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Development Officer
MIT Priscilla King Gray (PKG) Center for Public Service 
Full Position Description 

Job Number: 22555

Functional Area: Administration 

Department: PKG Center 

School Area: Chancellor’s 

Employment Type: Full-Time 

Employment Category: Exempt 

Visa Sponsorship Available: No 

The Development Officer, Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center (PKG Center), will lead and execute strategic fundraising and engagement for the PKG Center. This position historically has raised over half of the Center’s annual operating  budget and will be responsible for maintaining and expanding the PKG Center’s network of supporters. 

The PKG Center, housed in MIT’s Office of Experiential Learning/Office of the Vice Chancellor, taps and expands MIT students’ unique skills and interests to prepare them to explore and address complex social and environmental challenges including health equity, using technology for social good, climate change, and racial justice. We educate students to collaborate ethically and effectively with community partners to engage in meaningful public service, today and in their lives beyond MIT. The Development Officer plays a pivotal role in helping the PKG Center achieve its mission. 

The successful candidate will join our team of 8 full-time staff and a cohort of Graduate Assistants from local universities. The Development Officer will report to the PKG Center’s Associate Dean + Director with additional opportunity for collaboration with the Chancellor’s Director of Development Strategies and Communications.

Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities: 

  • Create, lead, and implement a comprehensive fundraising strategy for the PKG Center that includes annual giving, major gifts, foundation grants, and corporate giving, in alignment with the Director of the PKG Center and the Chancellor’s Office.
  • Collaborate closely with the MIT Alumni Association to engage alumni and maximize visibility of the PKG Center to alumni and prospective donors.
  • Partner with the MIT Office of Resource Development to cultivate, solicit, and steward individuals and entities managed centrally by this Office.
  • Build and manage a portfolio of PKG Center donors by conducting proactive outreach to qualify prospective donors identified by the Resource Development Prospect Development team, cultivating relationships with prospects, and soliciting and stewarding donors to create a pipeline of funding for the PKG Center.
  • Enhance engagement with prospective donors through marketing, personal relationships, connection(s) with faculty and staff, meetings, presentations, and events.
  • Manage donor and alumni focused communications to elevate student and PKG Center alumni success stories. This includes:
    • Developing newsletters or other communications for PKG Center supporters and alumni. 
    • Partnering with Communications colleagues and others across campus to leverage MIT publications and social media as appropriate for development purposes.
    • Managing all aspects of digital and print appeals (including content creation, sending, tracking and reporting of results).
    • Preparing students to represent the PKG Center at donor, alumni, and other events.
    • Writing an annual PKG Center impact report.
  • Grow and lead the Friends of the MIT PKG Center, a group of PKG Center ambassadors and fundraising volunteers. Drive and implement strategy, communications, and events with this group to increase funding for the PKG Center. 
  • Write grants and grant reports in partnership with PKG team members, the Office of Foundation Relations, and other colleagues as appropriate.
  • Determine corporate sponsorship opportunities and manage relationships with corporations, in collaboration with Resource Development and MIT Corporate Relations when appropriate.
Additional: 
  • Supervise 1-2 Graduate Assistants with the possibility of additional student assistants. 
  • Use PKG Center data for donor and alumni communication.
  • Partner with PKG Center colleagues to implement Center-wide goals and assist with programs/events when necessary. 
  • Represent the PKG Center in relevant committees and events. 
  • Keep up to date with best practices and learnings in resource development and alumni relations. 
  • Hybrid (in Cambridge office + remote) working arrangement.
  • Work nights/weekends and travel as required. 
  • Other duties as needed or required.

Education + Qualifications: 

  • Bachelor’s degree.
  • Minimum of 2 years’ experience in some combination of resource development, alumni relations, and/or development communications, including donor cultivation, solicitations, stewardship, and volunteer management and/or related mission-driven field. 
  • Excellent storytelling and writing skills.
  • Self-starter with strong work ethic, high ethical standards, sound judgment, and creative problem-solving skills.
  • Outstanding organizational and project management skills.
  • Excellent and effective team collaboration skills.
  • Strong interpersonal skills, including ability to listen carefully and communicate effectively and tactfully with donors, students, faculty, partners and other internal/external stakeholders.
  • Knowledge and appreciation of cross-cultural, bias, and social justice issues, and demonstrated ability to work across diverse populations and differences.
  • Ability to interpret trends in data and create actionable plans.
  • Excellent computer skills including experience with spreadsheets and databases and comfortable learning new software as needed.
  • Passion for public service. 
  • PREFERRED: front-line fund-raising experience, preferably with higher education or other non-profit organization; and/or prior MIT experience.

Salary: $71,000-$85,000

Application instructions:

  •  A cover letter is required to be considered for this role. 
  •  To apply, click here

MIT is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin. The Office of the Vice Chancellor values diversity and inclusion and seeks to build and maintain a community and culture that celebrates and values diverse backgrounds, identities and perspectives 

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ovc@mit.edu