Development Coordinator

Job Description:

The Development Coordinator provides comprehensive fundraising and high-level administrative support for the development efforts, including those administered on behalf of one or more strategic initiatives managed by one or two Academic Initiatives Director(s) of Development. In addition, the Coordinator may be responsible for one or more of the following higher-level roles: 1) managing annual Director’s/Chair’s Fund efforts for two+ academic units, serving as the primary liaison to the assigned academic units to execute these campaigns and serving as the expert within Advancement for managing similar fundraising and/or 2) serving as liaison to one or more fundraising priority areas, handling all aspects of the role, including meeting regularly with the academic lead to develop and advance fundraising priorities; management of major gifts pipelines; providing updated talking points about programs and funding opportunities to fundraisers for donor cultivation and proposal development; managing selected special events involving relevant program directors; providing regular gift reports; managing an advisory council and/or maintaining a repository of updated proposals to advance these fundraising priorities.

The Coordinator coordinates all aspects of cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship for the academic areas for which Director(s) of Development serve(s)as Advancement liaison. These responsibilities include: the management of major gifts pipelines; providing updated talking points about programs and funding opportunities to fundraisers for donor cultivation and proposal development; managing selected special events involving relevant program directors; providing regular gift reports; and maintaining a repository of updated proposals to advance these fundraising priorities. In collaboration with the donor stewardship team, the Coordinator will help ensure appropriate stewardship activities on behalf of the program directors. In collaboration with the Director(s) of Development, the Coordinator will help coordinate, as required, the President’s Advisory Councils or Boards of Governors for the professional schools with a focus on the Advancement-related aspects of their work. 

As the coordinator for Director’s/Chair’s Fund Campaigns, this position will serve as the primary point of contact in the Advancement office for initiating and managing the annual fundraising efforts for the assigned academic areas.  They will work with the Advancement marketing, communications, and gift accounting teams, among others, to develop and launch these campaigns, conduct analysis of these new fundraising efforts to ensure a robust and growing pipeline of donors for these units, and modify fundraising strategies and approaches as needed. The position will serve as the primary liaison in the Advancement Division to the leadership within the assigned units to develop messaging and steward and cultivate donors, including alumni, parents, and the general public. They will collaborate with other fundraisers in Advancement to ensure coordination of these efforts with other fundraising efforts for these donors and work with academic partners in these units to execute appropriate donor-related stewardship. In this role, this position will also serve as a resource within Advancement on the management and execution of Director’s/Chair’s campaigns. 

As the liaison to one or more academic units, the Coordinator will serve as the primary point of contact in the Advancement office for the(se) unit’s fundraising efforts including annual and major gift fundraising, donor stewardship, and engagement of Advisory Council(s) as needed, particularly around its fundraising priorities. They will work with frontline fundraising colleagues to maintain a robust pipeline of donors for the(se) units, represent the Advancement Division at regular meetings of Advisory Council(s) as needed, work with departmental/unit staff and Advancement colleagues to execute fundraising campaigns, and work with the unit staff and the Stewardship team in Advancement to execute donor-related stewardship.

This position will also provide advanced level administrative support for the Director(s) of Development. Using knowledge of donor interest and University priorities, this position will support donor engagement in coordination with the Director(s) of Development by drafting briefings and high-level correspondence/proposals, and reviewing and tracking stewardship. This position will handle the following tasks, which include but are not limited to: meeting/travel arrangements, proposal pipeline maintenance, event support, as well as technical and logistical support to the Director(s) of Development. This position is also responsible for most information technology tasks and functions in support of the Director(s) of Development.

Adherence to Division policies and best practices is expected.  

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience 
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in a related field such as development, sales, customer relations, administration, and/or relevant higher education experience.
• Knowledge of Blackbaud is a plus.
• Experience in event management is desired. 

Job Competencies

• Strong interpersonal skills are necessary for building relationships with external (donors, prospects, trustees) and internal (deans, faculty, staff, colleagues) constituents. Highly collaborative in approach.
• Strong organizational and planning skills with the ability to initiate, collaborate, implement, monitor, evaluate, and support strategic plans that support the activities of the program and contribute to the overall goals and objectives of Advancement and the fundraising enterprise.
• Proficient with audio/visual and presentation platforms (Zoom, Microsoft Teams or WebEx, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Expertise in Microsoft and Google platforms, especially Google Calendar and email, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to work independently with strong project/time management skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent customer relations and relationship-building skills, and a high level of tact, discretion, and diplomacy required. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with ability to successfully interact with faculty, senior administration, and high-profile alumni.
• Ability to apply tact and maintain confidentiality. 
• Quantitative experience and ability to work with databases and manage data.
• Must be able and willing to work occasional evenings and weekends.

Background Check: All offers of employment are contingent upon a successful criminal background check and education verification satisfactory to Brown.

Additional Information: Please submit a resume and cover letter when applying for this position.

Read more about the benefits of working at Brown here.

Benefits of Working at Brown:

Please review additional information on the Benefits of Working at Brown.

Recruiting Start Date:

2026-09-18

Job Posting Title:

Development Coordinator

Department:

Advancement

Grade:

Grade 9

Worker Type:

Employee

Worker Sub-Type:

Regular

Time Type:

Full time

Scheduled Weekly Hours:

37.5

Position Work Location:

Hybrid

Submission Guidelines:

The designated Position Work Location for each position determines the approved modality of work. Positions are classified based on the operational and business needs of the department and may be designated as on-site, hybrid, or remote.

Employees with a designated position work location as remote must reside and perform their work in a state where Brown University is registered to do business. Brown University is a registered employer in the following states: Rhode Island, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Washington, D.C.

Please note that to be considered for a staff position at Brown University, you must submit a separate application for each position you wish to be considered for. Applications are reviewed only for the specific position to which they are submitted and are not automatically considered for future openings.  

This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Still Have Questions?

If you have any questions you may contact [email protected].

Brown is an E-Verify Employer.

EEO Statement:

Brown University provides equal opportunity and prohibits discrimination, harassment and retaliation based upon a person’s race, color, religion, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law, in the administration of its policies, programs, and activities. The University recognizes and rewards individuals on the basis of qualifications and performance. The University maintains certain affirmative action programs in compliance with applicable law.