Development Assistant

Development Assistant

Organizational Summary:

Playwrights Horizons is a theater committed to the advancement of bold and visionary playwrights. We carry out our mission through the development and production of daring new work and the education of future theatermakers.

Reports to:

Director of Development

Position Summary:

Playwrights Horizons, an award-winning off-Broadway theater located in the heart of Manhattan, seeks a candidate who will be an integral member of an active development office. The Development Assistant plays an important role by providing administrative support across all Development Department activities, including database management, donor outreach and benefit fulfillment. The ideal candidate will be detail-oriented and comfortable with interacting with donors, board members, artists and staff at all levels of the organization.

Responsibilities:

• Database Administration
  • Set up new donation pages for annual campaigns and special project fundraising including linking to Tessitura database
  • Maintain and update institutional and individual donor files including tracking interactions, address changes, unsubscribes and recording donor information
  • Maintain online giving pages and donation portal, ensuring that the designs adhere to branding requirements, content is timely, and page links are accurate and operational
  • Pull lists and other data needed by frontline fundraisers
• Donor Cultivation
  • Facilitate timely acknowledgement of all gifts
  • Support and serve as backup for concierge ticket booking for patrons/high level donors
  • Maintain accurate crediting of donations in programs, show signage and other locations
  • Track event RSVPs for departmental events
• Departmental Support
  • Track and report on all fundraising expenses by entering and maintaining database and reconciling database with the accounting database and receipts
  • Work with Development Department to support gala and event coordination, including list pulling and response tracking
  • Attend and assist at Departmental events

Required Qualifications:

• Strong project management and organizational skills
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint preferred
• Database experience; Tessitura strongly preferred
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks and meet deadlines
• Strong interpersonal communications skills and ability to maintain confidentiality
• Writing, editing, and basic design skills
• Able to work occasional nights and weekends

Benefits & Compensation

Benefits:

Playwrights Horizons is committed to supporting the well-being of its staff and offers a comprehensive benefits package including 10 days of vacation, four personal days, 10 sick days, and many paid Holiday office closures. Employees have access to individual medical, dental, and vision coverage, with various plan options available through Oxford Health Plans. Playwrights Horizons partially subsidizes health and dental insurance and provides vision insurance at no charge to employees. Our benefits package further includes life insurance policy, a 403b retirement plan, and flexible spending accounts for medical, dental, and dependent care expenses. Other perks include an employee assistance provider (EAP), health reimbursement account, pre-tax transit benefits for transportation expenses, and complimentary and staff-rate tickets to our productions.

Salary:

The salary range for this position is between $50,000 - $60,000 per year, commensurate with experience.

To Apply:

Qualified candidates are encouraged to submit a cover letter and resume to Kathleen Burke, Director of Development via our application portal HERE. No phone calls please.

Full link to application; https://form.asana.com/?k=FLfjlnzsqYFi8AL-OOl6rA&d=17022989146991

Priority Consideration Deadline: November 15, 2026 (applications received by this date will be reviewed first and guaranteed equal consideration). After November 15, 2026, applications will be accepted but considered only on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

We expect first round interviews to begin late November. Semi-finalists will meet with Kathleen Burke, Director of Development, along with other members of the Development team, approximately early to mid December with a final round aiming to be in mid to late December. An offer is expected to be made by the end of December with an ideal start date of January 4, 2026.