Overview
Sightline Institute, the Northwest’s sustainability think tank, seeks a part-time development and administrative assistant to support Sightline’s day-to-day operations in nonprofit fundraising and administration. The successful candidate will join Sightline’s development team, helping to raise our annual budget and ensure we maintain top-notch stewardship of and communications with our individual donors. Key functions include gift processing, production of tax receipts, and database maintenance, as well as extensive general office support. This role would be perfect for someone who is detail-oriented, skilled with technology, and enjoys helping organizations operate smoothly.
The development and administrative assistant is a salaried, half-time position working out of Sightline’s office in downtown Seattle. While the exact weekly schedule is negotiable, we expect the person hired to maintain a regular and defined schedule within our operating hours (8:30am-5:30pm Monday through Friday). This position is supervised by the senior development associate (annual fund) and is part of Sightline’s development team. This position also works closely with the office administrator.
Each Sightline staff member serves as a community-builder and ambassador of our mission, and so we are looking for candidates with an interest in a sustainable and equitable Northwest, as well as a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Primary Responsibilities
Note: This is a new role at Sightline, and we anticipate the successful candidate will help shape and assess the duties of this position over time.
Development Support (50%)
- Process all donations in a timely manner
- Produce gift acknowledgments promptly (within 48 hours of receiving gifts)
- Coordinate with finance & administration manager on reconciliation of received gifts and pledge payments
- Create monthly fundraising reports and other database reports as needed
- Continually update and correct donor records and contact information
- Manage the executive director’s secondary email account
- Special projects cleaning up donor records and lists in the donor database and Mailchimp
- Occasional support tracking RSVPs for events
Administrative Support (50%)
- Help schedule and set up meetings and provide tech support
- Provide general office support: mail distribution, scheduling, maintenance of physical space, ordering supplies
- Manage transit passes for Sightline employees
- Make weekly bank deposits
- Provide very basic IT troubleshooting and support, coordinating with Sightline IT contractors if necessary
- Provide assistance to the office administrator for special projects
As for all Sightline staff members, the development and administrative assistant is also expected to:
- Participate fully in the life of the organization, contributing to Sightline’s cohesiveness and supportive working environment and fostering its culture of collaboration and consensus seeking.
- Treat all fellow staff members, interns, and volunteers with integrity and goodwill and without prejudice in regard to race, religion, ethnicity, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, or other personal attributes irrelevant to job performance.
- Incorporate Sightline’s values and equity, diversity, and inclusion commitments into all aspects of the job.
Key Qualifications
Required
- Extremely high attention to detail.
- Well-organized.
- Skilled with technology and/or has the ability to quickly learn new programs.
- Familiar with Windows systems.
- Can write legibly (for donor correspondence).
- Interest in and commitment to equity, inclusion, and diversity.
Desired
- Experience with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel), CRM databases, Mailchimp, and Windows 7 and 10.
- Ability to work independently in an open, often-quiet office.
- Ability to prioritize and handle simultaneous assignments with success and accuracy.
- Ability to clearly communicate with employees in different roles.
- Passion for the nuances of administrative work.
About Sightline
Sightline is a nonprofit research and communications center—a think tank—with a mission to make the Northwest a global model of sustainability with strong communities, a green economy, and a healthy environment. Sightline equips the Northwest’s citizens and decision-makers with the policy research and practical tools they need to advance long-term solutions to our region’s most significant challenges. Our work includes in-depth research, commentary, and analysis, delivered online, by email, and in-person to Northwest policy champions, emerging leaders, and a range of community partners. The majority of Sightline’s staff of twenty work from our main office in downtown Seattle, with five staff and other collaborators working remotely.
The organization’s values of community, responsibility, fairness, and opportunity are embodied in our office. Our cheerful, flexible staff work together exceptionally well in a very quiet yet congenial and supportive atmosphere.
Sightline is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We continually strive to ensure that our programs, audiences, staff, board, and contractors increasingly reflect the racial, ethnic, socio-economic, and other demographic diversity of the Northwest.
Compensation and Benefits
Salary and Benefits: This is a part-time 0.5 FTE (20 hours/week) position with a starting salary range of $19,000- $21,000 (prorated for part-time, based on $38,000-$42,000 full time).
Sightline offers a generous personal leave and benefits package including:
- 20 vacation days, 9 holidays, and 10 sick days annually, all prorated for FTE
- Health insurance, prorated dental insurance, and health care and dependent care flexible spending accounts
- 3-month paid sabbatical every 7 years
- Employer contribution of 10% of salary into a SEP-IRA retirement account
- Professional development opportunities
To Apply
- Email a cover letter and resume in one PDF to Riley Kent at office@sightline.org.
- Please put “Development and Administrative Assistant” as the subject line of the email.
- In the body of your email, please indicate how you heard about this position.
Cover Letter: In your cover letter, please tell us: what about this position appeals to you, your preferred part-time schedule, any personal or professional experience you have working to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, and anything else you would like us to know about your readiness for this position.
Priority will be given to those submissions made prior to Feb. 28, 2019. Position open until filled. Please contact office@sightline.org if you have any questions. Sightline Institute is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply!
Our Hiring Process and Timeline
Priority will be given to applications received before Feb. 28th, and we will review applications until the position is filled. We will strive to follow the general timeline laid out below but may adjust or extend in order to find the right candidate.
First round interviews (by phone): early March
Second round interviews (in-person): mid-late March
Candidate selected: late March
Tentative start date: early-mid April