Coordinator for Development - Planned & Leadership Giving

Coordinator for Development - Planned & Leadership Giving

Amherst Campus
Full Time
JR6898

Amherst has taken a leadership role among highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities in successfully diversifying the racial, socio-economic, and geographic profile of its student body. The College is similarly committed to enriching its educational experience and its culture through the diversity of its faculty, administration and staff.

Job Description:

Amherst College invites applications for the Coordinator for Development - Planned and Leadership Giving position. The Coordinator for Development - Planned and Leadership Giving is a full-time, year-round position. The expected salary range for this job opportunity is: $26 - $30 per hour.

The salary offered will vary based on a number of factors, including but not limited to relevant education, training, and experience, tenure status, and other nondiscriminatory business considerations. Amherst College is pleased to provide a comprehensive, highly competitive benefits package that meets the needs of staff and faculty and their families. Click here for Benefits Information.

The Coordinator for Development - Planned and Leadership Giving is a key member of the Development team, providing administrative, logistical, and data support to the Planned Giving and Leadership Giving teams and, by extension, to a diverse audience of alumni, parents, friends, faculty, and campus partners. The role supports efforts to build philanthropic support for Amherst College by helping to coordinate life income and other planned gifts and by assisting leadership giving operations, ensuring that information, meetings, and processes are well organized and timely.

This position reports jointly to the Director of Gift Planning & Director of Leadership Gifts. It provides administrative support to the Planned Giving program in soliciting and administering life income gifts, deferred gifts, and gifts of unusual assets, and supports Leadership Giving in its work with top donors and prospects. The Coordinator maintains prospect and gift data in Slate and related systems, generates and runs standard and specialized queries and reports, and maintains accurate records that inform strategy and stewardship-where precision and attention to detail are critical to success in planned giving. In addition, the Coordinator provides project coordination and administrative oversight for special projects and events.

The Coordinator is a tech-minded, detail-oriented self-starter with strong administrative, time management, and interpersonal skills. They can juggle multiple tasks while maintaining accuracy and clear follow-through, and they communicate professionally with alumni, donors, their families, and advisors, handling confidential and sensitive matters with discretion. The Coordinator is eager to learn the basics of gift planning and trust and estate administration and to apply that knowledge within established College policies and procedures. They are proficient with data and systems, entering and maintaining information in the College's CRM (i.e., Slate), generating clear, accurate reports that keep the team informed, and bringing strong organizational skills to event and meeting support, including invitations, logistics, calendars, and agendas.

Advancement staff are expected to promote a positive, solutions-focused workplace culture through professional and constructive engagement in meetings, collaborations, and daily interactions. Advancement work also includes several "all-hands-on-deck" events that require occasional evening and weekend participation to support key College events, including-but not limited to-Reunion and Homecoming.

This position is classified as a critical support role and, as such, is fully in-person and not eligible for a hybrid work arrangement.

Summary of Responsibilities:

Program Administration: Gift Planning

• Respond to inquiries about life income and other planned gifts, providing clear, timely, accurate information to alumni, parents, friends, and advisors.
  
• Coordinate with Finance and the Office of General Counsel to establish life income arrangements, including drafting agreements from templates, preparing gift memoranda, and assembling actuarial data sheets.
  
• Produce personalized life income gift illustrations using calculation software; ensure accuracy and clarity.
  
• Manage documentation and internal processing for new life income gifts, additions, and terminations; coordinate with donors, outside administrators, and Finance through completion.
  
• Handle routine donor service for life income arrangements (e.g., direct deposit, tax forms, address updates) with discretion and care.
  
• Maintain complete and current records for life income gifts, bequest intentions, and realized bequests.
  
• Serve as administrative liaison to the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Emily Dickinson Museum on life income and related gift planning matters.
  
• Administer the legacy giving society (Johnson Chapel Associates), including welcome letters, roster maintenance, and routine presidential acknowledgments in partnership with Donor Relations.
  

Fundraising Support: Coordination, Data, and Logistics

• Maintain accurate prospect, activity, opportunity, and gift records in the College's CRM (Slate); enter contact reports, meeting notes, follow-ups, and proposal details.
  
• Ensure gifts are properly coded and documented; coordinate with Donor Relations on new or updated funds to align donor intent and internal records.
  
• Produce queries and basic reports to support portfolio management, activity tracking, and program metrics.
  
• Manage invitation/mailing lists for planned and leadership giving programs and events; pull, clean, segment, and update lists from Slate and related tools.
  
• Draft and send YAMMs and other email communications; track responses and update records.
  
• Support planned giving communications by maintaining accurate newsletter and outreach lists.
  
• Prepare meeting materials and brief background research for donor/prospect meetings.
  
• Draft and edit donor correspondence and follow-up communications.
  
• Coordinate logistics for programs/events (e.g., Inside Amherst), including invitation/RSVP tracking and timely follow-up.
  
• Support Development-specific events, including invitations and responses, scheduling, confirmations, itineraries, and timely follow-up.
  
• Provide administrative support to Planned Giving and Leadership Giving, as well as the AVP of Development (as needed), including calendar management, travel support, and meeting/interview coordination.
  

This role may provide occasional front-desk coverage for the Advancement Office, including greeting visitors and answering calls.

Qualifications:

Required

• Associate degree and a minimum of 3 years of professional experience in an administrative, project management, development, or related role; experience in higher education or advancement/fundraising is preferred but not required.
  
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously, with strong organizational skills, a proactive mindset, and the ability to work effectively within and across teams.
  
• Comfort working with data and technology, including experience with databases or CRMs (preferably in a fundraising or constituent management context), and proficiency with standard office software (e.g., Microsoft Office, Google Workspace).
  
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to create clear, concise materials and effectively convey information to diverse audiences.
  
• High level of discretion and professionalism when working with confidential information and high-level donors, volunteers, and institutional leaders.
  
• Demonstrated commitment to and experience with advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in a professional setting.
  
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends in support of events, deadlines, and donor-related activities, as needed.
  
• Successful completion of required reference and background checks.
  
• An acceptable criminal offender records information (CORI) check.
  

Interested candidates are asked to submit a resume and cover letter online at Please be sure to upload all requested documents prior to clicking Submit. Applications cannot be revised once submitted. (Current employees and students should apply by clicking on the Jobs Hub icon from their Workday home screen.) Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Amherst College is committed to an inclusive hiring process and will provide reasonable accommodations for candidates throughout the application and interview process upon request.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

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