Gift & Finance Assistant

Grade and Salary: Grade 5, £26,707 - £31,236 per annum

Full-time (35hrs per week), open-ended

Reward and Benefits: 28 days annual leave plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday). We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g. part-time working and job share options.

Purpose of Role: This role sits within the University’s Advancement Team and reports to the Development & Alumni Relations Services Manager. Its primary function is to provide dedicated support to Heriot-Watt University’s Advancement function, encompassing Fundraising, Alumni Engagement, the Shaping Futures campaign, and the management of previously gifted philanthropic funds. The Gift & Finance Assistant plays a central role in supporting the operations that underpin the success of fundraising, alumni engagement, and donor stewardship. Working closely with the Development & Alumni Relations Services Manager, the postholder will manage a wide range of activities including donation processing, data recording, receipting, invoicing, pledge management, reporting and forecasting using the Raiser’s Edge (RE) database.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Ensure all gifts are accurately recorded and receipted in a timely manner, in accordance with policies, HMRC requirements, GDPR and CASE reporting standards.
• Process donations and biographical/prospect data in compliance with policy.
• Record philanthropic income on Raiser’s Edge and escalate complex cases to the Development & Alumni Relations Services Manager and Assistant Principal, Advancement.
• Administer donor pledge reminders and invoicing processes, ensuring accuracy and timely communication.
• Prepare Gift Aid claims in collaboration with Finance to ensure compliance and timely submissions.
• Communicate donor wishes and expenditure restrictions effectively to destination units, in consultation with Finance.
• Provide administrative support for transactions and engagements involving overseas charities.
• Prepare reconciliation of philanthropic income between Raiser’s Edge and Oracle Fusion, ensuring timely, accurate and transparent reporting.
• Assist with donation and bequest holding accounts, ensuring correct and prompt distribution to destination units and establishment of new endowment funds where appropriate.
• Support the preparation of annual endowment financial reports for donors where required.
• Assist with internal philanthropic reports, ensuring accuracy, transparency and timeliness.
• Handle collection, validation and counting of all datasets contributing to the Shaping Futures campaign, including competitive research funding, corporate sponsorship, philanthropy and government funding across all campuses.
• Assist with the preparation of campaign counting reports as directed by the Development & Alumni Relations Services Manager.
• Clerk the Campaign Counting and Reporting Working Group, preparing agendas, minutes and follow-up actions.

General Responsibilities:

• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislative and sector developments relevant to fundraising, financial governance and data management.
• Support the delivery of the highest standards of donor stewardship across the Advancement function.
• Undertake additional financial or administrative tasks as required in support of Advancement and Finance objectives.

Person Specification:

These are the criteria on which the short-listing and recruitment selection will be made.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to produce clear and professional correspondence, summaries and financial reports.
• Strong time management with the ability to prioritise multiple tasks and consistently meet deadlines.
• Experience supporting reporting cycles and stewardship-related timelines.
• Knowledge of working with Microsoft.
• Ability to learn and adapt to digital tools and databases.

Desirable:

• Experience improving or streamlining financial and administrative processes.
• Confidence liaising with senior stakeholders, donors and external partners diplomatically and professionally.
• Experience supporting cross-functional projects or fundraising campaigns.
• Experience with Raiser’s Edge or similar fundraising CRM systems.
• Experience with Oracle Fusion or similar ERP platforms.
• Experience as a Gift/Finance assistant or similar role within a university or non-profit environment.
• Familiarity with the operations of advancement, development or alumni relations offices.
• Knowledge of fundraising principles, donor lifecycle management and stewardship best practice.
• Hands-on experience in donation processing, pledge management and donor record maintenance.
• Experience supporting international fundraising entities or managing cross-border transactions.

Equality and Diversity Statement:

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all. Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups.