The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)’s Alumni Affairs and Resource Development is a dedicated team supporting the School’s advancement activity through front-line fundraising, alumni and volunteer engagement, and community building. Our work directly supports the HKS mission to improve public policy and leadership so people can live in societies that are more safe, free, just, and sustainably prosperous. By combining cutting-edge research, the teaching of outstanding students, and direct interaction with practitioners, we have an impact on solving public problems that no other institution can match. The Officer, Harvard Kennedy School Annual Fund (HKS Fund) works closely within the HKS Fund team to identify, cultivate, and solicit annual donors for gifts of $1,000-$100,000. They will join a successful, entrepreneurial annual fund team that has achieved consistent growth in results over the past decade and is poised for its next phase of innovation to further increase alumni donor participation and drastically grow unrestricted revenue. In close collaboration with colleagues across Alumni Relations and Resource Development, this role helps shape and execute forward-thinking strategies that strengthen philanthropic support for Harvard Kennedy School and deepen alumni engagement worldwide. This position provides the opportunity to gain experience in frontline solicitation and annual fund strategies. This position manages a robust portfolio of leadership annual fund prospects, developing and implementing personalized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans that advance HKS Fund goals. The Officer, HKS Fund will play a key role in high-impact annual fund initiatives—including reunion fundraising, the Graduating Class Campaign, volunteer management, and donor renewal and retention strategies—creating meaningful opportunities for alumni and friends to invest in the School’s mission. By building and sustaining important relationships with donors who are shaping the future of Harvard Kennedy School, the Assistant Director directly contributes to the success of priority projects, student and faculty support, and the long-term health of the HKS Fund. Job-Specific Responsibilities: This position contributes to meeting and exceeding department revenue goals by developing and executing prospect strategies, cultivating, and stewarding prospects and donors and directly soliciting gifts. Manages a 500 person prospect pool of mainly alumni leadership giving donors within specific regions and spread throughout the globe, with a focus of raising annual gifts over $1,000 or more. Makes a minimum of 10-12 face-to-face visits monthly and contacts entire portfolio each year. Qualifies, progresses, and cultivates newly identified prospects and evaluates major gift potential and next steps. Develops appropriate cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies to enhance retention, grow revenue, and improve donor advancement. Will be required to meet set individual revenue and moves management goals. Manages alumni volunteers in reunion and non-reunion classes, overseeing volunteer training, class fundraising strategy, and the logistics involved with volunteer solicitations. Responsible for working closely with HKS Fund staff to solicit reunion prospects and execute on annual reunion fundraising strategy. As needed, collaborates with the Development Communications team and works independently to utilize email, digital, and phone outreach to meaningfully contact prospects outside of typical travel areas. Creates customized and personalized donor communications materials and touchpoints to help nurture and strengthen mid-level donors’ relationships with the Kennedy School. Coordinates with, supports, and trains alumni volunteers on fundraising strategies and solicitations of their classmates with an added emphasis on Reunion classes. Supports activities related to the Graduating Class Gift program, including solicitation, on-campus activities, and communications materials. Researches and prepares background information and drafts high level strategy briefings for faculty, senior administrators, and volunteers. Drafts other correspondence and communications as required. Works with leaders of Communications, Alumni Relations, and Principal and Major gifts to strategize and plan development trips and regionally-based donor strategy. May coordinate any or all aspects of development travel including prospect identification, scheduling, logistics, travel arrangements, event logistics, briefings, staffing and follow-up correspondence. May staff faculty or senior administrators in meetings with donors and represent Alumni Relations and Resource Development at events, meetings, and 1:1 appointments. Coordinates briefings and follow-up correspondence. Prepares contact reports and enters them in the development database. Tracks prospects in the assigned portfolio, developing strategies and moves and ensuring that assignments are up to date and all activities are documented. Manages research needs for assigned portfolio by completing research or by assigning research to the University Research Team when appropriate. Works with the Communications staff to ensure talking points are written for the Dean or other senior administrators for speaking engagements. As a member of the Alumni Relations and Development Office team, takes on critical project work as needed. This might include working on planning efforts, development committee meetings or events, drafting reports and presentations, or writing proposals. Performs other responsibilities upon request, as needed, with or without accommodation. The above covers the most significant responsibilities of this position. It does not, however, exclude other duties, the inclusion of which would be in conformity with the level of the position. Qualifications. Basic Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree and 3 or more years of related experience, including working or volunteering in a fundraising setting. Additional Qualifications and Skills: The ideal candidate is action oriented with an ability to deal with ambiguity; has composure, comfort around higher management; possesses sound judgement and decision making quality, integrity and trust, interpersonal savvy, listening, planning, written communications, learning on the fly, organizing, peer relationships, personal learning. Excellent communications skills, oral and written Prior development experience and a demonstrated experience in solicitations strongly preferred Basic understanding of fundraising needed, as well as a desire to learn morel. Ability to manage a busy office with competing demands; not easily flustered nor easily overwhelmed by a high volume of activity and projects. Integrity and trust with a demonstrated ability to manage highly confidential information Ability to problem solve Ability to work with a diverse constituency required Ability to analyze and explain data Strong knowledge of MS Office and ability to learn new software quickly Ability to work nights and weekends and to travel as required are a must