Departmental Overview Reporting to the Assistant Dean of Development , this Senior Director of Development position is a frontline fundraising role focused on discretionary gifts to the College of Engineering including complex major, blended, and planned gifts. The Senior Director of the Berkeley Engineering Fund is responsible for qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors to the Berkeley Engineering Fund and other college funding priorities; for leading and overseeing the programmatic activities of the team (such as mini-campaigns, coordination with UDAR's Direct Response Marketing), and supervision of the Associate Director of Development, Berkeley Engineering Fund.
Through timely communications, campaigns and stewardship events, the Berkeley Engineering Fund team members increase awareness and membership of the Dean's Society, the College's leadership annual giving group. We are seeking an individual that can highlight the Dean's priorities - supporting student success, launching new faculty careers and research directions, growing an equitable and inclusive culture, and providing state-of-the-art facilities. This position is a pivotal member of the Development Team.
At Berkeley Engineering, we educate and prepare engineering leaders who will create our future. While interest in STEM topics is desirable, a technical background is not required. We believe enthusiasm for innovation, entrepreneurship and a curiosity about engineering's impact on the public good are key ingredients for success in this position.
This is an incredible time to join Berkeley as a frontline fundraiser. We are among the top fundraising universities (public or private) in the country, and recently completed a $6 billion campaign. We have multiple communities of practice and working groups built to increase collaboration and knowledge sharing across campus, as well as invaluable professional development opportunities available to staff.
Under general supervision of the Assistant Dean of Development, this individual will grow the community of benefactors that support the Dean's highest priorities through a combination of frontline fundraising and programmatic strategy.
Application Review Date The First Review Date for this job is: July 2, 2026 - Open Until Filled
Responsibilities Leadership Annual Gifts, Major Gifts and the Dean's Society
- Manage a portfolio of 120-225 major gift or leadership annual fund prospects, with the capacity to give $100k- $1M and beyond. Identifies, cultivates, solicits and/or stewards major and leadership gift prospects and donors.
- Make 4-6 substantive contacts per month (in-person and online visits, or via phone) and customized correspondence to cultivate, solicit and steward annual, major and planned gift donors and prospects.
- Qualify major and leadership gift prospects and solicit gifts directly.
- Implements digital outreach strategies to maximize time spent with key donors and prospects.
- Coordinates and encourages leadership annual giving solicitations with the broader Development team.
- Build high trust relationships with a variety of colleagues across Berkeley Engineering and the greater campus as necessary to ensure all tracked prospects are adequately engaged, solicited, and stewarded.
- Takes on shared responsibility for ensuring the integrity of our donor database including adding timely contact reports and updating data points including biographical details, contact information, relationships, etc.
- Ensures that predetermined fundraising goals for the Annual Fund are met at least $4M annually.
Supervision and Leadership
- Serves as lead staff member for the Berkeley Engineering Fund team.
- Supervises and coaches the Associate Development Director, providing support for portfolio management and creating achievement goals for quarterly performance. Give written and verbal feedback at quarterly Achieve Together meetings.
- Manages the annual Berkeley Engineering Fund calendar of events and leads team meetings to create communications, campaigns, and giving opportunities.
- Develops new giving opportunities, innovates reporting, and evaluates Annual Fund performance through data-driven analysis.
- Under the direction of the Assistant Dean, serve as liaison between the College Development team and an academic department or other key partner (ie, Center, Institute, or other academic program).
- May attend functions, meetings and serve on internal / external committees as a representative of the location.
Annual Fund Mini-Campaigns: Strategy, Design, Execution, and Analysis
- Oversees the planning and implementation of fundraising projects and programs including email campaigns, digital giving days, matching challenges, partnering with UDAR's Direct Response Marketing team, Board Meetings, and new special projects.
- Leads short and long-range strategic planning, including annual summer sprints and writing an Annual Fund plan to identify goals, strategies and tactics supporting the health of the Berkeley Engineering Fund.
- Oversees collaborative design and execution of annual fund mini-campaigns.
- Collaborates with the Development team to identify and implement strategies encouraging major gifts to the annual fund.
- Oversees and collaborates with the Associate Development Director to analyze annual giving data and trends, including response rates to mini-campaigns to improve fundraising results.
Other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications - Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.
- Advanced knowledge and understanding of fundraising, donor relations and public relations concepts, principles, techniques, procedures and practices.
- Advanced working knowledge of the location, its vision, mission, goals, objectives, achievements and infrastructure.
- Advanced knowledge of and an interest in UC Berkeley and the landscape of higher education generally.
- Advanced knowledge of and interest in the campus including its vision, mission, goals, objectives, achievements and infrastructure, as well as a desire to learn about technology and its impact on society.
- Advanced knowledge of or can quickly learn applicable laws, rules, regulations, policies, etc.
- Advanced written, oral and interpersonal communication skills, including political acumen, to establish and maintain good working relationships throughout the organization and with outside constituencies.
- Advanced skills in building & maintaining rapport with constituents and can articulate a compelling case for support. Strong customer service orientation.
- Advanced skills in establishing and maintaining working relationships with internal and external constituents.
- Demonstrates confidentiality when working with sensitive information.
- Advanced organizational, analytic, and planning skills. Demonstrated ability to achieve project deadlines with excellent attention to detail.
- Flexible, positive attitude and ability to work both independently and as a team player.
- Skills to meet or exceed fundraising goals and objectives.
- Must be located in the Bay Area, hybrid schedule is available.
- Flexibility and willingness to travel to attend in-person donor visits, college events & campus meetings.
Preferred Qualifications - Demonstrated experience and keen interest in personally soliciting special gifts from individuals ($2,500+).
- Experience working with Board members and managing other volunteers.
- Interest in STEM topics, Entrepreneurship, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.
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 salary or hourly range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $112,400 to $163,200 yearly ($9,366.67 to $13,600.00 monthly); the full salary range for this title (FUNDRAISER 4) is $112,400 to $214,000 yearly. This is a 100% FTE career position eligible for full benefits. This position is FLSA Exempt and paid monthly.
How to Apply To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.
