Duke University · 17 hours ago
Senior Development Writer, Marketing, Communications, and Stewardship, Duke (AED)
Durham, NC
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
$60K/yr - $87K/yr
2+ years expDuke University is seeking a Senior Development Writer to join their Office of Alumni Engagement and Development. The role involves managing, composing, and editing communications and marketing materials aimed at enhancing the university's connections with donors and alumni.
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Responsibilities
With input from senior development leaders, write proposals, white papers and other content to support gift conversations in the $100,000 to multi-million-dollar range
Write gift announcements for major and principal gifts reflecting the highest ambitions of the university
Write, update and maintain strategic fundraiser toolkits, ensuring gift officers have the assets they need to present opportunities to donors
Create custom gift proposals for key principal donors
Occasionally support the writing work of the larger Creative team and organization, including writing compelling key messages, elevator pitches, advertising copy, video scripts, alumni/donor stories and other materials to support a variety of complex university initiatives
Occasionally serve as a contributor to various websites including alumni.duke.edu and giving.duke.edu
Work with the university’s academic leaders and fundraising officers to help communicate their vision and priorities to an alumni and donor audience
Collaborate with development colleagues, schools and units to identify alumni and development stories to promote the benefits and impact of giving to Duke, educate prospective donors about Duke accomplishments and priorities and promote a positive image of the university
Collaborate with graphic designers, web developers, videographers and other writers on development communications
Develop and maintain effective working relationships with other alumni, development and communications offices at Duke
Perform other duties as assigned
Qualification
Required
Work requires the ability to perform creative writing and related activities such as conducting interviews and research, and copy editing normally acquired through attainment of a bachelor's degree in Journalism, English or a related discipline
Work requires two years of directly related writing experience. OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE
Preferred
Brand-centric portfolio that demonstrates strong strategic thinking and the ability to generate and execute creative ideas with a high level of craft and attention to detail
Comfort writing for different audiences and adjusting tone, style and concepts to address audiences most appropriately
Familiarity with AP Style
Experience developing fundraising communications including proposals, donor one-pagers, gift announcements and the like
Experience developing ideas for articles, ads, brochures, commercials and other publications and transforming those concepts into promotional copy
Experience interpreting creative briefs and incorporating team and client perspectives to develop unique and engaging content
Ability to set schedules and manage deadlines effectively
Ability to be flexible and work in a highly collaborative team environment
Familiarity with design and production
Benefits
Comprehensive and competitive medical and dental care programs
Generous retirement benefits
A wide array of family-friendly and cultural programs to eligible team members
Company
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university providing undergraduate and postgraduate education in medicine and other disciplines.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Duke University has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (274)
2024 (232)
2023 (202)
2022 (195)
2021 (148)
2020 (121)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$71.15MKey Investors
North Carolina Biotechnology CenterUS Department of EnergyGlaucoma Research Foundation
2023-02-17Grant· $0.11M
2022-09-19Grant
2022-03-09Grant· $0.05M
Leadership Team
Barry Myers
Professor and Director
Dan Ariely
Professor
Recent News
2025-12-18
Company data provided by crunchbase