Job Summary

Under the direction of the Senior Director of Development, the Associate Director of Development is responsible for prospect qualification, solicitation, stewardship, and coordination of internal support activities. This position represents the University by conducting outreach to alumni, friends, parents, key volunteers, and industry partners. The Associate Director of Development will be responsible for communicating effectively and collaborating with on-campus personnel including those in UDAE to achieve exceptional outcomes for the College of Engineering. This position has a dotted reporting line into UDAE. The role will require on-the-job training and mentorship.

Department Summary

Cal Poly’s College of Engineering is known as a leader in engineering education because of its Learn by Doing, hands-on approach. Starting from their first day of class their freshman year, students learn through a project- and design-centered curriculum that stresses teamwork and multidisciplinary Collaboration. With 5,000 engineering and computer science students, 13 undergraduate and nine graduate degree programs, the college is one of the West’s largest engineering colleges.

Our faculty, staff and students are changing the world around them through Learn by Doing. The College of Engineering is committed to student success by recruiting a broad cross section of students that includes women and students from groups that are historically under-served in engineering; providing a space where hands-on learning allows students to break down big challenges and solve them with systems-level approaches; and expanding opportunities for applied research.

Support from our external partners – alumni, parents, and corporate partners – directly enhances the Cal Poly Engineering experience. Whether supporting a stronger student body, deepening traditions of academic excellence or expanding innovation-driven initiatives, development of these relationships powers Learn by Doing forward.

The College of Engineering Advancement team serves and partners with the College’s leadership, faculty, and staff, and works closely with University Development and Alumni Engagement (UDAE) to achieve the strategies and goals for the College and the University. The role of UDAE is to foster strong relationships with internal and external partners to enhance support for Cal Poly. UDAE establishes and implements an overall advancement program, including coordinating fundraising, donor relations, gift processing, trust and endowment management, training and systems support for the donor database, and Cal Poly Foundation support and administration.

Key Qualifications

• Manage prospect qualification, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Conduct 180+ significant or substantive donor meetings annually.
• Submit 20 major gift proposals annually.
• Develop and propose strategies for solicitation of major gifts including determining ongoing relationships with prospects/donors; recommending specific purpose and level of gift; identifying those to be involved in cultivation and subsequent solicitation; assuring hat solicitations are carried out.
• Recognize when higher potential prospects need to be engaged with college and university leadership. Appropriately and with timeliness, identify those prospects to college senior development leadership, provide information, and facilitate connections as needed.

Education and Experience

Bachelor's Degree and a minimum of two years of administrative or operational experience and one year of direct fundraising experience. Experience in administrative or operational roles may be substituted for education on a year for year basis.

Salary and Benefits

Cal Poly offers a best-in-class benefits program, including health, dental and vision insurance, retirement participation in the Public Employees' Retirement System, and educational benefits for eligible employees. See our benefits website for additional information. 

Cal Poly

Known for its Learn by Doing pedagogy, Cal Poly is the flagship of the world-renowned California State University system. Annually recognized as one of the top public universities in the nation, Cal Poly continues to offer an academic curriculum based on learned experience gained through real-world practice. Located in San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly is nestled comfortably among the coastal foothills, minutes from the Pacific Ocean and equidistant to the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

Cal Poly offers a best-in-class benefits program, including health, dental and vision insurance, retirement participation in the Public Employees' Retirement System, and educational benefits for eligible employees. See our benefits website for additional information.  

Diversity Statement

At Cal Poly, we believe that cultivating an environment that embraces and promotes diversity is fundamental to the success of our students, our employees and our community. Bringing people together from different backgrounds, experiences and value systems fosters the innovative and creative thinking that exemplifies Cal Poly's values of free inquiry, cultural and intellectual diversity, mutual respect, civic engagement, and social and environmental responsibility.

Cal Poly's commitment to diversity informs our efforts in recruitment, hiring and retention. California Poly is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. 

Supplemental Information

Following a conditional offer of employment, a background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate may start work with Cal Poly. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may result in the withdrawal of the offer of employment. Current employees who are offered positions on campus will be required to undergo a background check for any position where a background check is required by law or that Cal Poly has designated as sensitive.

The person holding this position is considered a 'mandated reporter' under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.

This position may be "Designated" under California State University's Conflict of Interest Code. This would require the filing of a Statement of Economic Interest on an annual basis and the completion of training within 6 months of assuming office and every 2 years thereafter.

Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo is not a sponsoring agency for staff positions (i.e. H-1B visas).