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Job Summary  

The Office of Gift Planning (OGP) represents one of the largest planned giving programs in the country with over $120M in assets under management including approximately 100+ trusts and 35+ charitable gift annuities and 150+ donor/beneficiary relationships. Caltech frequently works with complex gift assets, vehicles and strategies.

The Associate Director oversees data management and reporting for trusts and bequests. In coordination with the Deputy Director, the Associate Director assists in facilitating effective acceptance, handling and reporting of all planned gifts and gifts of complex assets. The Trusts and Bequests unit functions as a professional trust department within the Office of Gift Planning. The Associate Director of Gift Planning reports to the Deputy Director of Gift Planning, serving as the lead for estate administration and coordinating various components for trust administration.

The purpose of Advancement and Alumni Relations (AAR) is to foster a thriving and engaged community of support for Caltech. Through philanthropy we will ensure the Institute has the necessary resources available to achieve Caltech’s aspirations and sustain its preeminence in teaching, research, and scholarship in perpetuity. AAR team members embrace and uphold the values of diversity, integrity, respect, focus, and pride.

Essential Job Duties

Estate Administration – 50%

• Administer all estate distributions to Caltech. 
  • Review all new incoming estate documents such as wills, trusts and related agreements.
  • Coordinate with trustees, executors, attorneys and financial advisors to facilitate all aspects of estate distributions to the Institute.
  • Oversee completion of various estate beneficiary forms such as Inherited IRA forms; communicate with representatives from financial institutions as necessary.
  • Work with the Office of General Counsel as appropriate, review (i) certain types of probate, trust administration and related agreements (ii) inventories and (iii) accountings.
• Coordinate with Investment Office pertaining to acceptance of estate assets such as real and tangible personal property, closely held business interests, limited partnerships and other non-cash gifts.
• Respond to inquiries from campus partners pertaining to estate distributions.

Trust Administration – 25%

• Coordinate day-to-day operations with TIAA Kaspick (Kaspick). 
  • Approve web forms such as address and account updates, date of death and/or shift of interest, account set up and termination.
  • Oversee donor and staff online access to Kaspick’s website and coordinate with the Kaspick team to troubleshoot access issues.
• Coordinate with Finance office on new account setup for life income gifts such as charitable remainder trusts, retained life estates and charitable lead trusts.Prepare Trust Addition and Charitable Gift Annuity agreements.
  • Coordinate with Investment & Finance offices for signatures.
• Prepare donor gift information packets for life income gifts.
• Administer trust terminations and track distribution process to ensure the Institute receives the funds in a timely manner.
  • Coordinate with Gifts & Records team to make appropriate revisions in Advance.
  • Respond to inquiries from campus partners.
• Work collaboratively with the Deputy Director to maintain stewardship of trustors and testators to make annual contact with the constituents.
• Provide support to the board secretary of the Knudsen Foundation by maintaining records, assisting with annual distributions, minutes, coordinating communications among board members, including annual tax filing.
• Work in coordination with the Finance office to ensure proper and timely filings with the Department of Insurance with respect to the Caltech Charitable Gift Annuity Pool.

 Data Management – 25%

• Oversee gift processing forms and required documentation to record planned gifts. 
• Oversee OGP Trusts & Bequests activity tracking system.  
• Administer and maintain data reports under OGP’s management.
• Prepare semi-annual reporting to the Finance office for audit purposes.
• Update and maintain all related planned gift allocation to ensure data integrity in Advance.
• Research and develop materials, charts, reports as requested.
• Gather data to complete annual planned giving program and program analytics surveys.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
•  5 or more years’ experience in trust or estate administration, gift planning, investments, financial planning, or equivalent.
• Knowledge of trust and investment management. Ability to be conversant in investment related concepts at a level necessary to communicate market conditions, investment allocation decisions and performance results to donors, beneficiaries, and other advisors.
• An understanding of basic investment concepts in addition to basic familiarity with charitable trust accounting.
• Demonstrated comfort working in teams, collaborating with internal and external professional colleagues.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to interact well with constituents toward maintaining strong relationships with the Institute.
• Quantitative and database skills required. Comfort in interpreting legal documents and donor communication skills will be needed.
• Proficiency with MS Office with strong Excel skills.
• Must be motivated, detail oriented, proactive, organized and maintain high standards of professional demeanor at all times.
• Must be able to work independently with minimal or no direct supervision and take initiative and ownership of job functions and responsibilities.
• Demonstrate the ability to practice and adhere to organizational values.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree or designation in related field preferred i.e., MBA, CFP, CPA, CTFA, CSPG, JD.
• Familiarity with estate and tax planning forms and concepts, investment concepts, charitable gifting vehicles and tax and estate laws strongly preferred. Familiarity with trust and estate tax forms highly desirable as tax return analysis will be necessary.
• Knowledge of Advance database software.
• Familiarity with Caltech or higher education a plus.

Required Documents

• Resume.
• Cover Letter