Development Coordinator

Peabody Essex Museum; Salem (MA); On-site; USD 30,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) is seeking a Development Coordinator for a six-month, 35-hours-per-week assignment to support Development Operations and Institutional Giving & Stewardship. The role handles gift processing, donor data, and stewardship coordination across teams.

It requires attention to detail, collaboration, and a willingness to learn Tessitura; training will be provided. This position supports the PEM Gala and donor communications in a fast-paced museum environment.

Qualifications

• Experience processing gifts and maintaining donor data in Tessitura or similar donor software.
• Strong attention to detail with accuracy in data entry and file organization.
• Ability to collaborate across departments and support multiple teams in a fast-paced environment.
• Interest in nonprofit fundraising, development operations, museums, or the arts.
• Willingness to learn new technologies; training on Tessitura provided.

Responsibilities

• Process and manage gifts, batch contributions, and enter donations in Tessitura with complete documentation.
• Collaborate with Accounting to deposit contributions into appropriate funds and coordinate donor recognition.
• Maintain donor data, perform minor Tessitura updates, and create constituent records.
• Support weekly gift-processing meetings and assist with gift acknowledgements.
• Assist with the PEM Gala setup, on-site processing, and post-event follow-up.
• Provide administrative support for the corporate membership program and monthly communications.
• Conduct donor research, track fundraising progress, and support stewardship activities.

Skills

Data entry

Attention to detail

Donor relations

Team collaboration

Nonprofit fundraising

Tools

Tessitura

Greater Giving

Job description

Over the last 20 years, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) has distinguished itself as one of the fastest-growing art museums in North America. Founded in 1799, it is also the country's oldest continuously operating museum. Under the supervision of the Director of Development Operations & Communications and the Director of Institutional Giving & Stewardship, the Development Coordinator will assist both teams with the timely and accurate processing of all gifts to PEM, coordination of stewardship activities, and general administrative support.

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) is seeking a highly organized and detail-oriented Development Coordinator to join our Development Operations and Institutional Giving & Stewardship teams for a full time temporary six-month assignment. This role is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the behind-the-scenes work that helps strengthen PEM's relationships with donors and supports the Museum's fundraising efforts.

The Development Coordinator will provide essential administrative and operational support, ensuring that gifts and contributions are processed accurately, efficiently, and thoughtfully. This role will also provide administrative support for the Institutional Giving and Stewardship team, including the processing of gifts and fulfillment, coordination of stewardship activities, and general administrative support. The ideal candidate enjoys working with data, collaborating across teams, and keeping details on track in a fast-paced environment.

The key responsibilities for this role include:

• Process and manage gifts: Review onsite mail, batch and process contributions, and accurately enter and commit outright gifts, multi-year commitments, and other donations in Tessitura. Ensure all required documentation is complete, accurate, and properly filed.

• Collaborate across departments: Partner with Accounting to ensure contributions are deposited into the appropriate funds, and work with Stewardship to ensure membership benefits and donor recognition are accurately recorded.

• Maintain accurate donor data: Assist with database cleanup and minor Tessitura updates, including updating email addresses during gift entry and creating new constituent records for mailing lists and fundraising purposes.

• Support gift processing operations: Participate in weekly gift-processing meetings with Development team members and coordinate and complete check deposits with Accounting. Provide day-to-day administrative support to the Institutional Giving and Stewardship team, including preparing gift acknowledgements.

• Support a signature Museum event: Assist with setup, onsite gift processing and support, and post-event follow-up for the PEM Gala on Saturday, November 7, 2026. Responsibilities will include working with Greater Giving and Tessitura; training will be provided.

• Support donor recognition: Assist with donor recognition updates and the Annual Fund recognition process.

• Conduct research: Assist with research related to Development events, meetings, donor engagement, and other departmental needs.

• Track fundraising progress: Assist with monitoring and tracking contributions toward the Development department's fundraising goals.

• Support the corporate membership program: Provide administrative support for the corporate membership program, including monthly renewals, fulfillment, and benefits tracking.

• Develop corporate membership communications: Collaborate with the Institutional Giving and Stewardship team to develop content for the corporate program's monthly e-newsletter.

• Assist with Stewardship activities: Provide support for various Stewardship processes, including catalog orders and mailings, hospitality, and other donor engagement activities.

• Provide general departmental support: Assist with research, writing, special projects, and other duties as needed.

• Support special events: Occasional evening and weekend work is required in connection with special events.

The ideal candidate is highly organized and detail-oriented, with strong follow-through and a commitment to accuracy. They are comfortable working with data across multiple systems, collaborative and responsive, and able to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a busy environment. An interest in nonprofit fundraising, development operations, museums, or the arts is encouraged. The candidate should also be comfortable learning new technologies and databases; experience with Tessitura is a plus, but training will be provided.

This opportunity is available for 6 months at 35 hours per week. The hiring range for this role is $22.27 to $25.00 commensurate with experience.