Development Senior Leadership Team Administrator, Lawrence Development

Department: Lawrence Development

Reports to: Vice President, Lawrence Development

FLSA Status: Non - exempt

The anticipated salary for this position starts at $63,600+. The final pay will be determined based on several factors, including qualifications, experience, education, and years within the job or industry, with a strong emphasis on maintaining internal equity. 

Who we are and what we’re about:

KU Endowment is an independent, nonprofit organization and the official fundraising foundation for the University of Kansas. We partner with donors in providing philanthropic support to build a greater KU.

As an employee of KU Endowment, you’ll witness firsthand the power of our donors’ generosity. You will join a talented and fun group of people who are inspired to help KU through the support of loyal alumni and friends. This support fuels excellence, enabling students and faculty to develop innovative programs and research that distinguish the university. We connect the philanthropic passions of donors with the needs of students, faculty and programs – and everyone benefits.

People are engaged. Purpose is ignited. Lives are changed.

What we are looking for:

This position provides advanced, high level administrative, communications, and operational support to senior leaders—including the Vice President for Lawrence Development, Assistant Vice President for Donor Engagement, and Senior Director of Enablement— whose combined portfolios play a central role in shaping the strategy, execution, and oversight of KU Endowment and KU enterprise fundraising efforts. In addition to administrative and communications support, the role serves as a central coordination and execution support resource for leadership driven work, helping translate priorities into actionable tasks, coordinate inputs across teams, monitor progress, and support the development of key deliverables, in partnership with formal project management resources when applicable. The Administrator operates with a high degree of autonomy, discretion, and judgment, serving as a strategic partner and extension of leadership.

The individual in this role is entrusted with delegated authority for day-to-day management of senior leaders’ inboxes, including proactive monitoring, triage, drafting responses, and routing inquiries, while partnering closely with leaders who remain actively engaged in their own communications. The role requires exceptional written communication skills, the ability to draft sensitive and time critical materials with little guidance, and the confidence to represent leadership priorities accurately and consistently.

This position is central to ensuring leaders are focused on the highest value work and that organizational efforts across development, donor engagement, and enablement move forward efficiently and cohesively.

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. 

Hybrid Work Environment: 

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 the Vice President for Lawrence Development, Assistant Vice President for Donor Engagement, and Senior Director of Enablement.
• 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

• Serve as a gatekeeper and prioritization partner for senior leaders by assessing inbound requests and aligning responses with strategic priorities.
• Anticipate needs, manage deadlines, and proactively address conflicts or gaps across leaders’ portfolios.
• Ensure timely follow through and clear communication across teams executing Development, Donor Engagement, and Enablement initiatives.

Planning, Coordination, and Meeting Effectiveness

• Manage complex calendars across multiple senior leaders, balancing competing priorities and proactively resolving scheduling conflicts.
• Coordinate high stakes meetings and engagements, including preparation of agendas, briefing materials, background information, and post meeting follow-up.
• Ensure leaders are prepared with context, materials, and recommended actions for key conversations and decisions.

Organizational Effectiveness and Information Management

• Prepare reports, summaries, synthesized analysis that draws from multiple functional areas to support decision making.
• Maintain records and documentation of a highly confidential nature, ensuring compliance with privacy and data handling standards.
• Support onboarding and integration of new senior level staff by serving as a knowledgeable resource on processes, partners, and expectations.

Relationship Management and Representation

• Represent senior leadership with professionalism, diplomacy, and confidence in interactions with donors, campus administrators, and internal stakeholders.
• Build strong working relationships across departments to facilitate collaboration and problem solving.
• Model executive presence and sound judgment in all interactions, serving as a trusted and reliable point of contact.

Regular and reliable attendance is essential. Performs other duties as assigned.

What’s required to be considered:

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Minimum of three to five years of administrative or executive support experience, or an equivalent combination of administrative and transferable professional experience (e.g., project management, coordination), preferably supporting senior or executive leadership.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to draft high stakes communications independently. 
• Proven ability to exercise discretion, judgment, and confidentiality. 
• Advanced organizational and prioritization skills; able to manage complexity across multiple leaders and functions. 
• Strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence; able to build trust with donors, campus leaders, and colleagues. 
• Strategic thinking with the ability to connect daily execution to larger organizational goals.
• Proactive, solutions oriented mindset with the ability to anticipate needs and propose improvements. 
• High proficiency in Microsoft Office products, collaboration tools, and databases. 
• Ability to work independently while operating as an integral member of a senior leadership team.

What separates the best from the rest? 

• Bachelor’s degree preferred. 
• Preferred experience in CRM databases (e.g., SalesForce), project management tools (e.g., Asana), business intelligence and analytics software (e.g. Tableau), and visualization tools (e.g., Visio)
• Familiarity with KU Endowment and the University of Kansas enterprise preferred.

Physical Requirements:

• A valid driver’s license. 
• Must have access to reliable transportation to travel between multiple locations for training, donor meetings, networking, events and/or work-related activities.
• Must be able to respond quickly and effectively to directions and safety hazards.
• This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office productivity machinery such as computers, keyboards and a mouse, laptops, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines. 
• This is largely a sedentary role; however, some filing is required. This would require the ability to move files, open filing cabinets and bend or stand as necessary.
• The ability to observe details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• The person in this position frequently communicates with donors, colleagues, students, and general public. Must be able to communicate with others effectively.
• Physical effort/lifting, such as medium up to 50 pounds.
• Rare travel requirements can include the following, evenings, weekends, and out-of-town overnights as a regular part of the job. 

KU Endowment is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals to enable them to perform the essential functions of the job as regulated by ADA. If you require accommodation for any part of the application process or during employment, please contact humanresources@kuendowment.org to discuss your needs.

We’ve got you covered:

KU Endowment offers a competitive salary with an excellent benefit package including: 

• 100% employer-paid pension plan
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) and Roth 401(k) matching program
• Section 125 flexible benefits 
• Generous paid leave including holidays, personal and sick leave
• Volunteer and community engagement opportunities
• Paid Parental Leave
• Life, AD&D, short- and long-term disability insurance
• Legal & ID Theft protection
• Critical Illness
• Accident and Hospital Indemnity insurance 
• KU education assistance 
• Free parking

Sounds good, right? What’s next?

Please include your resume and cover letter when applying for this position on our website at https://www.kuendowment.org/careers.

Questions regarding this vacancy may be addressed to:

Human Resources

KU Endowment

PO Box 928

Lawrence, KS 66044-0928

Email: humanresources@kuendowment.org

Review of applications begins immediately and continues until the position is filled. Because of the sensitive nature of KU Endowment business and the importance of our reputation with donors, KU Endowment conducts a comprehensive review of applicants. By submitting your application, you authorize us to conduct reference checks and a review of available public information. Employment is contingent upon background and reference checks that KU Endowment finds acceptable.