Advancement Operations Database Administrator-Lead for Gifts & Data Operations

Pacific University achieves excellence and distinction by investing in exceptional people to think, care, create, and pursue justice in our world. We embrace discovery in a close and nurturing environment that leads to genuine transformation. Our community is diverse, sustainable, and dedicated to discovery and excellence in teaching, scholarship, and practice.

At Pacific University, we thrive in an extraordinary environment, surrounded by the beauty of the great Pacific Northwest, with campus locations in Forest Grove and Hillsboro. We humbly acknowledge and thank the original caretakers of the lands on which we live, work, teach, and acquire and share knowledge.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF POSITION

Pacific University’s Advancement Division is building a model fundraising and engagement infrastructure, one that will meet the growing needs of the University and support the University’s strategic plan.

As a division, our purpose is to create an unrivaled engagement and donor experience to secure philanthropic resources that advance the University for generations to come. As a member of the Advancement Operations team, the Database Administrator helps to fulfill our purpose by fostering a highly effective team environment for production operations in the flow of information and gifts to the University.

The Database Administrator (Lead for Gifts & Data Operations) is a member of the Advancement Operations team and works closely with Advancement colleagues to manage database functions that help drive fundraising and engagement for Pacific University. This position is responsible for all tasks associated with the creation and maintenance of gift and pledge records, ensuring that all gift processing, receipting, and financial recording conform to standards established by Advancement Operations, as well as IRS, state, and federal regulations. Additionally, this role executes routine batch data imports and appends (including wealth screening, event, and external platform data), performs database reconciliations, and maintains scholarship recipient data to ensure accurate financial and operational alignment across systems.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Processes diverse gifts and pledges from various constituents, ensuring compliance with University and IRS regulations. Generates timely gift receipts, pledge reminders, donor tributes and acknowledgments. Processes gift reversals and modifications accurately.
• Manages the matching gift program, including recording pledges, tracking applications, and auditing outstanding claims.
• Executes routine batch data imports, data appends, and routine integration uploads from ancillary software and external services (fundraising, wealth screening, email, event, and other platforms) using established mapping protocols.
• Performs routine database integrity checks and audits on gift and transaction records to ensure accurate coding and data alignment with primary database standards.
• Updates and maintains key corporate contact details and stewardship contact assignments to ensure accurate constituent relationship mapping.
• Performs routine reconciliations of program data and reports against primary database reports. Manages scholarship recipient data. Extracts reports monthly from the university’s scholarship platform, imports new recipients, and manually updates existing recipients.
• Tracks and maintains constituent volunteer activity in the database, ensuring accurate records for informational reporting, engagement metrics and annual IRS Form 990 compliance.

SECONDARY FUNCTIONS

• Cross-trains on all aspects of Advancement Operations including gift reporting, system integration, user access and list creation and is prepared to provide coverage of all work in the absence of colleagues.
• Monitors and participates in relevant listservs, publications and professional groups to maintain a strong knowledge of developments in the fields of higher education, constituent engagement, fundraising, marketing and communications, records management and advancement operations.
• Is an active participant in the university community, following all policies and procedures, keeping current on university news and events, and assisting with signature events and initiatives.

JOB SCOPE

May perform duties with no direction given, operating from established directions and instructions. Decisions are made within general university policy constraints but require independent decision-making.

SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITY

This position is asked to provide occasional supervision of student assistants.