Commission Human Rights Research Jobs (NOW HIRING)

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Departmental Overview

Human Rights Center (HRC) investigates war crimes and other serious violations of human rights, pursues justice and accountability, and prepares the next generation of human rights advocates. HRC applies innovative technologies and scientific methods to investigate human rights abuses and study their effects on vulnerable populations. Based on our findings, we recommend specific policy measures to protect those affected by abuses and hold perpetrators accountable. HRC trains advocates around the world and provides them with the skills and tools necessary to document human rights violations and turn this information into effective action.

Position Summary

This position serves as the fundraising lead with the Human Rights Center, a unit with UC Berkeley School of Law. This position reports directly to the Center's executive director and supports the strategic and organizational priorities of the Center by developing and executing the strategy for meeting and ideally exceeding the Center's annual budget. A significant portion of this position's time will be on identifying and cultivating new individual donors at HRC, and increasing the gift sizes of certain current individual donors. This position is responsible for identifying, cultivating, and managing potential and existing individual donor, foundation, government, and corporate relationships; supporting the drafting and submission of all proposals and budgets; and interfacing with fundraising and grants related departments on campus; and utilizing relevant UC Berkeley databases.

Application Review Date

The First Review Date for this job is: June 3, 2026. For full consideration, please apply on or before the first review date.

Responsibilities

Donor Cultivation & Stewardship:

• Identifies, cultivates, solicits, and stewards major gift prospects and donors, including new potential individual donors and existing Human Rights Center individual donors.
• The typical annual giving range is $20-$5,000 (with historical gifts ranging from $10 to $3,000,000).
• Coordinates targeted outreach to individuals who donate $5,000 or more annually, securing individual meetings at least 1-2 times per year.
• Manages individual donor fundraising activities, including planning and executing a minimum of three major fundraising campaigns annually, each potentially involving multiple solicitations (e.g. email, direct mail, and phone outreach).
• Implements stewardship activities including invitations to Human Rights Center events, circulation of the annual report, and major donor calls for all major donors 1-2 times per year.
• Uses Constant Contact to communicate with donors and CADS to research donors and prospects, track engagement, and generate fundraising and prospect reports in collaboration with UDAR.
• May include written and oral communication, donor meetings, and coordination with the Center's directors.
• Establishes and advances clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), such as: increasing the number of individuals who donate $10,000 or more annually to HRC from 17 to 25.

Grant, Contract, and Financial Administration:

• In collaboration with the Executive Director, manages up to 10 active grants per year, totaling up to $1.5 million annually.
• Oversees the Human Rights Center's grant application, approval, and close-out processes in collaboration with Berkeley Regional Services (BRS), the Sponsored Projects Office (SPO), and donors.
• Responsibilities include helping directors with grant proposals, developing budgets and budget narratives with directors and BRS, coordinating reporting requirements with directors, and managing grant close-out using the Phoebe portal.
• Establishes and advances clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), such as: securing one new core operating grant of at least $300,000 per year for three years; securing at least five project based grants of $150,000 or more each (or equivalent funding); and securing $100,000 from at least one corporation and/or corporate foundation in gifts or in-kind support.
• If necessary, supporting our administrative associate to manage HRC's professional training contracts, working with relevant attorneys at UC Berkeley and utilizing the Berkeley Contract Management System (BCMS) to ensure compliance with UC policies and donor requirements.
• Supports the Executive Director with financial management related to development activities, including running reports in Cal Answers and CADS and, if necessary, assisting the Executive Director with FTE tracking and planning.

Annual Giving & Campaign Management:

• Plans, schedules, and implements fundraising projects, including the end-of-year campaign, mid-year campaign, and Berkeley's Big Give.
• Develops and drafts strategic fundraising plans, donor communications, and solicitation materials.
• Raises gift dollar amounts as established each fiscal year for each donor group and fundraising campaign.
• The total annual fundraising target for this role is to cover or exceed the Human Rights Center's annual fiscal budget which is around $2.5 million, working together with the Executive Director and Faculty Directors, recognizing that HRC also has an existing donor community.
• Interfaces regularly with the law school's and central campus' fundraising, advancement, and financial teams to ensure alignment with institutional priorities and policies.