Lawrence Development Leadership Administrator

Lawrence Development Leadership Administrator

This position provides administrative, communications, and operational support to three Lawrence Development Assistant Vice Presidents whose portfolios include constituent fundraising management, the development and execution of strategic fundraising initiatives, and oversight of their own donor portfolios.

The individual in this role manages day-to-day operations for senior leaders, including oversight of email inboxes and dynamic calendars. They ensure calendars are structured with thoughtful pacing—including breaks and travel time between commitments—and anticipate meeting needs by preparing required materials in advance. Responsibilities also include proactive monitoring, triaging, drafting responses, and routing inquiries appropriately, while collaborating closely with the AVPs, who remain actively engaged in their own communications.

Additional duties include supporting expense reporting, mileage tracking, monitoring development budgets, and capital and development projects management as needed.

Success in this position requires exceptional organizational skills and strong written communication abilities; the capacity to draft sensitive, time critical materials with minimal guidance; and the confidence to represent leadership priorities accurately and consistently. The individual must handle confidential information with sound judgment and discretion.

This role is essential to ensuring development leaders remain focused on their highest value work, enabling them to carry out fundraising, strategic planning, and people management responsibilities efficiently and effectively.

The individual in this position is expected to embrace KU Endowment's stated core values – collaboration, curiosity, empowerment, and excellence – and demonstrate support for them through professional interactions and activities.

Following the initial training period, this position offers a hybrid work schedule, with the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. However, the role requires multiple days per week on-site at our Lawrence, KS office to ensure effective collaboration, team engagement, and alignment with organizational goals.

What's a typical day look like?

Senior Level Administrative, Communications, and Leadership Execution Support

• Serve as the primary administrative and communications support for two managing Assistant Vice Presidents of Development and one Assistant Vice President of Strategic Initiatives.
• Serve as a central coordination and execution support resource for leadership driven- initiatives by translating priorities into actionable tasks, coordinating inputs across teams, monitoring progress, and supporting the development of key deliverables, in partnership with formal project management resources when applicable.
• Actively monitor, manage, and triage email inboxes, determining appropriate action, drafting responses, redirecting inquiries, and escalating issues as needed.
• Draft, edit, and finalize critical written communications, including internal memos, donor correspondence, campus partner communications, and leadership summaries, often with minimal direction.
• Correspond independently and directly with donors, campus partners, and senior staff, exercising discretion and sound judgment.

Strategic Triage and Workflow Management

• Anticipate needs, manage deadlines, and proactively address conflicts or gaps across leaders' portfolios.
• Ensure timely follow-through and clear communication across teams.

Planning, Coordination, and Meeting Effectiveness

• Manage multiple and complex calendars, balancing competing priorities and proactively resolving scheduling conflicts.
• Coordinate meeting preparation, including agendas, briefing materials, background information, and post meeting follow-up.

Organizational Effectiveness and Information Management

• Maintain records and documentation of a highly confidential nature, ensuring compliance with privacy and data handling standards.
• Support onboarding and integration of new AVPs by serving as a knowledgeable resource on processes, partners, and expectations.

Relationship Management and Representation

• Represent AVPs with…