Associate, Strategic Services
About the role
The Associate, Strategic Services provides support to a portfolio of clients and within Aperio’s Strategic Services team. Strategic Services is responsible for developing and implementing Aperio’s core ‘products’ (services to nonprofit organizations), approaches (ways of delivering those services), resources (tools and templates), and standards (quality levels/controls). The Associate, Strategic Services ensures these elements are seamlessly integrated into the Client Services team’s workflows, enabling high-quality deliverables and exceptional client experiences.
As a vital member of the team, the Associate brings a proactive, solutions-oriented mindset, exceptional organizational skills, and a collaborative approach to enhancing operational efficiency and delivering high-quality results in alignment with Aperio’s vision and mission.
Client support and strategic services operations (75%)
Project management & operations
The Associate, Strategic Services serves as the project manager for a portfolio of nonprofit clients, supporting our Client Services team in driving proactive, strategic, and operational work across engagements and internal initiatives.
Deliver high-quality, timely, and relevant support to both Client Services and the Strategic Services team, prioritizing exceptional service and innovation
Lead day-to-day project execution by developing agendas, capturing and synthesizing notes, tracking action steps in Asana, and ensuring follow-through across stakeholders
Support Client Services by developing and executing actionable project plans, leveraging Aperio Resources to drive efficient, high-quality delivery
Design, implement, and refine systems to support Strategic Services operations, including tracking deliverables across the client portfolio, managing team workflows (e.g., inboxes), and supporting reporting, planning, and internal initiatives.
Manage ‘up, down, and out’ to coordinate the activities of diverse internal and external stakeholders, ensuring timely progress on projects
Provide direct organizational and project support to the Senior VP on special capacity-building initiatives, such as: implementing AI, client feedback surveys, product development, and development of resources for Aperio’s ‘resource library’
Provide general operational support to management of client services, such as data collection, reporting & analysis, planning call topics/agendas, and creating resources for the team
Support special projects, including vendor relations, communication drafting (e.g., emails, memos), and administrative tasks
Serve as a subject-matter expert on contents of the ‘resource library’, directing team members to the most relevant resources and proactively developing strategies to address challenges
Queue management
The Associate ensures timely, quality fulfillment of all ‘shared services’—deliverables created by subject-matter experts—provided to the Client Services team to support their fulfillment of services to clients.
Oversee and manage Asana queues for client deliverables across writing, design, data & analytics, research, and DevOps support
Ensure deliverables are of high quality, aligned with client expectations, and delivered on time
Prioritize, assign, and monitor deliverables across queues, to provide clear updates to stakeholders to ensure timely, high-quality completion
Act as a liaison between requestors on the Client Services team and subject-matter experts working on deliverables (usually one of Aperio’s Expert Network members or a team member), facilitating communication and resolving questions to ensure timely, quality deliverables
Deliver exceptional customer service to Expert Network members, ensuring they are well-supported in their partnerships with the Client Services team
Data & analytics and research services
The Associate contributes to Aperio’s data screening and segmentation work, to support the fulfillment of data & analytics and prospect research requests—either directly or in collaboration with additional subject-matter experts.
Partner with Senior VP and subject-matter experts to develop, document, and continuously improve data & analytics and prospect research services, including automation and process enhancements
Personally fulfill standard data screening and segmentation requests, collaborating with the Senior VP, the requesting Client Services team, and vendors
Support Client Services team in understanding and applying insights from analyses and provide clear next steps for portfolio creation and fundraising growth strategy development
Serve as a subject-matter expert on prospect research, maintaining working knowledge of industry standards, best practices, ethics, tools, methodologies, etc.; develop resources for Aperio’s ‘resource library’
Coordinate fulfillment of customized prospect research, including briefings, qualification snapshots, new donor lists, and tailored research projects
Contribute to fulfillment of customized prospect research as needed
Business development and other internal responsibilities (15%)
Maintain a strong understanding of Aperio’s vision, services, fundraising model, and client needs to provide tailored operational support
Contribute to Aperio’s efforts to fight racism and discrimination, especially in nonprofits, fundraising, and philanthropy
Approach all interactions with clients, team members, and our community with curiosity, seizing each opportunity to learn about nonprofits, philanthropy, fundraising, and consulting
Enter business development information into Aperio’s CRM, including contact information, meeting notes, and next steps related to business development relationships, as directed
Prepare communications, emails, letters, and memoranda, as needed
Support Client Services team with Business Development scheduling, as needed
Present/facilitate and participate in conferences, workshops, and webinars hosted by Aperio and other industry groups
Create articles and videos that educate, equip, and inspire nonprofit leaders and fundraisers
Promote and engage with Aperio content across social media channels
Perform other related duties as assigned
Qualifications
3+ years of work experience in project management; experience in fundraising, events and/or consulting preferred
Demonstrated analytical capabilities, with advanced Microsoft Excel experience preferred
Operationally minded, exceptional detail orientation, and consistent follow-through
Strong relationship management, interpersonal, collaboration, and communication (written and oral) skills
Ability to work well with all levels of staff, clients, management, vendors, etc.
Ability to ‘manage up’ and ask the right questions of leadership
Adept at designing ‘fool-proof’ systems and processes
Proactive in identifying opportunities to streamline operations and improve processes through effective communication and teamwork
Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects to successful outcomes
Self-starter with ability to complete tasks with minimal direction and supervision
Eagerness to learn new knowledge and skills
Experience with CRMs preferred
Outstanding organizational skills and ability
Proficient in Microsoft Office PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook
Ability to travel for assignments, as needed
Location
This role is currently a fully remote role. East Coast or Central time zones preferred.
In the future, Aperio may have an office in major cities that our team members are welcome to use. Periodic travel and in-person meeting requirements.
Compensation
Aperio is pleased to offer competitive compensation and benefits, as well as accelerated career development opportunities.
Base compensation for this role is $55,000 - $65,000. Bonus and promotion opportunities available.
Benefits
Benefits include:
Flexible scheduling
Paid time off (PTO) starting at 4 weeks per year, which includes 10 days of sick time and 10 days of vacation time
10-18 holidays per year, including closure over the year-end holidays
Summer Fridays observed between the Friday before Memorial Day and the Friday before Labor Day
Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employer-paid contributions toward monthly premiums
401K with company contributing a non-elective 3% of pay in each pay period
To facilitate work-from-home, Aperio provides essential technology equipment and a monthly mobile phone reimbursement of $75 per month.
Application
To apply for this role, complete an application at the link below. You will be asked to include:
Your resume
A brief cover letter describing why you’re interested in Aperio
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At Aperio Philanthropy, we practice evergreen recruiting, which means we accept and review applications on a rolling basis all throughout the year, even if we don’t have a specific role open at the moment. This approach allows us to build relationships with talented candidates in advance, so we can move quickly when the right opportunity becomes available. Our hiring team reviews applications on a monthly basis. If your skills and experience align with a current or anticipated need, someone from our team will reach out to schedule an initial conversation. While we may not have an immediate opening, we encourage you to apply if you're interested in working with us. Your application helps us keep you in mind for future roles.
