Development Specialist

Development Specialist

Reporting to the Director of Development, the Development Specialist is the production and operational engine of Palo Alto University's (PAU) development function, supporting the full range of fundraising activities, including donor communications, CRM management, prospect research, annual giving, stewardship, and grant research and proposal writing as opportunities emerge and the philanthropic program matures.

This is a substantive, mission-driven position that directly contributes to PAU's revenue generation, philanthropic growth, and institutional sustainability. The right candidate brings genuine writing talent, disciplined attention to detail, timely follow-through, genuine curiosity about behavioral science and the communities PAU serves, and the organizational discipline to manage multiple priorities and deadlines simultaneously.

This is a new role in a growing development function. The balance of responsibilities will evolve based on institutional priorities, philanthropic opportunities, and the Development team's success. The Development Specialist works closely with the Director of Development, the Director of Alumni Relations, the Director of Strategic Partnerships, academic program directors, and faculty to gather the programmatic content, research evidence, and outcome data that make PAU's proposals competitive and its donor communications compelling.

Responsibilities

Grant Writing and Management

• Identify and pursue foundation, corporate, local, state, and select federal funding opportunities aligned with the university's mission in behavioral science, mental health, psychology, counseling, and social work, and write the proposals that convert those opportunities into institutional revenue.
• Write compelling, funder-aligned grant proposals, letters of inquiry, and concept papers for foundation, corporate giving, local and state agency, and other funding opportunities identified in partnership with the Director of Development, with a clear expectation of producing and submitting proposals on a regular and sustained basis.
• Build a priority prospect list of Bay Area and Silicon Valley foundation and corporate funders whose priorities align with PAU's programs, research, and community impact, pursuing each with targeted outreach and tailored proposals that build a local and regional grants portfolio as the foundation of PAU's grants program.
• Monitor state and select federal open-proposal programs relevant to behavioral health workforce development, mental health services, counseling education, and social work; identify opportunities where PAU can compete; and write competitive proposals in coordination with the Director of Development and relevant program leaders.
• Own the full proposal writing process from first draft through final submission, including gathering institutional data, coordinating with program leaders and faculty, incorporating feedback, and meeting all funder deadlines with polished, submission-ready proposals.
• Translate complex academic and clinical program information into accessible, persuasive narratives that resonate with program officers, foundation reviewers, and agency grant evaluators.
• Collaborate with academic program directors and faculty to gather programmatic content, outcome data, and institutional information that strengthens the credibility and competitiveness of each proposal.
• Develop and maintain an institutional grants library, including program descriptions, boilerplate narratives, outcome data, faculty bios, and financial templates that improve proposal production efficiency and quality over time.
• Track all active proposals, submission deadlines, funder decisions, and follow-up obligations in the CRM and grants calendar, ensuring every opportunity is pursued with discipline and every funder relationship is stewarded appropriately.
• Support the Director of Development in managing any active grant awards, including tracking reporting obligations, coordinating with Finance and program leaders on required documentation, and maintaining funder relationships through timely and accurate stewardship. As PAU's grants portfolio grows, post-award management will expand as a defined function.

Donor Communications and Stewardship Support

• Draft gift acknowledgment letters, donor impact reports, stewardship communications, and personalized correspondence for the Director of Development, VP of SPUR, and President that reflect PAU's voice and genuine gratitude for philanthropic support.
• Support the development of annual giving campaign materials, including email copy, direct mail content, digital appeal language, and peer-to-peer fundraising scripts, in coordination with the Director of Development and the Director of Brand.
• Prepare donor briefing materials, meeting preparation documents, and follow-up correspondence that support the Director of Development and President in their major gift cultivation and solicitation conversations.
• Develop compelling case statements, program impact narratives, and philanthropic storytelling content that articulate the real-world difference PAU's education, research, and clinical training make in people's lives and communities.

Development Operations and CRM Management

• Maintain the accuracy, integrity, and completeness of PAU's donor database in HubSpot and related CRM platforms, ensuring all donor interactions, gifts, pledges, prospect moves, and grant activities are recorded accurately and consistently.
• Process gifts, generate gift receipts, and ensure timely and accurate acknowledgment of all philanthropic contributions in compliance with IRS regulations and institutional policy.
• Build and maintain development reporting dashboards, pipeline reports, and gift forecasting tools that provide the Director of Development, VP of SPUR, and President with real-time visibility into fundraising performance.
• Conduct prospect research and wealth screening for major gift prospects, preparing detailed donor profiles that inform cultivation strategy and solicitation planning for the Director of Development and Director of Alumni Relations.
• Support the development and maintenance of board giving records, endowment campaign tracking, and President's Circle membership data, ensuring all records are current, accurate, and accessible.

Event and Campaign Support

• Support the Events and Operations Specialist in the logistics and communications coordination for development events, including the Annual Gala, President's Circle meetings, donor cultivation gatherings, and foundation site visits.
• Manage invitation lists, RSVP tracking, and pre-event and post-event donor communications for development events, ensuring every touchpoint reflects PAU's commitment to donor stewardship and institutional excellence.
• Support annual giving campaign execution, including list preparation, email scheduling, campaign tracking, and results reporting that enables the Director of Development to assess performance and refine strategy.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in English, communications, public policy, nonprofit management, psychology, or a related field.
• Two or more years of experience in development operations, nonprofit fundraising, grant writing, or a related role, with demonstrated success in professional writing and institutional communications.
• Exceptional written communication skills, with the ability to craft clear, compelling proposals, reports, and donor communications across a range of formats and audiences.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and workstreams simultaneously without close supervision.
• Experience with CRM platforms and donor database management; familiarity with HubSpot preferred.
• Attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy, compliance, and operational precision across all development functions.
• Genuine curiosity about behavioral science, mental health, psychology, and the communities PAU serves, with the intellectual engagement to translate complex academic work into accessible philanthropic narratives.

Preferred

• Experience researching and writing proposals for foundations, corporate giving programs, or local and state funding agencies.
• Experience in higher education development, nonprofit advancement, or academic program communications.
• Background in prospect research, wealth screening, or donor database management.
• Familiarity with Donately, HubSpot, or comparable advancement CRM and giving platforms.
• Experience supporting cultivation events, donor stewardship programs, or annual giving campaigns.

Qualities

• A writer first and foremost, with the craft, discipline, and voice to produce proposals and communications that move funders and donors to act.
• Meticulous and organized, with a genuine commitment to the accuracy and operational integrity that makes a development function trustworthy and effective.
• Collaborative and curious, comfortable working closely with faculty, researchers, program directors, and advancement colleagues to gather the content that makes PAU's work come alive on the page.
• Self-directed and proactive, able to manage a complex workload without waiting to be told what needs to be done next.
• Genuinely mission-driven, with a belief that writing in service of behavioral science and human understanding is meaningful work worth doing well.

Work Hours and Location

This is a full-time hybrid position requiring residency in the San Francisco Bay Area. Regular in-person presence at PAU's campuses in Palo Alto and Mountain View is expected and essential to the SPUR division's collaborative, mission-driven culture. Occasional evening availability may be required for development events, cultivation gatherings, and grant submission deadlines.

Equal Opportunity and Accommodations

Palo Alto University is an equal opportunity employer