"Temporary Alumni Affairs Professional"

Temporary Alumni Affairs Professional

Major Gifts Associate

Cornell Lab of Ornithology
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS)
Ithaca, New York

Who We Are

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences CALS is a pioneer of purpose-driven science and Cornell University's second-largest college. We work across disciplines to tackle the challenges of our time through world-renowned research, education, and outreach. The questions we probe and the answers we seek focus on three overlapping concerns: natural and human systems; food, energy, and environmental resources; and social, physical, and economic well-being.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is the world's leading resource for conservation, research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. The Lab is a vibrant unit within Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), where six world-class, mission-driven centers are directed by full-time faculty and other renowned professionals. Lab staff teach undergraduate courses, advise graduate students, collect and disseminate world-famous digital resources on biodiversity, and engage with partner organizations and citizens around the world to conduct scientific research and conservation actions. Our management and staff are committed to the highest standards of ethics and excellence in all areas of our work, and our Board leadership includes successful entrepreneurs and managers from the business and non-profit sectors, conservation-minded citizens from the United States and beyond, and faculty from Cornell and other universities.

What You Will Do

The Temporary Major Gifts Associate serves as an integral member of the development team, providing critical support to at least four gift officers, each of whom manages a portfolio of donors or prospective donors with the potential to make gifts between $250k and $10 million. Utilizing excellent writing and organizational skills, the Major Gifts Associate ensures timely and robust communication, project management, research, proposals, donor briefs and letters of agreement as well as gift tracking. The Major Gifts Associate works collaboratively with gift officers, development colleagues, faculty, students, and staff, and plays a vital role in the effort to secure significant support for research programs and Lab priorities from individuals and their personal foundations.

This role will ensure that commitments are entered correctly in both Raiser's Edge and Peoplesoft. Working with the fundraising team, ensure that RE7, Peoplesoft, are correctly updated with donor activity.

Creativity, flexibility, and a proactive approach are vital in this role. Major Gifts Associate has excellent communication skills--verbal and written--and demonstrates exceptional integrity. With access to sensitive and confidential information, the Major Gifts Associate maintains a keen sense of accountability, sound judgment, and ethical professionalism in a deadline-driven, high-performing environment.

This is a full-time, temporary position at 100% FTE. This is a 6-month appointment with the possibility to extend up to one full year.

This position is eligible for a hybrid or in person work arrangement. The university reserves the right to modify, suspend, revoke, or terminate the hybrid work arrangement at any time.

Visa Sponsorship is not available for this position.
Relocation assistance will not be provided for this position.

What We Need

We are looking for someone with an excellent work ethic who is organized and passionate. Additionally, we need someone who has the following:

• Bachelor's degree and 3 to 5 years relevant experience or equivalent combination
• Superior writing skills
• Demonstrated experience in producing high-quality deliverables in a deadline-driven, high-performing environment
• Ability to communicate clearly and diplomatically with a variety of domain experts
• Ability to work with the team and to deliver work on schedule
• Ability to translate data and background information into actionable products
• Must be self-motivated and able to work independently and be equally capable of working with the supervisor to prioritize projects and to regularly communicate status and progress.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, multi-tasked, team-based environment, to manage multiple competing deadlines

Key Responsibilities

Portfolio Support:

• Under the direction of gift officers, contribute to the cultivation of Major Gift donors
• Plan, manage and deliver key action items, follow-up, and project management in the delivery of prospect strategies
• Track and document prospect activities, including contact reports, correspondence and stewardship touches as needed
• Review list requests from AAD for non-academic donors and ensure timely responses to requests
• Ensure accurate tracking in PeopleSoft, Raiser's Edge and local storage
• Understand process for proposals and provide support for creation of documents (LOAs, LOUs, SOIs, and Solicitation Review)
• Maintain files of proposals and agreements (LOAs, LOUs, SOIs)

Prospect Management Support:

• Working with gift officers, request drops/moves to other gift officers and following up if not completed
• Processing new donor tracking requests, managing and following
• Creating tracking of event/webinar attendees and updating as necessary
• Updating proposals and status updates in RE and PS as requested
• Closing PeopleSoft Asks, linking gifts, updating expected commitments

Rewards and Benefits

The compensation range for this position is 72,209 - 77,625 annually

How to Apply

You must submit both a resume/CV and a cover letter.