Responsibilities

• Lead Development Communications Strategy: Creates and implements an overarching development communications strategy aligned with fundraising goals and organizational priorities; Establishes and communicates priorities, timelines, workflows, and project plans across development communications; Coordinates with development leadership and cross-functional partners to ensure communications meet or exceed the team’s needs; Assesses and secures the talent, tools, processes, and other resources necessary for the success of development communications; Maintains high standards for accuracy, clarity, consistency, quality, and timeliness.
• Develop Donor Focused Messaging: Hosts regular messaging meetings with Mercatus experts and executive leadership to identify current projects, activities, accomplishments, and outcomes relevant to donors; Translates complex policy, research, and organizational information into clear, persuasive, and donor-centered messaging; Develops state-specific and interest-specific communications tailored to individual donors and donor audiences; Coordinates with state engagement, outreach, marketing, and other internal teams to incorporate relevant updates and insights; Provides regular reports, updates, and ready-to-use messaging that help Mercatus major gift officers communicate Mercatus’ value, outputs, and outcomes.
• Create Development Communications Products: Develops and maintains a broad range of high-quality fundraising, stewardship, and donor communications, including newsletters, mid-year updates, annual reports, annual appeal prospectuses, digital annual appeals, regular reports for high-value donors, ready-to-send emails, media and research highlight PDFs, fundraising proposals, digital communications, evergreen materials, and additional collateral.
• Provide Copywriting and Editorial Support: Writes and edits development emails, direct mail, lift notes, thank-you notes, proposals, reports, and other donor communications; provides copywriting and copy-editing support for major gift officers, development operations, and other development colleagues; ensures that original development communications products receive a thorough editorial review by someone other than the author before distribution; establishes and maintains editorial standards for development communications.
• Strengthen Visual Branding: Formats documents and develops or coordinates maps, charts, graphics, and other visual elements for donor audiences; Partners with marketing and design colleagues to ensure development communications are consistent, polished, visually appealing, and aligned with the Mercatus brand; works with marketing and design teams to build and maintain a repository of high-resolution images for development use; helps identify opportunities to capture high-quality photography at important events, including through freelance photographers when appropriate; develops new visual collateral and branded products to support fundraising and donor engagement.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education, training, and work experience
• 5 or more years of professional experience in marketing, communications, fundraising, development communications, or a related field
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing communications strategies
• Exceptional writing, editing, proofreading, and storytelling skills
• Experience translating complex ideas or technical subject matter into clear, compelling communications for varied audiences
• Experience creating communications for donors, funders, executives, or other high-priority stakeholders
• Strong project management skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and stakeholders
• Excellent interpersonal, collaboration, and relationship-building skills
• Strong judgment, attention to detail, initiative, and follow-through
• Ability to work effectively with senior leaders, subject-matter experts, fundraisers, designers, and cross-functional teams

Preferred

• Experience with Salesforce, Canva, and email marketing platforms is a plus
• Familiarity with policy, research, nonprofit, philanthropic, or mission-driven organizations is preferred

Benefits

• full health and dental coverage
• unlimited paid time off
• long-term disability and life insurance
• 403(b) retirement savings program
• parking/travel benefits
• twelve free credits per year at George Mason University