Executive Assistant to the Director of Advancement

 

The Thacher School
Executive Assistant to the Director of Advancement

Position: Executive Assistant to the Director of Advancement
Reports to: Director of Advancement: Philanthropy, Governance, and Strategy
Status: Full-time, benefit-eligible, exempt position; non-housed.
Salary range: $70,000–$90,000.
To Apply: Apply directly to hiring site and send a cover letter and resume via email to the attention of Sara Billings at: [email protected]. Other methods of application will not be considered. 

About The Thacher School 

The Thacher School is one of the most selective and highly regarded boarding schools in the nation. Founded in 1889 by Sherman Day Thacher, the School serves academically talented students from over 20 states and close to 10 countries in a rigorous college preparatory experience. More than 54% of students identify as people of color. The faculty and students live and work closely together on a 427-acre campus nestled in the foothills of the Los Padres National Forest in Ojai, California (85-miles north of Los Angeles). Honor, fairness, kindness, and truth are the cornerstones of school life. Together, the school community commits to the belief that demands in the academic classroom, when combined with those of mountains and horses, of sports and the arts, produce independent minds, strong bodies, and powerful character. The School enrolls 260 students, has an operating budget of $30 million, and an endowment of $190 million. 

Position Overview:

The Executive Assistant (EA) to the Director of Advancement serves as the primary strategic and operational partner to the Director of Advancement: Philanthropy, Governance, and Strategy, driving the efficiency, impact, and reach of the Alumni and Development Office.

Designed for an experienced executive assistant, this position requires a high degree of professional sophistication, operational mastery, and the ability to seamlessly manage relationships with principal donors and Board members. The Executive Assistant will regularly represent the Director and the School in interactions with trustees, volunteers, alumni, parents, and donors, and must demonstrate exceptional professionalism, discretion, and judgment.

The Director’s portfolio involves principal donor cultivation and fundraising, and Board-level engagement; the EA will directly orchestrate the day-to-day operations, communications, and strategic priorities required to move these critical institutional relationships forward.

The ideal candidate possesses a sophisticated executive presence and a proven track record of supporting C-suite executives, organizational presidents, or top-tier fundraising/sales leaders. This individual anticipates needs before they arise, exercises flawless judgment, navigates complex organizational dynamics with ease, and commands a high level of written and verbal diplomacy.

Key Responsibilities:

Executive Operations & Strategic Partnership

• Executive Calendar: Strategically manage a complex, fast-moving calendar; assess the urgency of meeting requests, resolve conflicts proactively, and protect the Director’s time to ensure focus on high-priority institutional initiatives.

• High-Stakes Travel & Itineraries: Orchestrate multi-city travel arrangements, donor-visit itineraries, and multi-stakeholder schedules for major advancement initiatives.

• Executive Briefings: Synthesize background research, donor profiles, and key metrics to prepare comprehensive briefing documents, agendas, and strategic prep materials for the Director ahead of critical meetings.

• Project Management: Track executive deliverables, institutional deadlines, and ongoing campaigns; ensure accountability and timely follow-through across the Advancement leadership team.

Fundraising & Donor Communications

• Executive Authoring: Draft, refine, and ghostwrite high-level donor correspondence, executive talking points, and meeting follow-ups in an institutional voice.

• Proposal & Presentation Design: Partner with the Director to develop major gift proposals, naming opportunity briefs, and executive-level presentations for donors.

• Moves Management Oversight: Monitor and track prospect activity and executive moves management, ensuring critical donor interactions are strategically documented and actioned.

• Briefings and Trip Notes: Prepare pre-meeting briefings and ensure timely, accurate documentation of post-meeting notes and action items.

Board & Leadership Coordination

• Board Governance Support: Oversee the logistics, material preparation, and distribution of documents for Board committees, campaign leadership groups, and key volunteer frameworks. Taking minutes, editing reports. 

• Meeting Leadership: Manage meeting timelines, record actionable directives, and drive post-meeting follow-up communications to ensure volunteer alignment.

Operational Oversight

• System Optimization: Ensure the seamless flow of departmental processes, leveraging Raiser’s Edge to extract reports and verify data accuracy supporting fundraising strategy.

• Expense Management: Authorize and manage executive business expenses, travel tracking, and related budget reconciliations.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Executive Experience: A minimum of 3–5+ years supporting a senior executive (CEO, President, Head of School, Vice President, Chief Advancement Officer, or similar leadership role).

• Fundraising & Sales Acumen: Conceptual understanding of fundraising operations, principal gift cycles, or corporate sales pipelines (e.g., pipeline management, client stewardship, and executive relationship management).

• Masterful Communication: Exceptional written communications skills with the ability to write persuasively and elegantly on behalf of an executive leader.

• Flawless Discretion: A proven history of handling highly sensitive financial, personal, and institutional data with absolute confidentiality and emotional intelligence.

• Technical Proficiency: Advanced command of Google Workspace, project management platforms, and executive CRM workflows (Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce, or similar enterprise databases). Experience using AI as part of a similar role is preferred. 

• Resilience & Agency: A self-starting professional who remains deeply calm, flexible, and solution-oriented under pressure in a fast-paced environment.

Other Requirements

• A criminal background check must be successfully completed before employment can begin.

Salary and Benefits

Salary Range is $70,000-$90,000. Final salary is based on experience relevant to the role and internal equity. The Alumni and Development Offices offers a hybrid, flexible work environment. Thacher offers a competitive total rewards package, which includes a 403(b) match, healthcare coverage, and a broad range of other benefits including full tuition remission for eligible dependents, use of campus facilities and generous professional development support. Housing is not included in this role. 

The physical requirements described above are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. As prescribed by law, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The Thacher School is dedicated to providing equal opportunities to all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran’s status, or any other factor that is a prohibited consideration under applicable law.