Development and Operations Associate - J-PAL North America

About J-PAL North America

J-PAL North America, an economics research center at MIT, is actively recruiting for a Development & Operations Associate. Working at J-PAL North America means being part of a vibrant, collaborative team of professionals who are committed to translating research into innovative policy solutions that are effective in reducing poverty. As a regional office of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), J-PAL North America is part of a network of hundreds of researchers at universities around the world, including some of the world’s leading economics researchers. J-PAL North America works closely with J-PAL’s global headquarters and six additional independent regional offices in Africa, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia to generate cutting-edge research, policy outreach, and training. This position is based on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts and provides a hybrid work schedule with some days in the office and some days remote.  

To learn more about our work and team culture, visit www.povertyactionlab.org/na. 

Opportunity overview

As a member of the J-PAL North America team, you’ll be part of a Nobel-prize winning scientific movement that can transform US policy making. The Development & Operations Associate reports to the Director of Strategic Partnerships & Innovation and works closely with staff across J-PAL North America’s program areas to elevate our fundraising efforts. The key responsibilities for this position include analyzing and managing data, conducting prospect research, and providing logistical and operational support for a broad range of fundraising and operational activities for J-PAL North America. For the Development & Operations Associate position, we are looking for candidates with at least 2 years of fundraising experience, excellent attention to detail, strong organizational, time-management, and oral and written communication skills. Experience in Salesforce, Asana, or other project management systems, is also preferred.

Key responsibilities

• Fundraising activity coordination and data management 
  • Proactively communicates with lead fundraisers to gather information on fundraising activities across all programs and maintains updated donor pipeline trackers with information on fundraising activity and progress towards fundraising goals
  • Proactively shares regular fundraising updates with the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation and Director of Finance and Operations
  • Attends regular fundraising meetings, takes notes, contributes to discussion, and assigns and manages fundraising tasks in Asana to ensure completion
  • Creates and manages Salesforce contact records and relevant financial reports to review and manage progress to fundraising goals
  • Maintains systems for systematic tracking of donor stewardship
  • Creates templates, fundraising resources and other fundraising support and process documents as needed; ensures resources are accessible through the fundraising section of the knowledge base
  • Creates documentation and helps train and support staff on J-PAL North America’s processes for prospecting, soliciting funds and recording fundraising activities
  • Develops reports from Salesforce and the central development database as needed and make recommendations to help establish fundraising priorities
  • Creates and implement organizational systems for effective file storage and knowledge management, including ensuring fundraising documents are well organized and named correctly in the shared drive and Salesforce
• Research, solicitation, proposal development, and stewardship
  • Conducts individual donor, foundation and corporate fundraising research to identify prospects
  • Supports donor identification and solicitation efforts through coordination with J-PAL NA staff, prospective donors and program officers, the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, and MIT’s Central Development’s office 
  • Coordinates proposal development and submission; assists with project management of grant applications
  • Drafts a variety of written materials, including prospect briefing drafts, email templates, and background information; coordinates with the Communications team on editing content to make it accessible for external audiences
  • Coordinates with the Communications team as needed to be sure there is ongoing communication with donors and connects with key fundraising staff at least quarterly to be sure they have the information they need to conduct outreach/provide regular updates to cultivate and steward donors
• Logistic and operational support 
  • Manages the calendar of the Director of Strategic Partnerships & Innovation and schedules meetings, coordinates travel plans, and develops itineraries 
  • Prepares briefs, materials, presentations, and agendas 
  • Participates in donor calls in a supporting role (as needed)
  • Assists in planning and coordination of donor meetings and events
  • Assists in mass mailings/donor outreach or annual report production efforts aimed at donors and other key stakeholders
• Other duties as assigned 

Compensation & benefits

This full-time, exempt position is classified by MIT as an Development Coordinator 1, SRS role. Please find the current pay range for this position with the job posting on MIT’s career website. This is a fixed market-based salary range and the starting salary MIT offers any candidate will be based on their experience relative to others in similar roles at MIT.

J-PAL North America staff are MIT employees, which means they are eligible for a wide array of institutional benefits. Some of these MIT benefits include comprehensive health insurance, a 401(k) match up to 5% of salary plus a pension-based retirement plan, tuition assistance up to $5,250 per calendar year, commuter benefits, access to MyLifeServices, a generous vacation policy (3 weeks of paid vacation in your first year, and 4 weeks every year after that, plus an additional 12+ paid Institute-wide holidays per year and an end of year break), paid leave for sick time, maternity and parental leave, back-up child care benefits and much more.

Professional development opportunities

J-PAL North America supports a culture of learning, with opportunities to attend weekly seminars, engage in small-group discussions with other J-PAL staff, participate in workshops, or take classes for credit at MIT or elsewhere with our generous tuition assistance program.  

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required.
• Experience: A minimum of 2 years of experience working in a non-profit or academic setting is required. Previous experience in a fundraising or development role preferred.
• Technical Skills: Technically proficiency with learning and using computer applications, including Asana, Excel and Salesforce. Strong analytical skills.
• Ownership: Self-motivated, ability to take initiative to identify, implement and/or improve established processes. Tact and good judgment in handling confidential information.
• Task & Project Management: Excellent project management skills. Ability to anticipate, plan, prioritize and meet deadlines, manage multiple tasks, manage numerous requests from various parties, and effectively manage a high volume of work.
• Communication Skills: Strong writing skills and the ability to communicate effectively with a variety of internal and external stakeholders including comfort with engaging frequently with senior management. Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy related to data management and preparation of materials and presentations. Ability to analyze, synthesize and present information effectively.