Sr. Manager, Community Scholarships

At San Diego Foundation (SDF), we are committed to inspiring enduring philanthropy and enabling community solutions to improve the quality of life throughout our region. The Community Impact Division leads SDF’s programmatic initiatives and strategic partnerships to build a vibrant, equitable, and resilient San Diego County. 

Founded in 1975, SDF is one of the largest providers of scholarships and community grants in Southern California. Through the Community Scholarships Program, SDF advances educational equity by providing resources and opportunities for students furthest from opportunity to achieve their academic goals and strengthen the region’s future workforce. 

The Sr. Manager, Community Scholarships serves as the operational leader for San Diego Foundation's Community Scholarship portfolio. This position oversees scholarship administration, portfolio management, donor stewardship, volunteer and external committee operations, reporting, and continuous process improvement.

The Sr. Manager directly supervises scholarship program staff and is responsible for ensuring efficient, equitable, and compliant scholarship operations while serving as the primary operational liaison for donors, community partners, and scholarship committees. Working closely with the Director of College Success, this position develops and maintains the systems, processes, and infrastructure necessary to successfully administer one of the region's largest scholarship portfolios. 

This is a hybrid position with weekly onsite requirements at SDF’s Liberty Station headquarters in San Diego. 

Essential Responsibilities:

Scholarship Operations & Portfolio Management 

• Serve as the operational leader for SDF's Community Scholarship portfolio, overseeing scholarship administration, annual cycle planning, fund compliance, award processes, and continuous process improvement.  
• Direct the management and stewardship of SDF's scholarship portfolio, including endowed, annual, donor-advised, and special-purpose funds, overseeing fund utilization, award allocation planning, renewal obligations, budgets, and long-term sustainability strategies.  
• Lead annual scholarship cycle planning and operational readiness, establishing timelines, workflows, capacity plans, and service standards that support efficient and equitable program delivery.  
• Establish and maintain operational policies, procedures, controls, and quality assurance practices while proactively identifying and addressing risks, process gaps, and opportunities for improvement.  
• Support in strategic oversight of the Common Scholarship Application platform, ensuring system functionality, accessibility, data integrity, and a positive experience for applicants, donors, reviewers, and staff.  
• Oversee scholarship selection and award administration processes, including application review workflows, committee recommendations, appeals, and final award approvals in partnership with the Director.  
• Support cross-functional collaboration with internal stakeholders to ensure effective fund administration, operational alignment, and successful program implementation.

 Donor, Volunteer & Community Partnership Leadership 

• Serve as SDF's primary operational representative for scholarship donors, external review committees, volunteers, and community partners.  
• Lead the governance and administration of scholarship review committees, establishing procedures, review standards, and decision-making frameworks that ensure equitable, transparent, and donor-aligned award processes.  
• Oversee the recruitment, development, engagement, stewardship, and succession planning of volunteer reviewers and committee members to maintain a diverse and high-performing committee network.  
• Serve as the primary point of escalation for committee concerns, policy questions, conflicts, and complex scholarship review matters.  
• Review scholarship recommendations and award outcomes to ensure alignment with donor intent, program guidelines, equity objectives, and organizational standards.  
• Partner with the Director and Development & Stewardship to support donor cultivation, retention, scholarship fund development, and donor communications through scholarship impact reporting and program expertise. 

Team Leadership & Talent Development 

• Lead and develop a high-performing scholarship team through coaching, mentorship, performance management, and professional development.  
• Establish team priorities, performance expectations, accountability measures, and operational standards that support program excellence.  
• Oversee workforce planning, workload distribution, and resource allocation to ensure team capacity aligns with program needs.  
• Foster a cult