- Job Type: Support Staff - Union
- Bargaining Unit: Local 2110
- Regular/Temporary: Regular
- Hours Per Week: 35
- Salary Range: $56,253 - $56,253
The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.
Position Summary
Gift Planning within the Office of Alumni and Development assists alumni and friends who wish to include Columbia in their estate plans. The team raises funds through bequests and life income plans; it is also responsible for increasing membership in and building a sense of community around the 1754 Society, which recognizes donors for their planned gifts. The Development Assistant reports to the Director of Gift Planning and will provide logistical and administrative support for the Gift Planning team.
Responsibilities
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Maintaining calendars, scheduling meetings, planning trips, answering phones, and responding to e-mails, including conveying messages to the appropriate parties, filing, copying, proofreading, drafting correspondence, editing and finalizing documents, preparing large mailings via mail merge, preparing and submitting expense reports, and preparing profiles on donors.
- Answering phones, following up on leads from marketing initiatives, and providing administrative support to four officers including the Senior Philanthropic Advisor, Director of Gift Planning, Gift Planning Officer, and the Associate Director of Gift Planning Marketing. Professional phone demeanor and email etiquette is essential.
- Heavy database work, including: maintaining, updating, and editing data in both Advance (the Office of Alumni & Development database) and Athena (the web-based version of the Office of Alumni & Development database).
- Database updates such as donor contact reports, scanning and loading of related documents, address corrections, and entering and updating gift proposals will be done on a daily basis; accuracy and timeliness is essential.
- Ongoing projects relating to the administration of the 1754 Society, the stewardship and recognition society for donors with planned gifts. This work includes the management of gift codes in the two databases, maintaining the Honor Roll of members, producing monthly birthday cards for 1754 Society membership, and preparing related gift transmittals, correspondence, and outreach.
- Responsible for working with the Strategic Donor Relations and Stewardship and Events teams to help plan and execute 1754 Society events, including reviewing and maintaining mailing lists, and other event details as needed. The Development Assistant may also be involved with other special-invitation event mailings (regular mail and e-mail) for the 1754 Society, receiving and managing RSVP’s and collaborating with events staff across the University as needed.
Minimum Qualifications
High school diploma or equivalent and three (3) years of related experience required. Excellent organizational, interpersonal and communication skills required. Must be able to work independently, follow instructions, and request assistance as needed. Strong writing skills required. Must be discreet and able to maintain confidentiality. The ability to prioritize and proofreading is essential. Must be collegial and work well on a team. Must be professional and courteous in all interactions with colleagues, alumni, donors, and their advisors.
Database, calendaring, spreadsheet, and mail merge experience required. Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), Google Suite (Sheets, Docs, Drive).
Preferred Qualifications
Some knowledge of charitable giving and gift planning preferred. Experience with PG Calc Planned Giving Manager software, Foxit PDF Editor, Zoom and DocuSign is a plus.
Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran
Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.