, and other professions, as a key part of our University's Strategic Priorities.
We're looking for candidates who have:
- 3+ years of experience with Raiser’s Edge (CRM) required; certification(s) preferred.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office 2019 (or newer) (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) (certificate(s) in Excel/Excel Expert preferred).
- 5+ years of professional office experience in higher education and/or non-profit organization.
- Strong organization and task-oriented skills in order to handle multiple projects simultaneously.
- Excellent people skills; able to work with other departments as a liaison as well as interact with constituents (in-person as well as virtually) with a servant attitude.
- Good logical thinking to initiate/create various reports and exports.
- Strong ability to problem solve department hardware and software issues.
- Knowledge of basic accounting concepts.
- Trustworthiness with confidential and sensitive information.
- Professional appearance and demeanor at all times.
- Master’s degree preferred (Business Analytics, Data Science, Education, Mathematics, Statistics, etc.).
Key Job Duties
- Contribute to CCU’s mission: Christ-centered higher education transforming students to impact the world with grace and truth. In this role, the Director of Advancement Services ensures effective systems are in place to ensure a seamless donor experience to support transformation in the lives of CCU students.
- Act as a consultant to Vice President and Senior Director(s) on donor and Advancement strategies; policy creation for reporting and documentation. Forecast department success strategies via data analytics.
- Manage Advancement donor database (Raiser’s Edge) and supporting software, including maintenance and improvement of gift systems and back-end workflows. Stay up-to-date with Raiser’s Edge (NXT) software and updates. Provide training on department software to new users and skill enhancement training for seasoned users. Assist with integration of Raiser’s Edge and the University’s giving website(s).
- Generate monthly, quarterly, and yearly (calendar/fiscal) reports for the University Cabinet to assist with University direction and budget including comprehensive advancement report and portfolio health reports. Build, generate, import, export, run queries, and other reports as requested through the use of Raiser’s Edge and Microsoft Excel. Generate dynamic dashboards used to direct the department’s philanthropic focus including contact reports, fund tracking, etc.
- Provide donor/prospect research and analysis to assist with discovery of unknown donors/partners.
- Assist with appeal segmentation of constituents for department solicitations and University communications. Manage and track pledge intentions via installment dates and amounts; assist Major Gift Officers with communications. Direct Advancement donor stewardship (pledges, major gifts, annual gifts, scholarships, etc.). Process and fulfill donor/alumni data requested from other University departments.
- Manage gift processing; data entry of gifts (including cash, check, credit card, gift-in-kind, matching, pledges, IRA, and stock donations). Receive and code donations in preparation for processing.
- Manage and direct 3rd party consultants in assisting with data health and identifying and implementing industries best practices on Advancement Services.
- Produce donor acknowledgements (tax receipts according to IRS specifications), giving anniversary letters, birthday/anniversary letters, stewardship thank yous, student thank yous, as well as annual year-end giving statements.
- Liaison with the State of Colorado in association with Enterprise Zone qualifying donations for tax certificates.
- Supervise the Advancement Services Manager. Mentor and manage student workers for department via the work-study program.
- Other duties as assigned.
Work Environment
While performing the duties of this job, you may be required to walk, stand, sit, reach with hands and arms, balance, stoop, speak with clarity, and have appropriate vision and hearing capabilities. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. The employee may work occasional irregular hours, including some nights and weekends to support key donor events.
What we offer our employees:
We offer competitive compensation and benefits packages to all employees. Our benefit package includes: a tuition waiver program, excellent healthcare, generous paid time off, matching 403(b) retirement plan, and additional organizational paid benefits and voluntary benefit offerings. Pay and benefits will be discussed in more detail as candidates progress through the interview process.
Colorado Christian University’s pay philosophy is based on internal and external data for pay equity; along with budgetary considerations for effective stewardship. Pay will be assigned based on relevant experience at a range of $55 - 65,000. We reserve the right to pay an equitable rate that we believe is within our salary structure or that may fit a candidate’s qualifications or experience for the job. A wage range posted is not a guarantee of a specific wage range for a job offer. CCU reserves the right to make pay decisions based on economic and equity considerations to attract the best possible talent. CCU does not determine pay based on sex or any other protected status.
