Development & Communications Coordinator

Status:                Part-time, hourly

Reports to:         Director of Development & Communications

Works with:        Associate Director of Marketing (full-time)

Schedule:            20 hours/week during Mondays – Fridays, with occasional evenings or weekends

Location:             In-office, with some remote work possible

POSITION SUMMARY

The Development & Communications Coordinator strengthens fundraising and communications efforts with essential administrative support. They help maintain accurate, timely, and engaging relationships with donors, visitors, and our broader community. They will help maintain and organize records in our constituent database; process donation requests and gift acknowledgements; coordinate grant proposal applications and reports; export and organize data for communications and reports; respond to public inquiries; and provide additional support with proof reading and website updates.

This role is an essential member of a small but growing team. It supports two other positions, providing administrative support to the Director of Development & Communications and the Associate Director of Marketing. In total, this Development and Communications team will be responsible for outward-facing efforts that elevate the Museum’s brand and drives engagement with families, supporters, partners, and the community. Their work supplements earned income to support Museum operations, programming, and long-term projects; drives visitation and program enrollment; and builds larger connections with the public.

The Development & Communications Coordinator also collaborates frequently on interdepartmental projects where multiple viewpoints nurture success. Since reopening in April 2022, we’ve been rebuilding and growing all aspects of the Museum’s operations, including setting ambitions to being a leader in the community and the field. We are a mission-driven and values-centered organization dedicated to playful learning, children, and our community. We dream big and are committed to doing impactful work – this position’s organization and support will help us expand our ability to meet the needs of our community.

An ideal candidate will:

• Be comfortable working with data, databases, and various marketing/communications software or platforms.
• Demonstrate excellent customer service, attention to detail, and strong collaboration skills.
• Have prior experience with nonprofit development and/or marketing work (directly or indirectly).
• Be inspired by the mission and goals of the Seattle Children’s Museum and are eager to be a member of a growing mission-driven and values-centered organization.
• Enthusiastically champion an approach that centers community, sustainability, access, and equity in their work.
• Be a collaborative, respectful team member with excellent communication, interpersonal skills, and a growth mindset.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Utilize and maintain systems and records (digital and physical) to track development and marketing activities and coordinate with colleagues, including record management and report generation with a donor management database system (SCM currently uses Altru) and digital asset management (ex: photography, promotional graphics).
• Coordinate donation processing and donation requests: Process gifts and donation requests by creating records in donor management database, creating and sending acknowledgment letters, and responding to communications.
• Coordinate donor stewardship & engagement: Support and coordinate efforts to maintain and enhance long-term relationships with donors and donor prospects through proper stewardship, as set by organizational stewardship strategy; track and assist with planning donor engagement events and opportunities and collaborate with colleagues to develop implementation plans.
• Support the Museum’s grant-writing initiatives: Assist with researching potential grants that support Museum projects and needs; collaborate with Museum staff, partners, and consultants as we plan, write, edit, and submit grant applications; track deadlines; support relationships with program officers; and assist with tracking, planning, writing, and submission of grant reports.
• Support the Museum’s Marketing & Communications efforts: Export data and reports from donor management database for digital communications; update registration forms and website; track and organize promotional digital assets; reply to common public inquiries.
• Help draft and edit written fundraising and marketing pieces, such as appeal letters, donor acknowledgements, e-newsletters, website copy, or other collateral.
• Support team and mission: Work collaboratively within the SCM team to grow support, uphold the mission and values, and contribute to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace; actively uphold our Culture Charter in all work; participate actively in team meetings, staff trainings, and Museum-wide projects; cross-train to gain first-hand experience of our mission in action, as well as providing occasional front-line support in the Museum.
• Track, interpret, and utilize relevant data to inform decisions, allocation of resources, and strategic adjustments.
• Maintain current knowledge of professional best practices, trends, and ethics related to museum/non-profit fundraising and museum/non-profit marketing.
• Represent the Museum and its mission in the community.
• Provide excellent customer service for internal and external stakeholders.

Required Qualifications:

• 1-2 years of experience in administrative role in the museum, cultural, or non-profit field, including managing data in databases, supporting projects, and/or organizing assets/materials – or equivalent experience
• Excellent writing/editing skills (development of content and/or adding spark to content provided) including the ability to generate original writing for grants or solicitations
• Excellent interpersonal and verbal communication skills
• Comfort and demonstrated experience with CMS or donor management software (ex: Altru), as well as standard workplace software (especially Microsoft Office suite)
• Demonstrated experience successfully coordinating projects, including ability to track project components, set and track progress toward goals, and manage multiple concurrent projects and deadlines
• Comfortable using data to inform and adjust strategy
• Ability to work both self-directed and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment

Desired Qualifications:

• 1-3 years of experience in fundraising/development and/or marketing work in the museum, cultural, or non-profit field
• Passion and commitment to arts, culture, children, and/or education
• Demonstrated and effective skills in fostering relationships, establishing trust and rapport with diverse individuals, and engaging in skillful conversation with tact and sound judgement
• Demonstrated writing skills, including development of content and/or adding spark to provided content provided for fundraising or marketing pieces
• Demonstrated experience with donor stewardship and/or grant research, writing, and reporting
• Demonstrated experience related to marketing and communications work and strategy
• Excellent customer service skills

Benefits:

This position’s compensation package currently includes the following benefits:

• Accrued paid time off, accrued paid sick and safe leave, 2 floating, 1.5x pay when scheduled on one of the 12 employer-observed holidays, infectious disease leave, and bereavement leave
• ORCA commuter benefit
• Access to Employee Assistance Plan
• Professional development opportunities
• Staff discounts on Museum offerings, including a free membership and a free party rental each year

Physical Working Conditions:  

The working conditions described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodations.

• Frequent: Sitting (at desk, at a computer, in meetings, making phone calls); typing on keyboard, looking at a computer screen, and reading.
• Often: Walking (to office in center of Seattle Center campus, within office, and to occasional meetings/events around town); standing (during events or meetings); and other movements such as bending over, reaching for items, and organizing.
• Occasional: Wearing a face mask (in alignment with current Museum infectious disease protocol), kneeling, using a radio, speaking loudly in crowded spaces (ex: Museum events), lifting 20-30 pounds. Also occasional travel within town or less-frequent long-range travel (could include sitting on planes, trains, or in cars for extended periods).

TO APPLY

Submit both a letter of interest (2-page max) and resume, via email, to: jobs@seattlechildrensmuseum.org

• Letter of interest: In your letter, let us know how you can help the Seattle Children’s Museum meet our goals; align with our mission and values; and serve our purpose through this position.
• Interview Process: Candidates selected for interviews will be asked to participate in a 20-minute phone screening conversation, followed by up to 2 rounds of in-person interviews with Museum staff.
• Selected candidates must complete a background check before beginning employment.
• Hiring team will begin reviewing applications April 15, 2026 and continue on a rolling basis. Each applicant will be notified of decision on or before June 1, 2026.

For more about Seattle Children's Museum, or to view the full posting, visit here: http://www.SeattleChildrensMuseum.org/contact/job-opportunities