Development Officer, Foundation and Government Relations

The Development Officer will assist the Director of Foundation and Government Relations with fundraising from foundations and government agencies in the U.S. and abroad, ensuring the smooth operation of all aspects of Japan Society’s efforts in these areas. The Development Officer will conduct prospect research, process gifts and send acknowledgement letters, write letters of inquiry, proposals, and donor reports, utilize Raiser’s Edge for data entry and generating reports and queries, create and manage financial reports in Excel, and do some administrative work.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The focus of this role is to manage and grow a portfolio of funders to support Japan Society’s public programs, while supporting the team as necessary.

• Conduct new prospect research for all eight departments at Japan Society plus general operating & capital improvement projects;
• Write cover letters, letters of inquiry, proposals, and reports;
• Gift processing and acknowledgement;
• Create budgets and financial reports in Excel;
• Communicate, liaise and work collaboratively with all program departments and Finance department to prepare accurate and timely proposals and reports.
• Data entry and record keeping; maintain files
• Track prospects, make updates, batch payments, and create reports & queries in Raiser’s Edge;
• Manage and assign tasks to interns, as needed;
• Provide staffing support at various Japan Society events, as needed.
• Complete 8-10 proposal or report deadlines per month and assist team members with large proposals as necessary.
• Support 3-6 public programs and/or events (per 6 months) in order to advance income goals for the Development department and/or build relationships with prospects and supporters.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 3-5 years related non-profit experience, particularly as a grant writer;
• Knowledge of government grants and previous experience writing & managing government applications are a huge plus;
• Must be a very strong writer with the ability to synthesize complex program concepts into compelling proposals and reports;
• Must be detail-oriented, organized, flexible, and a team player with the ability to multitask;
• Excellent oral, interpersonal and intercultural communication skills are a must;
• Experience with Microsoft Office and database processing (preferably Raiser’s Edge—including the building of queries and custom reports, exports and merges) is essential;
• Interest in and knowledge of Japanese culture and some Japanese language ability are a plus.