Assistant Director, Development Operations, Columbia College and Arts & Sciences

Position Summary

Reporting to the Senior Associate Director for Development Operations (SAD), the Assistant Director (AD) assists all development operations within the unit. The AD helps to expedite the careful coordination, planning, implementation, and follow-up of the units’ top priorities and will provide support to the Senior Associate Director for Development Operations. The AD will serve as a liaison to the Columbia College Office of the Dean for all development-related needs and will assist in the tracking, analyzing and projection of fundraising progress and data-related needs for the College, Arts & Sciences and any multi-year fundraising initiatives within these units.

Responsibilities

• Help execute priorities of the unit consistent with the goals set forth by the Office of Alumni Relations and Development and Columbia College under the supervision of the SAD.
• Assist in the management of operations within the unit to ensure goals are accomplished by consistently driving relevant agendas and priorities forward; work collaboratively and successfully with a broad range of colleagues, as well as with members of the Columbia community and outside constituents.
• Help to promote employee engagement to support greater employee development and enhance morale, including collaboration in conceptualizing staff retreats, implementing employee recognition tactics, and establishing a culture of transparency and trust. Contribute to the internal staff newsletter.
• Assist in the development of briefings; create agendas and other related correspondence and materials for the unit to ensure senior staff’s preparedness for meetings and events.
• Prepare and coordinate complex proposals and gift agreements for high-level prospects; provide reporting, including data analysis and the preparation of donor reports and donor research.
• Provide support in tracking strategy development of high-level prospects.
• With the SAD, manage the unit’s fundraising pipeline, including maintaining updated data and regularly pulling reports to assess for accuracy. Contribute to ongoing communication across the frontline fundraising teams to collect and update information in real time.
• Collaborate with College and Central Stewardship to assist with high-touch stewardship reporting for benefactors and top donors.
• Coordinate special events and programming to support fundraising and alumni relations objectives.
• Assist in the creation of invitation and distribution lists for high-level communications and events that can be leveraged for high-level prospect engagement.
• Collaborate with the SAD on the coordination of Dean’s development travel, both domestic and international.
• Other duties and special fundraising projects as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required, including a minimum of two (2) to four (4) years of experience.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office is a must, particularly in Excel and PowerPoint.
• Must have excellent analytical, organizational and interpersonal skills. Demonstrates a high level of attention to detail and active listening skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills as well as the ability to interact well with internal and external partners, senior leadership, and other constituents, including alumni donors and development prospects or their assistants, are essential qualities.
• Must possess the ability to work with changing priorities and multiple projects.
• Must be able to negotiate issues, resolve problems and have strong influencing skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in a complex environment or higher educational institution role preferred.

Other Requirements

• Ability to drive activity for multiple projects/groups and work effectively in a team environment with diverse populations and challenging client groups.
• The successful candidate must be flexible in nature, have sound judgment with a collaborative style that fosters teamwork and cooperation beyond the immediate team to the broader organization, and have a passion for excellent customer service and commitment to exceptional quality.
• The ability to work some evenings and weekends may be required.
• Subject to business needs, the Office of Alumni Relations and Development supports a hybrid work arrangement for this position. Options will be discussed during the interview process.

Columbia University offers a full range of benefits to help you and your eligible dependents stay healthy, build long-term financial security for retirement, and meet educational goals. To explore the available Health and Welfare, Tax Savings, Tuition, Well-being and Voluntary Benefits options visit: https://humanresources.columbia.edu/benefits.