Temporary Communications Specialist

Northwestern University; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 23,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Paid sick time

Job summary

Northwestern University in Chicago is seeking a Temporary Communications Specialist to write donor acknowledgments for Feinberg School of Medicine donors. You will manage correspondence via Outlook and Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and document acknowledgments in CatConnect and OnBase.

The role is 40 hours weekly, start 11/9/2026, end 12/23/2026, with PTO and sick time eligibility. The position focuses on producing gift acknowledgment communications, assisting with data-related tasks, mail merges,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Experience in business administration, data management, or administrative support is preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication, including interaction with donors and alumni.

Responsibilities

• Write donor thank you letters using templates.
• Use CatConnect donor CRM and OnBase document management system.
• Assist with mail merges (Word).
• Format digital and printed documents, including Marketing Cloud eblasts.
• Execute mailings and look-ups in CatConnect.
• Upload donor documentation into the OnBase system.
• Create and prepare Excel spreadsheets.
• Data entry, list management, and data clean-up.
• Schedule and manage calendars.
• Collaborate with Feinberg School of Medicine Donor Relations team.
• Proof and edit stewardship reports and letters.

Skills

Communication

Data management

Project management

Excel

Outlook

Word

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Department: Temp Center

Salary/Grade: TMP/01

Position: Temporary Communications Specialist

Hours: This is a full-time position (40 hours weekly | Monday-Friday, 8:30 am–5:00 pm)

Pay: $20.00

Campus: Chicago

Approximate start date:11/9/2026

Approximate end date: 12/23/2026

Temporary Communications Specialist

Temporary Job Description:

Northwestern University is seeking a temporary Communications Specialist

The Temporary Communications Specialist will have the primary responsibility of writing gift acknowledgment/thank you letters to Feinberg School of Medicine donors who make philanthropic gifts to Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and will be responsible for sending these gift acknowledgment communications to the donors via Outlook email and via Salesforce Marketing Cloud. This position also will document these acknowledgments for each donor in the Salesforce CRM (CatConnect) and in the OnBase document management system.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Writing donor thank you letters based on existing letter templates
• Using Northwestern's CatConnect donor CRM and OnBase document management system
• Assisting with mail merges (Word)
• Formatting of digital and printed documents, including Marketing Cloud eblasts
• Executing mailings
• Look-ups/queries in Northwestern's CatConnect donor CRM
• Uploading donor documentation into the OnBase document management system
• Creation and preparation of Excel spreadsheets
• Data entry, list management, and data clean-up
• Scheduling and calendar management

100% of time will be assigned to working with the Feinberg School of Medicine Donor Relations team. In addition to those outlined above, tasks related to this part of the role include proofing and editing stewardship impact reports and letters, as well as other donor relations projects.

Preferred Qualifications and Skills:

• Bachelor's degree
• One year in a business administration, data management, or administrative support role.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including experience and comfort level interacting with members of the public, such as medical school alumni and donors, and experience composing written materials and proofing to a high level of accuracy.
• Strong data management skills (collection, analysis, distribution, maintenance) and experience with CRM/database and information systems.
• Project management skills and demonstrated ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, including advanced use of Word, Outlook, and especially Excel.
• Experience demonstrating exceptional attention to detail.

In addition to salary, this temporary position is eligible for paid time off and paid sick time in accordance with Northwestern University policies. This position is not eligible for other benefits offered to regular staff positions

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.