Gift and Data Processing Assistant - Cambridge MA - Union of Concerned Scientists

Dina Morris

Skilled data entry can be a bit like skilled knitting: you need to be able to perceive patterns, spot errors in those patterns, and then fix them without unraveling a whole project. If you’re great with spreadsheets and details, willing to spend hours doing repetitive work—and helping to find ways to streamline our repetitive work—and you’d like to work for an organization that uses science to try to save our planet and make us all safer, the fundraising team at UCS invites you to apply as a Gift and Data Processing Assistant. Apply at ucsusa.org/jobs!

The Position

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is an independent national nonprofit that uses science to protect our health, safety, and environment. We are scientists, engineers, economists, activists, and everyday people who develop and advocate for innovative, practical solutions to some of our planet’s most pressing problems—from combating global warming and developing sustainable ways to feed, power, and transport ourselves, to fighting misinformation, advancing racial equity, and reducing the threat of nuclear war. Working at UCS means advancing solutions and advocating for policies which are backed by the best data, research, and technical expertise.

Our fundraising team seeks a data processing assistant to join a busy data operations team. The ideal candidate will maintain excellent database hygiene practices, pay attention to minute details, and be able to work independently for long periods of time. The position requires maintaining a high degree of efficiency and accuracy while enforcing the business rules associated with our database coding practices. If you have the ability to scan large data sets to isolate small issues, with an editor’s eye for catching mistakes and seeing error patterns, and you’d like to help UCS enter and maintain data in support of our mission, join us!

Responsibilities

Using Raiser’s Edge software, you will spend 75% of your time entering donations made to UCS, paying close attention to detail, and refining processes as needed to improve our efficiency. This includes:

• Analyzing daily gifts from different sources to determine the relevant coding for each gift to be processed
• Developing a detailed understanding of internal protocols for processing more complex gifts
• Performing quality checks of both personal and team workflow and data entry to help us reduce errors and streamline our procedures over time
• Making address updates, name corrections, and coding fixes
• Organizing and sorting various forms of incoming paper mail
• Process address updates from returned mail
• Participate in ongoing and short-term database cleanup projects as assigned

The remaining 25% will be devoted to related data-entry work such as:

Please Note: During late November through mid-January each year, UCS gift volume grows to the point that manual data-entry tasks can take up more than 80-90% of the Gift Processing Team’s time. The team works together to stay flexible with this seasonal shift in task load and collaboratively monitors this volume to make sure it is distributed evenly. Overtime is never required, but adjustments to the standard UCS holiday vacation period are made (with a strict pause on vacation days during the traditional holiday period).

Qualifications and Experience

• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously with high degree of accuracy and attention to detail
• Ability to work independently to accomplish daily responsibilities
• Ability to work as a collaborative team player and to learn and improve ongoing technical goals and process enhancements
• One-to-two years of experience in an office administration, bookkeeping, or data-entry role is preferred
• Willingness to spend extended periods of time doing routine and repetitive keyboard work
• A working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook is required
• Experience with Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge or similar donor or customer management software is highly preferred

UCS is an equal opportunity employer actively seeking to diversify its staff. In particular, we’re dedicated to broadening opportunities for individuals from demographic groups that are historically underrepresented in the sciences and in environmental advocacy. We’re also committed to building an inclusive workplace culture where talented people of widely diverse backgrounds can thrive. We believe the inclusion of culturally diverse perspectives will improve our work and produce better societal and environmental outcomes for all, including historically disenfranchised communities.