Development Assistant Specialist, Major Gifts

Development Assistant Specialist

The Development Assistant Specialist is an integral member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) development team. This full-time non-exempt position supports a small portfolio of Major Gifts fundraisers to advance the philanthropic mission of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Job-Specific Responsibilities include providing comprehensive administrative and project support to a portfolio of Major Gift fundraisers, including managing tasks, workflow, and projects to help meet competing deadlines, scheduling meetings, anticipating and resolving conflicts, and proactively reviewing calendars so key deadlines are met. The role also involves supporting all aspects of the prospect management process for assigned fundraisers, including gathering, organizing, and maintaining accurate prospect and donor data, drafting outreach, memos, correspondence, and reports, preparing meeting and solicitation materials, and facilitating post-meeting follow up. Additionally, the Development Assistant Specialist ensures timely and effective follow-up with donors by tracking gift conversations, solicitation strategies, and stewardship opportunities, preparing and documenting next steps, and liaising with Research and other internal teams as needed.

The position also supports the Regional Lead fundraiser's strategy by collecting and organizing region specific data for strategy, pipeline, reporting and planning, coordinating planning meetings, including scheduling, agendas/materials, and meeting notes, and assisting with trip planning and follow up, including collecting, copy editing, and proofreading trip itineraries, briefings, and thank you notes associated with each trip, communicating details around trip logistics, including updates, tasks, and deadlines with colleagues, and supporting small event activity including invite pool development, communication, event bios and logistics. The Development Assistant Specialist coordinates fundraisers' travel, including booking travel and accommodations, preparing accurate and timely expense reports, managing and updating trip itineraries, and troubleshooting scheduling or logistical issues during travel days as needed.

The role involves drafting a high volume of high-quality donor briefings with fundraisers for meetings with key administrators, including monitoring relevant internal and external activity, researching internal resources for suggested talking points and strategy, assessing University ties and giving history, and researching external philanthropy aligning with the University's priorities. The Development Assistant Specialist achieves proficiency in the alumni/donor database in order to input and update data accurately and on time, research prospects, organize data, and produce standard and ad hoc reports, and processes and books complex, high level gifts and pledges, ensuring documentation accuracy, informing fundraisers of completed gifts, and coordinating with colleagues to ensure timely stewardship.

The Development Assistant Specialist maintains organized, accurate, and accessible records in accordance with departmental policies, provides professional, timely customer service to internal and external stakeholders both domestically and internationally, communicates fundraisers' schedules, bandwidth, and goals to internal constituents and manages expectations when fundraisers are unavailable, serves as a resource for departmental policies, protocols, and procedures, and helps ensure consistent application. The role contributes to continuous improvement by identifying ways to make fundraising efforts more efficient and productive and sharing effective practices with colleagues, builds relationships and collaborates with other departmental teams across Alumni Affairs & Development and Harvard University to support shared goals, actively participates in team and staff meetings and is an engaged, reliable member of the team, and may be asked to partner on projects outside of their assigned job area. In the absence of the team's Development Coordinator, the Development Assistant Specialist may be asked to support their work.

Basic Qualifications include 1-2 years of related administrative office experience, strong knowledge of Microsoft Office, strong writing skills and attention to detail, experience and comfort with running reports and data management, and availability to work additional evening hours if necessary. Additional Qualifications and Skills include the capability of proactive and self-directed management of day to day work, must be highly organized, detailed oriented and can work competently and efficiently in a multi-task environment, strong written and oral communication skills, including strong knowledge of English grammar, spelling and punctuation, ability to accurately proofread and edit correspondence, strong interpersonal skills; excellent phone manner and personal presentation, ability to work under pressure, understand and follow policies and procedures, and accommodate change, ability to work independently as well as collaboratively on a team, experience interacting with corporate executives and senior level staff preferred. Comfortable speaking in group settings.