Come join a team of dedicated staff at an exceptional time in the Smithsonian’s history as we prepare for the Smithsonian Campaign for Our Shared Future. This ambitious fundraising campaign’s public phase will run from 2024 to 2026, culminating with the nation’s 250th anniversary. It will expand the Smithsonian’s reach and impact, empowering the institution to find solutions to today’s most pressing challenges. The Smithsonian is also planning two exciting new museums. The National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum share the experiences and perspectives of Latinos and women across history and deepen our shared understanding of what it means to be an American. The Smithsonian has built a model fundraising organization, driven by talented staff across our many museums, research centers and cultural centers. This position offers exciting opportunities for the successful candidate to make a significant impact on the future of the Smithsonian. There is no better time to join this amazing Institution.
The Office of Advancement oversees and guides the fundraising efforts of the entire Smithsonian and is home to the central development organization for the Institution. In addition to raising significant support for a variety of Smithsonian initiatives, the Office of Advancement provides support services to advancement offices across the Institution. The office engages with staff throughout the Smithsonian in accomplishing their goals.
Key Responsibilities
The Smithsonian Office of Advancement seeks an experienced and creative candidate to fill the Program Associate, Operations position. This position is in the Friends of the Smithsonian membership department and provides member services and administrative support of membership operations. The Program Associate will be responsible for working across the membership department to support back-end operations and overall success of the Friends of the Smithsonian. Duties include the following:
Member Services: Incumbent functions as the lead member service representative for the Friends general membership program by responding to inquiries from current, lapsed and prospective members and donors; and from members of the Smithsonian staff and the general public received from all channels. All interactions are handled in a courteous, professional, timely, and accurate manner. Member Service responsibilities include:
- Call Center Support: Incumbent is the daily liaison to the vendor providing inbound telephone support. The incumbent works with the vendor to ensure that the call center has updated documentation and serves as an escalation contact for member concerns that cannot be handled by the call center staff. The incumbent manages basic/standard requests like replacement membership cards, magazines, and tax receipts. Additionally, the incumbent will manage requests and comments that require some research in our membership databases and/or those that require a written response.
- Correspondence: Incumbent will respond to letters, emails, member portal inquires, questions and comments from returned direct mail reply forms and other inquiries in writing.
- Staff support: Incumbent will support managers and staff in responding to inquiries and requests received from members and donors. Incumbent will also work with other staff upon realizing a member or donor is a prospect for higher levels of giving.
- Response planning: Incumbent will work with his/her manager in developing talking points, letter templates and other tools for use in responding to topical member complaints and concerns.
Financial Operations: Incumbent supports the program in the financial operations areas of purchasing, corporate matching gift processing, and inter-departmental transfers.
Office Support: Incumbent will support the office operations through collecting and processing office mail, general office administration, and other related duties as assigned.
Additionally, the incumbent assists in the development and implementation of processes, projects, reports, fundraising and stewardship campaigns, events, correspondence, and collateral materials, as needed. The incumbent assists with member engagement and supports all events hosted by the membership program.
Skills, Knowledge, and Expertise
The successful candidate will have a minimum of three years relevant experience, including member services, gift processing, and office administration. Other required skills include the ability to successfully manage multiple deadlines, the initiative to work both independently and as part of a team, strong writing abilities and exceptional attention to detail. Knowledge of Ellucian Advancement, Salesforce, or another complex membership database is preferred but not required.
Benefits and Application Instructions
The Smithsonian Institution values and seeks a diverse workforce. Join us in "Inspiring Generations through Knowledge and Discovery." Interested candidates should submit their resumes and a cover letter to this link by November 30, 2023. Resumes should include a description of your paid and non-paid work experience that is related to this job; starting and ending dates of job (month and year); and average number of hours worked per week. Relocation expenses are not paid.
What To Expect Next: Once the vacancy announcement closes, a review of your resume will be compared against the qualification and experience requirements related to this job. After review of applicant resumes is complete, qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager.
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Smithsonian Institution provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation should contact [email protected]. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. To learn more, please review the Smithsonian’s Accommodation Procedures.
The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that a workforce comprising a variety of educational, cultural, and experiential backgrounds support and enhance our daily work life and contribute to the richness of our exhibitions and programs. See Smithsonian EEO program information: www.si.edu/oeema.