Special Assistant, Development

The Special Assistant provides high-level administrative support to the Vice President of Development, and contributes to the successful functioning of the NJPAC development department.  Additionally, this person will help the Vice President to manage projects that do not neatly fit within the organizational chart or that fall between leadership areas of responsibility. The ideal candidate for this position is a proactive, strategic thinker that is comfortable learning new systems and with strengths in independently identifying and supporting end-user business needs. 

To succeed in this role, the ideal candidate must bring maturity, sound judgment, and professionalism, along with the ability to manage multiple projects at once in a fast-paced environment. The Special Assistant must be highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to anticipate project needs while balancing competing priorities. Strong interpersonal skills and a proactive mindset are essential, as is the ability to work independently and meet deadlines. The individual must be willing to support occasional evening and weekend events, and be comfortable working with a wide range of stakeholders including internal staff, vendors, volunteers, trustees, and donors. The Special Assistant is expected to provide outstanding customer service and be an enthusiastic, solutions-oriented team player.

Administrative

• Prepare weekly donor acknowledgement letters and provide quality control to ensure data and language accuracy 

• Manage on-site donor recognition, including annually updating lobby banners and traffic review of credit lines for annual support and special projects

• Lead creation of donor recognition lists for Report to the Community and Lobby Banners, working with marketing and across development teams to pull lists, manage edits, proofread for accuracy and submit a finished product 

• Serve as project manager for annual mailings of the endowment report, Report to the Community and holiday cards, including list management, mail merging and mailing, including working with outside vendors as needed

• Assist with onboarding logistics for new Development team members (workspace setup, system access requests, orientation materials)

• Manage monthly VP work records, AMEX and expense reports 

• Maintain updated marketing collateral for pitch meetings

• Maintain up to date press kits 

• Communicate with marketing team on behalf of VP, including submitting project requests using Wrike project management system

• Book the use of NJPAC public spaces in arts management software, as requested

• Coordinate special requests for donor tickets, as requested 

• Manage inventory of NJPAC letterhead and envelopes and submit requests for replenishment 

• At VP’s direction, lead production of department wide retreats, events and team-building activities

• Organize and share annual development events calendar 

• Support scheduling and light administrative needs for Corporate, Individual, Foundation or Events teams, as capacity allows

Fundraising: 

• Support VP, Development with annual board solicitation mailing and tracking

• Gain deep familiarity with universe of NJPAC donors, with specific focus on Board of Directors  

• Prepare documentation for gift entry and ensure gifts are properly documented 

• Lead quarterly review and preparation of pledge reminders 

• Attend regular development task force meetings to take notes and make assignments for follow up  

• Support maintenance of annual giving dashboards in Salesforce and Tableau, including reconciliation as needed  

Salesforce CRM Projects and Management

• Serve as project manager as requested by VP for CRM implementation projects

• Help to maintain and leverage Salesforce CRM to support fundraising, donor relations, and organizational reporting.

  • Create and maintain custom reports and dashboards to track donor activity, prospect pipelines, event attendance, and other key metrics as requested by leadership

  • Enter, update, and clean donor and contact data to ensure accuracy and consistency across the database

  • Manage data imports/exports and support regular data hygiene efforts (de-duplication, updating contact information, correcting records)

  • Support moves management tracking, including logging donor interactions, next steps, and follow-up tasks

  • Assist with list generation for mailings, invitations, and solicitations

  • Troubleshoot basic data issues and flag larger system needs to the appropriate team member or administrator

  • Continuously learn and adapt to evolving Salesforce configurations, reports, and processes used across the organization

NJPAC Board & Committee management  

• Serve as data ombudsman for Board accounts in Salesforce, including quarterly review of list tags, biographical information, household information, recognition, committee participation and salutations 

• At VP direction, prepare fundraising reports for Exec Committee and BOD meetings

• Schedule annual Nominating and Governance Committee meetings, prepare and send meeting materials and prepare meeting minutes, as requested

• Prepare, edit, and proofread correspondence and reports including Board and Committee memos, minutes, and presentations

• Maintain accuracy of Board and committee listings on NJPAC website and internal documentation

Scheduling:

• Manage schedule of Vice President, including coordinating and scheduling meetings and making travel arrangements 

• Provide support for meetings, including but not limited to:  booking rooms and/or making reservations; scheduling and coordination among participants; creation and dissemination of meeting materials (including presentations); preparing gift bags and giveaways; ordering and managing catering

Events:

• Support events team in producing an array of on and offsite special events: including 2 annual fundraisers and frequent cultivation and stewardship events; responsibilities may include, but are not limited to: staffing check in tables, creating name tags, microphone management during Q&A, invitation follow up (phone and email); mailing list compilation and editing; editing event details in Salesforce including registration and attendance 

Qualifications

• Ideally 2-3 years experience in a fundraising environment 

• Ability to identify and implement solutions for departmental pain points

• Excellent skills in Microsoft programs google suite and CRM platforms – Salesforce a plus; ability to mail merge.

• Excellent project management skills executed in fast-paced and intense work environments

• Strong interpersonal, decision-making, and organizational skills with attention to detail

• Superior verbal and written communication skills with strong grammatical, proofreading and editing capabilities

• Willing to conquer the “small tasks” with an understanding of their vital importance in the success of the organization

• Center principles of equity, inclusion, and belonging in all work

• Exceptional relationship management and customer service skills with the ability to successfully engage with internal and external individuals including donors, community leaders, school district officials, etc.

• Must be an independent, self-motivated and highly resourceful individual in a fast-paced environment; able to prioritize and anticipate needs

• Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality at all times, work independently and exercise substantial discretion and judgment

• Strong critical thinker with inclination to improve and evolve processes for maximum efficiency and growth

• Ability to work weekday morning/weekend/evening events, as required

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent preferred.

NJPAC is an equal opportunity employer and is proud to offer a generous benefits package which includes medical, vision, dental, 401K with match, life, AD&D, PTO, sick time and discounted show tickets.