Assistant, Advisory Services job in Durham

Assistants play an essential role in supporting client service through project support and administration. They also support team management, business development, and internal projects.

Essential Responsibilities

Client Service (~60%)
Project Support:

• Support the regular administrative needs of a portfolio of client projects, including scheduling interviews, meetings, webinars, and focus groups, and note-taking for internal and client meetings
• Triage incoming requests and communications for clients via phone, e-mail, and snail mail
• Maintain up-to-date contact and project data in Salesforce
  Provide additional administrative support on projects as needed

Grant Making and Program Management:

• Provide logistical support for client meetings and conferences held on behalf of clients
• Coordinate and support production of meeting materials, including agendas, handouts, and slide decks
• Assist in conference planning on behalf of clients, including agenda drafting/formatting, writing speaker bios, helping organize speaker preparation, and managing participant logistics
• Assist in the collection, review, and analysis of grant applications on behalf of clients
• Assist in executing strategic programs and initiatives, including grantee learning networks, newly created organizations, and donor collaboratives

Communications & Deliverable Development:

• Support the drafting, revising, and formatting of client reports, presentations, memos, and correspondence
• Produce visual representations of research findings, such as Excel charts, PowerPoint slide decks, and infographics

Internal Projects (~40%)

• Team Management: Provide administrative support to team leadership, coordinate team-wide meetings and events, pull standard business reports from Salesforce, and assist with team-wide communications
• Systems Support: Serve as systems admin for Office 365 and/or Salesforce platforms, troubleshooting and escalating issues to IT department as needed
• A variety of internal projects, which may include:
  Training and Onboarding Support: Schedule and support development of team trainings and team-specific onboarding sessions
• Professional Development: Participate in ongoing training throughout the year
• Knowledge Management: Support technical and administrative elements of knowledge management efforts
• Team Communication: Prepare quarterly team impact communications with input from colleagues and from leadership

To be successful in this role you’ll need:

• Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in a related field
  Up to two years of experience in an administrative role (acquired through full or part time work, or internships)
• Extremely strong attention to detail and a strong sense of personal responsibility for one’s work
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously and in a timely and proactive manner
• Ability to prioritize among competing demands and overlapping deadlines
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Ability to be resourceful and adapt quickly to change
• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, and written communication skills
• Experience in program management and event planning
• Team-oriented, professional, with a positive attitude
• Comfort using Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Technologically savvy with an interest in learning and training others in technology solutions, including Skype for Business, ReadyTalk, Doodle, Salesforce, etc.
• A strong interest in the field of philanthropy
• Exposure to or experience in non-profit finance or accounting and/or grantmaking a plus

Our Core Competencies:

• The ability to provide excellent, reliable service, including the ability to effectively recognize and elevate potential challenges, gather the information necessary to create and carry out solutions, and support those solutions with clear communications and thorough follow up
• The ability to manage time, resources, and priorities to complete tasks on time with high-quality results
• The ability to be a positive and professional liaison for stakeholders such as clients, team members, and senior leaders, including understanding how the role relates to those stakeholders and how to gather information and resources from them in order to achieve certain goals
• The ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and professionally to various audiences over various mediums
• The ability to effectively collaborate, including a willingness to go above and beyond to help the team achieve goals, solicit others’ perspectives, share knowledge, and participate in activities that support diversity and inclusion
• A demonstrated eagerness to learn and take on new challenges, including an openness to direction and feedback and a willingness to ask questions
  The ability to take ownership and be creative and solutions-oriented when encountering challenges that don’t have obvious answers, and to be resilient when things become difficult

About Arabella Advisors

Arabella Advisors helps foundations, philanthropists, corporations, and investors who are serious about impact achieve the greatest good with their resources. We work on issues ranging from the social and economic advancement of women and girls, and conservation of our climate and planet, to reducing poverty and inequity in the United States and around the world. Our staff members are mission-driven and action-oriented, and have a unique combination of experience in philanthropy, business, nonprofits, government, finance, law, and other fields. We combine creative, strategic thinking with knowledge and networks developed through decades of hands-on experience. The fastest-growing philanthropic advisory firm in the nation, Arabella is also a certified B Corporation.

About Arabella’s Advisory Team

The Advisory team is a collegial, client-focused, and impact-driven community that provides a range of strategic consulting services to institutional foundations, family foundations, corporate foundations, impact investors, and philanthropic individuals. Our team helps clients develop grant-making and impact investment strategies, implement programs and grant initiatives, conduct diligence, evaluate impact, and collaborate effectively with other donors and investors. Together, we work with many of the nation’s leading philanthropists, helping them achieve impact in education, health, international development, conservation, and more.

Working with Us

We are committed to having a passion-driven, inclusive, transparent, collaborative, healthy, and fun culture. We invite you to visit our careers website to learn more.

To encourage work/life balance we offer flexible work options. Our office is an open space with cubicles and informal work areas. Our salaries are closer to the range of a nonprofit and our benefits are excellent. You’ll start with three weeks of vacation, 80 hours of personal time, and 20 hours of paid time to volunteer at an organization of your choice. In addition to seven federal holidays, you get to pick four more from a list of inclusive religious holidays and your birthday.

We have a competitive health package that includes medical, vision, dental, and prescription insurance. We also provide funds for professional development, a fitness benefit, and cover part of your personal cell phone plan.

How to apply

Submit a resume and a one-page cover online. The cover letter should address why you’re excited to work at Arabella and why you’re qualified for this specific job.

We value diversity and inclusion and encourage all qualified people to apply. If we can make this easier through accommodation in the recruitment process, please let us know.

While Arabella is open to individuals from various locations applying to join our team, please note that we generally are unable to pay for relocation expenses.

We will review applications as they are received and look forward to hearing from you.