Assistant Director Gift Acceptance & Special Projects

Job Description Summary

University Advancement creates the conditions for opportunity – human, financial & experiential – by garnering and stewarding the resources that advance William & Mary. William & Mary Foundation’s defining and essential mission is to support the university’s people and programs. By seeking private support, and then diligently managing those funds, the W&M Foundation advances and furthers the work of William & Mary’s students and faculty—providing vital resources for scholarships, professorships, research and program funding.

Consistent with the university’s shared services agreement with the William & Mary Foundation (WMF), this position is assigned 50% effort to support Foundation Services LLC, a subsidiary of WMF, with the responsibilities outlined below.

Assistant Director, Gift Acceptance and Special Projects reports to the University Recording Secretary in the Office of University Advancement. The Assistant Director is responsible for assisting in the management of the university’s gift compliance strategy, donor agreement process, and development operations and policies. The Assistant Director works collaboratively with diverse departments, executes periodic compliance reviews of restricted funds (endowed and current use) to ensure that gifts are spent according to donor intent, and serves as a central point of gift agreement creation and management of gift approvals.

• Conduct research as assigned in response to ad‑hoc questions pertinent to existing gift fund purposes and restrictions.
• Carefully research and analyze archive documents utilizing all resources available.
• Draft and track donor commitments and agreements.
• Assist in the vetting of new gift restrictions.
• Maintain central access point for supporting documentation and legal documents for future reference.
• Special projects as assigned, including monitoring and updating the status of building projects.

• Conduct research as assigned in response to ad‑hoc questions from internal and external stakeholders pertinent to existing gift fund purposes and restrictions.
• Carefully research and analyze archive documents utilizing all resources available including paper files, online resources and personal interviews.
• Collect, synthesize and analyze research findings to produce briefings and reports and actionable recommendations.
• Maintain central access point for supporting documentation and legal documents for future reference.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Compose drafts of various documents based on research of gift compliance and regulations.
• Maintain proper internal controls over the acceptance and recording of gifts and ensuring compliance with donor intent and university policies and regulations.
• Track & monitor donor commitment and agreement process to ensure timely completion.
• Assist in vetting new gift restrictions.
• Provide guidance to gift officers and others to ensure donor documents comply with university policies and standards.

• Create tracking system for monitoring and updating workflow and milestone status for ongoing and new building and facilities projects.
• Assist in ongoing internal compliance audit for existing agreements.
• Develop new and enhanced methodologies and reporting abilities for tracking and reporting gift documents.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent combination of education, experience, and training in a related field such as legal, finance, stewardship, or research.
• Knowledge of records/information management and general office administration principles and practices.
• Strong analytical and synthesis skills for reading and analyzing complex documents, extracting critical information and applying complex guidelines and procedures.
• Highly developed writing skills with the ability to prepare and edit a variety of documents in a variety of formats and proofread them.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite with strong skills in Excel and data manipulation.
• Excellent oral and written communication, listening, and interpersonal…