Claremont, California,
Posted: 16-May-26
Location: Claremont, California,
Type: Full-time
Internal Number: REQ-8125
ABOUT POMONA COLLEGE: Located near Los Angeles, California, Pomona College is widely regarded as one of the nation's premier liberal arts colleges. Established in 1887, Pomona College is known for small classes, a challenging curriculum, close relationships between students and faculty, and a range of student research and leadership opportunities. Pomona is a member of The Claremont Colleges.
JOB PURPOSE:
The Director of Complex Assets (Legacy) is charged with contributing significant resources to develop and grow a sustainable pipeline of complex gifts with a focus on bequests, trusts and other deferred or complex giving vehicles. The director has primary responsibility for the strategic growth of the legacy giving program. The director will cultivate and close gifts from alumni, families, donors, and prospects in support of the division's annual and multi-year campaign fundraising goals and will effectively collaborate with the highly regarded Pomona Plan team that is charged with securing life income, primarily from friends of the College.
A primary responsibility for the director is securing new legacy intentions and new members in the College's legacy society Granite & Sagebrush, individually and in collaboration with fundraising colleagues across advancement. The director will manage a portfolio of assigned alumni, families, friends, donors and prospects to generate interest in and to secure legacy intentions, partnering with directors of development on blended giving opportunities for alumni and families. The director will also manage one complex assets, assistant director / coordinator (TBD).
Reporting to the Assistant Vice president of Complex, Legacy, and Principal gifts, the director will activate and support colleagues in sustained, donor-centric complex assets fundraising for the College's top priorities and campaign initiatives. The director will provide vision and leadership for a comprehensive and well-integrated complex assets fundraising and marketing program for Pomona in support of the most aspirational, comprehensive capital campaign in the history of the College, while also raising the level of giving beyond the campaign.
The director must demonstrate familiarity in building collaborations with other high-performing fundraising teams. This position requires judgment and the ability to act independently to plan and accomplish goals. The successful candidate will be an inspiring leader, good listener, and an effective advocate for the value of a liberal arts education. The director will actively contribute to a healthy team environment, inspire colleagues toward excellence, and lead by example.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Lead the growth and development of a robust pipeline of significant legacy gifts, ensuring alignment with Pomona College's long-term fundraising strategy and achievement of annual and multi-year campaign goals.
2. Maintain a personal portfolio of high-level donors and prospects, including complex assets and major gifts, and demonstrate frontline fundraising success through identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. Serve as the College's recognized expert in complex assets, collaborating with senior leadership and donors' financial, tax, and estate advisors to develop and present tailored complex gift strategies.
3. Lead in the creation, design and execution of Pomona College's complex asset strategies and goals and develop metrics to measure ongoing success and ROI. Achieve personal annual fundraising goals with a focus on legacy giving from alumni, families, donors, and prospects.
4. Recruit and supervise one complex assets coordinator or assistant director. Develop a comprehensive, metrics-based, fundraising plan and set aspirational goals.
5. Operationalize short and long-term complex assets goals and strategies, with an emphasis on legacy giving, to build upon existing commitments and expand the current donor base of support.
6. Provide complex assets training to frontline fundraisers.
7. Collaborate with and support major gift, life-income gift (Pomona Plan), reunion and family giving fundraisers in cultivating complex assets and legacy gifts from alumni, families, donors, and prospects that may combine major, life-income, complex assets and legacy gifts into their annual planning and strategy sessions.
8. Develop and implement strategies to maximize the acquisition and retention of alumni, families, donors, and complex assets and legacy giving prospects, particularly legacy gift donors.
9. Develop and coordinate annual marketing strategies and materials that promote complex assets and legacy giving, in partnership with the Office of Advancement Communications.
10. In collaboration with the stewardship team, help oversee the stewardship of alumni, families, legacy giving donors and prospects, strategically increasing membership in the Granite & Sagebrush Society, the College's legacy giving society.
11. Track mature estate expectancies to ensure the preservation and timely distribution of all estate gifts to Pomona College.
12. Build and nurture strong relationships with financial, legal and tax advisors in support of complex assets and legacy giving to Pomona College; and serve as an expert on simple and complex donor gift agreements and statements of intention.
13. Foster a leadership style that inspires, empowers, and motivates staff while promoting a collaborative and inclusive work environment.
14. Partner, coach, equip and encourage development staff to pursue complex assets gift opportunities, assisting them in the design and implementation of individualized strategies for the identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of planned, major and blended gifts as appropriate.
15. Perform other duties as requested, delegated, or assigned.
Qualifications:
Education: A Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree and estate planning experience are preferred, or equivalent combination of education and experience, such as a professional designation like Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), or Certified Specialist in Planned Giving (CSPG).
Experience: The ideal candidate has a minimum of seven years of professional work with clients or donors in the areas of estate or legacy planning. Management experience is preferred. Experience in an academic setting is strongly preferred, as is working in a campaign environment.
Required Knowledge and Critical Skills
This individual must possess the knowledge, skills, and ability to successfully perform the essential functions of the job or must be able to demonstrate how the essential functions will be performed through knowledge, skills, and abilities not listed below.
1. Understand and communicate the mission and history of the College's liberal arts environment.
2. Thorough knowledge of various gift planning options including bequests, trusts, outright gifts, gifts of securities, insurance, real estate and other financial vehicles; charitable giving tax laws; and methods and means of planned giving.
3. An understanding of basic investment concepts in addition to familiarity with charitable trust accounting.
4. Have experience in tax, estate, and financial planning and in dealing with and advising donors and prospects.
5. Remain current on tax laws and be willing to learn every day as donors present new issues to be resolved.
6. Experience working in a comprehensive capital campaign, preferably in a higher education setting.
7. A proven track record of success in personally identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding gifts of complex assets or complex giving vehicles from individuals.
8. Comfort and effectiveness in working with high-net-worth individuals; experience in international settings a plus.
9. Demonstrated effectiveness and clarity of verbal and written communication with excellent interpersonal communication skills, cultural competency, and ability to work with, facilitate, motivate and inspire a diverse group of donors, prospects, colleagues, volunteers, and constituents.
10. Must handle all activities with discretion, tact, and a keen eye for detail.
11. Working knowledge of basic math and statistics.
12. Proficient use of Microsoft Office Suite (such as Word, Excel, Outlook) and customer relationship management software (such as Salesforce).
13. Able to meet multiple deadlines and work both independently and as a collaborative member of advancement and the College in support of the College's strategic vision and the division's annual goals with a high standard of integrity and ethics.
REQUIRED HOURS: The regular hours for this full-time position are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday â“ Friday, except during the designated summer period when office hours end at 4:30 p.m. Overtime, holiday, weekend and evening work hours may be required. Regular hours may vary due to needs of the College or division.
ADDITIONAL POSITION DETAILS: The rate for this role is between $175,000 to $195,000 with a competitive benefits package. The specific factors that the College will consider when offering a salary to an individual will include, but not be limited to: education, training, relevant prior experience, and performance in prior roles. All staff positions are ineligible for visa or permanent resident card sponsorship. As a California employer, Pomona College requires all employees to be residents of California.
ADA/OSHA: This job description defines the essential job duties of this position. The College expects that employees hired for this position can perform the essential functions of this job without imposing risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of themselves or others. It may also include marginal functions, generally defined within Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
DISCLAIMER: This job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this position. When duties and responsibilities change and develop, the College will review this job description and make changes of business necessity.