Development Assistant, Major Gifts - Neurosciences

Northwestern University; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 33,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago is seeking a Development Assistant, Major Gifts to partner with five gift officers, supporting translational neuroscience fundraising through portfolio management, correspondence, and proposal materials.

This role manages donor records, coordinates events, and prepares briefing materials while handling administrative processes critical to the team; reporting to the Senior Director of Development, Team Neuroscience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher required or two years equivalent fundraising experience.
• Experience with CRM systems; Salesforce and OnBase preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication; organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with gift officers to plan portfolio priorities and track fundraising objectives.
• Prepare briefs and maintain donor interaction records in CRM and reporting tools.
• Coordinate events and manage administrative processes for the team.
• Assist with budget preparation, expense reports, and financial tracking.

Skills

Written and verbal communication

Organization/time management

Event logistics

Data management

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Tools

Salesforce

OnBase

Job description

This position is within Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, based on Northwestern's Chicago campus. Hybrid schedule available. Target hiring range for this position will be between $23.95-$25.87 per hour. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Job Summary

The Development Assistant, Major Gifts serves as a strategic partner to a team of five major gift officers responsible for securing transformational philanthropic investments supporting translational neurosciences and related priorities at the Feinberg School of Medicine. Working at the intersection of academic medicine and healthcare philanthropy, this position assists the team with the operational planning, portfolio management, and execution of major and principal gift fundraising initiatives. The role drives project timelines, manages donor pipeline processes, develops briefing and proposal materials, coordinates complex stakeholder engagement activities, and ensures the successful advancement of prospects through the fundraising cycle through the support of its team. Responsibilities include generating correspondence, reports, printed materials, meeting agendas, invitations, and lists, and maintaining database records that track donor and prospect interactions. In addition, the Development Assistant coordinates, prioritizes, and executes administrative processes critical to specific functions or operations within the immediate team, as well as the department. They create and maintain associated documents, spreadsheets, and data; organize meetings, special events, and mail/email direct appeals; and ensure that those whom they support are aware of critical issues and upcoming events. Reporting to the Senior Director of Development within Feinberg Development and Alumni Relations, Team Neuroscience, this position provides high level administrative support. Success in this role requires exceptional project management skills, strategic judgment, analytical thinking, relationship management capabilities, and the ability to independently coordinate multiple complex initiatives simultaneously.

Principal Accountabilities

Collaboration - 30%

• Strategic planning and reports:
  • Partner with gift officers to establish annual portfolio priorities and track progress toward fundraising objectives.
  • Monitor prospect activity, proposal development, stewardship commitments, and campaign deliverables.
  • Identify bottlenecks and recommend operational solutions that improve fundraising efficiency and effectiveness.
  • Create systems and processes that support strategic decision-making and portfolio performance.
• Utilizes key partnerships to coordinate projects and meetings with departments/divisions/institutes/centers within the medical school.
• Works with team members and other Development and Alumni Relations staff to produce fundraising materials about different divisions and research initiatives for which funds are raised.
• Works with department peers and gift officers to develop and implement processes that efficiently meet the needs of the office and the team. Examples include: Coordinating with other development assistants, operations team and gift officers on annual giving appeal(s); coordinating with alumni team, gift officers and/or division administrators to plan webinars or in-person events.
• Works with department and division administrators to schedule meetings as well as follow up on acknowledgement letters and proposal information.

Prospects and Gifts – 25%

• Independently responds to and composes correspondence to prospects, donors, alumni, etc.
  • Writes acknowledgement letters on behalf of the medical school faculty whom gift officers support.
  • Produces outreach and direct engagement materials throughout the year, managing various electronic communications, printed pieces, and external vendors as needed, and monitoring results.
  • Oversees donor correspondence including e-outreach, postal mail, stewardship reports, invitations, cards, newsletters, etc. and makes follow-up calls as needed.
• Creates and maintains spreadsheets and/or databases using Microsoft Office applications, Salesforce, BI, and Cognos.
• Compiles lists of donors and constituents for mailings, invitations, and other purposes, using data from disparate sources. Maintains close attention to detail, as well as the sensitivity and/or confidential nature of data. Prepares reports based on information gathered from various sources; determines format, elements, trends, etc.
  • Assists gift officers with portfolio management: prepares briefings, distributes prospect information and maintains robust record of prospect interactions including visits, events, correspondence and proposals.
  • Performs data entry and extracts reports from the department’s Salesforcedatabase (CatConnect).
  • Responsible for digital document entry and retrieval using the OnBase document management system.

Events – 15%

• Organizes and coordinates online and in-person events.
  • Manages event logistics, from drafting, producing, and sending invitations to tracking responses.
  • Secures space, orders catering, etc.
  • Maintains an accurate and up-to-date list of attendees.
  • Creates invitations, event materials, follow-up communications using the department’s Marketing Cloud software.
  • Develops attendee bios and briefings for leadership
• Creates timelines.
• Collects agenda items and background materials.
• Prepares event budgets, invoices, and expense reports.
• Participates in the event day-of, whether online or in person.
  • Ensures all logistical details are in place
  • Staffs registration table before and after event
  • Coordinates with special event staff, AV team, facilities, as needed
  • Coordinates any on site donations, paddle raise, etc.

Administration – 20%

• CRM management inclusive of data entry (contact reports) and constituent record management (updates, changes, etc.)
• Provides calendar management, including travel and meeting scheduling, for the team and gift officers supported.
• Maintains event and team web pages, as well as crowdfunding initiatives as needed.
• Volunteer management, as needed
• Coordinates with operations and department administration on giving links for static web pages, events, new centers and institutes.

Budget – 10%

• Prepares and processes forms, requisitions, purchases and reimbursements per budget.
  • Requests travel and expense reimbursements for officers supported, orders supplies.
• Creates and maintains financial records.
• Verifies appropriateness and accuracy of charges.
• Processes and reconciles expenses, accounting transfers, and/or appropriation changes.
• Updates financial transaction spreadsheets and databases.
• Generates summary reports and statistics.
• Completes other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Successful completion of a full four-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree or two years equivalent experience in a development (fundraising/philanthropic) function.
• Experience working with a complex relational database/CRM is required; Salesforce and OnBase experience preferred.

Minimum Competencies

• Advanced knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet, e-mail (including the Microsoft Office suite) and database software programs is required.
• Strong abilities are required in the following areas:
• Demonstrated data management skills
• Written and verbal communication
• Scheduling and event logistics
• Organization/time management
• Presentations and report compilation

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in a nonprofit/philanthropic fundraising or constituent engagement environment.
• Experience in a high-touch customer service environment.
• Experience in healthcare and/or higher education.

Preferred Competencies

• Writing and proofreading skills.
• Independent self-starter with exceptional attention to detail.
• Ability to leverage Microsoft CoPilot effectively, integrating the tool’s use for team efficiency.

Requires occasional attendance at meetings and events outside of normal office hours (i.e., evenings, weekends, etc.). May be called upon to provide own transportation to local meetings or events.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics, including disability and veteran status. View Northwestern’s non-discrimination statement. Job applicants who wish to request an accommodation in the application or hiring process should contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance. View additional information on the accommodations process.