Interim Director, Pomona Plan

Job Posting Location:

Claremont, CA

Job Posting Title:

Interim Director, Pomona Plan

Job Description:

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 Interim Director, Pomona Plan (the “Interim Director”) provides interim technical and operational support to the Pomona Plan team, serving as a subject matter expert in life income gifts, gift planning, and complex asset philanthropy. The position reports to the Senior Director, Pomona Plan and provides strategic consultation, technical guidance, and operational support to the College’s gift planning efforts. 

The Interim Director provides day-to-day support for the administration of the Pomona Plan – the “flagship” charitable life-income program of the College – working with investment and finance offices as well as outside financial institutions and advisors as assigned. This interim position requires experience working with frontline life-income gift officers and beneficiary services, the ability to facilitate a healthy team environment, commitment and track record of excellence, and expertise with maintaining the quality, high-touch and personalized customer service that is the hallmark of the Pomona Plan, leading by example.

This interim position also provides gift planning expertise for the Advancement division in support of the most aspirational, comprehensive capital campaign in the history of the College, and beyond. The position requires exceptional judgment and the ability to act independently to plan and accomplish goals.

The Interim Director will inspire to maintain and innovate the Pomona Plan’s commitment to quality customer service. As a gift planning fundraising strategist and thought leader, the Interim Director will play an important role in shaping revenue support of the Pomona Plan, largely from unaffiliated donors and to aggressively increase the pipeline of Pomona Plan gifts for future growth and to ensure that targeted annual and multi-year campaign goals are met. The Interim Director will collaboratively intensify the team’s overall understanding of donors’ motivations and intentions to ensure that all potential life-income gifts are thoroughly vetted for potential “conversion” to a direct philanthropic gift, in benefit to the College and related to mutuality of interests between the donor and the College. Working closely with beneficiary services, the Interim Director will provide oversight and facilitate quality control for life-income gift calculations and proposals, receiving and processing life-income gifts and information into College and outside administrator databases, coordinating with the Investments Office, preparing life-income agreements and tax letters, handling ongoing communications, account updates, and tax matters with annuitants and beneficiaries, and welcoming life-income donors into the appropriate honorary societies for life-time membership and stewardship. The position requires the ability to facilitate a healthy team-environment and inspire staff toward excellence, leading by example.

The Interim Director provides strategic support on Pomona Plan life-income agreements (annuities and trusts) and special projects concerning Pomona’s nationally recognized life-income program as assigned. Working closely with the Senior Director, the Interim Director will advise on life income agreements, including gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts, and other issues related to gift planning fundraising conversations as needed.

Working closely with the Advancement Communications Team, the Interim director will also support in-flight national marketing campaigns to support Pomona Plan life-income giving, and working closely with the Stewardship Office, advise and support any donor-centric communications and initiatives to engage and retain members of the Allen F. Hawley Society for life-income donors and provide overall excellent stewardship of Society members if applicable during the interim coverage period.

The Interim Director will be an inspiring leader, good listener, and an effective advocate for the value of a liberal arts education.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Reporting directly to the Senior Director of the Pomona Plan, the Interim Director performs the following essential duties and responsibilities:

1. Provides day-to-day gift planning support for the Office of the Pomona Plan.

2. Helps support the pipeline of Pomona Plan gifts for future growth through technical expertise, strategic consultation, and operational support.

3. Advises the Pomona Plan team and other internal constituencies on, and helps develop strategies for, life-income proposals to prospective new and repeat Pomona Plan donors based on the donor’s financial, tax and philanthropic circumstances.

4. Helps execute the team’s annual operating plan, annual and long-term revenue and campaign forecasts, and strategies for long-term growth of revenue streams for the Pomona Plan program.

5. Collaborates with Finance, Investments, Pomona’s General Counsel, outside legal and gift planning counsel, TIAA Kaspick, and Advancement Services as needed to ensure the highest standards of accountability and compliance with applicable federal and state laws, including tax laws, state registration requirements, and fiduciary and reporting obligations to annuitants.

6. Provides advice to the Pomona Plan team on internal policies and procedures for cultivating, closing, recording and stewarding life-income gifts. Assisting the Senior Director, serves as a second liaison to shared services teams in Advancement, including: (1) Advancement Communications Team as to life-income marketing and communications, (2) Advancement Services as to life-income and legacy gift processing and reporting, (3) Prospect Operations and Data Strategy (PODS) as to data analytics in support of the Pomona Plan, and (4) Stewardship as to members of the Allen F. Hawley Society for life-income donors. 

7. Provides technical gift planning and tax assistance within the Advancement division as requested and collaborates with other fundraisers to provide guidance on blended gifts that may combine major, life-income gifts.

8. Maintains a working style that is open and fluid, and capable of inspiring, empowering and motivating colleagues and staff.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Education: Advanced degree or equivalent combination of education and experience in tax, estate planning or financial planning is required, such as a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) degree or professional designations like Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), or Certified Specialist in Planned Giving (CSPG). Must show evidence of passing the state bar examination if J.D. is presented. 

• Licenses/Certificates: A valid driver’s license is required or equivalent means of reliable transportation to off-site meetings and events.

• Experience: Seven (7) to Ten (10) years of professional work experience at a major academic institution or in a related field with increasing fundraising success and responsibility in the areas of life-income giving, gift planning fundraising, tax, estate and financial planning, and investment management is required.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND CRITICAL SKILLS: The Interim Director must possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be able to successfully perform the essential functions of the position or be able to demonstrate how the essential functions will be performed, with or without reasonable accommodation, using other skills and abilities not listed below.

1. A proven track record of success in personally qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding life-income gifts from individuals.

2. Have experience and expertise in the tax, estate, and financial planning subject areas relevant to gift planning fundraising.

3. Have experience and a high level of comfort in dealing with and advising high-net-worth donors and prospects.

4. Current on tax laws relevant to gift planning fundraising and willing to continuously learn as donors present new issues to be resolved.

5. Must understand and communicate the mission and history of the College’s liberal arts environment. 

6. Experience working in comprehensive and large-scale campaigns in a higher education setting.

7. Demonstrated effectiveness and clarity of verbal and written communication with excellent interpersonal communication and leadership skills to advise, facilitate, motivate and inspire a diverse group of employees, volunteers and stakeholders.  Must handle all activities with discretion, tact, and a keen eye for detail.

8. Working knowledge of basic math and statistics.

9. Able to operate computers with basic Microsoft Office software (such as Word, Excel, Outlook), associated customer relationship management software (such as Salesforce) and social media networking. Demonstrated understanding of the use of technology in assessing and improving departmental systems and processes to achieve annual goals and maintain confidentiality.

10. Able to meet multiple deadlines and work both independently and as a collaborative executive 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 interim, part-time position are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Weekend and evening work may be required. Regular hours may vary due to needs of the College or division. 

ADDITIONAL POSITION DETAILS: This is a temporary, full-time, exempt position, benefits eligible. The yearly salary for this role is between $150,000 to $170,000 per year. 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 interim 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.