What does a development assistant do?
A development assistant specializes in performing support-related tasks for a company's development team. They are primarily responsible for coordinating with department personnel and clients, ensuring that all programs and projects meet all goals while running efficiently. They are also responsible for producing progress reports, securing funding and sponsorship, arranging schedules and appointments, processing paperwork, participating in planning various events, and monitoring the budget and expenditure. Furthermore, there are instances when a development assistant must prepare outreach programs and even handle social media activities.
Development assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real development assistant resumes:
- Manage all aspects of donor prospecting, cultivation, stewardship, and budget/vendor/consultant management for special events and individual giving.
- Assist in the implementation of SalesForce database to track contacts.
- Create, test, update HTML and JavaScript coding on Mac/PC platforms.
- Job includes website programming and web-database application development using HTML, PHP, JavaScript, and MySQL.
- Update monthly newsletter, blogging section of website, Facebook profile, and other social media/online networking tools.
- Create marketing PowerPoint presentations, proposals and graphic design projects.
- Assist with creation of PowerPoint presentations and development marketing materials.
- Maintain company facebook page, conducting market research through community outreach programs.
- Provide documentation on SharePoint and use SalesForce to generate reports on customer project data.
- Maintained/Update biographic and demographic alumni information.
- Develop and maintain project tracking databases, project analysis tools, and interactive SharePoint libraries to host information.
- Develop and oversee a new station-wide project submission and review system with Microsoft SharePoint to enable sufficient cross-departmental communication.
- Maintained/Update biographic and demographic alumni information.
Development assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Development Assistants are proficient in Java, Database Management, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Time-management skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Development Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Java, 20%
Monitor Java based applications and IT Infrastructure using Site Scope alerting.
- Database Management, 10%
Assisted the Development department with membership administration, database management and generating monthly reports.
- Customer Service, 7%
Assisted in the planning of Professional Development events Handled registration process for Professional Development events Provided customer service
- Data Entry, 5%
Managed online auction data entry process during annual financial aid fundraiser to evaluate dollars raised.
- CSS, 4%
Used JavaScript, Bootstrap, AngularJS, CSS, HTML and MYSQL.
- Professional Development, 4%
Assisted and facilitated professional development workshops for faculty in technology-enhanced project design with Understanding by Design (UbD).
"java," "database management," and "customer service" are among the most common skills that development assistants use at work. You can find even more development assistant responsibilities below, including:
Compassion. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a development assistant to have is compassion. Their role and responsibilities require that "social and human service assistants often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." Development assistants often use compassion in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provided support and compassion to patients and family members. "
Time-management skills. Many development assistant duties rely on time-management skills. "social and human service assistants often work with many clients," so a development assistant will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways development assistant responsibilities rely on time-management skills: "coordinated and followed up on press releases, calendar deadlines and interviews. "
Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of development assistants is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday development assistant duties, as "social and human service assistants must make their clients feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "acquired excellent interpersonal skills and professional attitude through years of management. "
Organizational skills. For certain development assistant responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "organizational skills." The day-to-day duties of a development assistant rely on this skill, as "social and human service assistants must often complete lots of paperwork and work with many different clients." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what development assistants do: "provided daily support to director of learning and organizational development as well as seven hr business partners and training specialists. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a development assistant to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what development assistants relies on this skill, since "social and human service assistants help clients find solutions to their problems." How this skill relates to development assistant duties can be seen in an example from a development assistant resume snippet: "trouble shoots system issues, problem resolutions and data analysis of salesforce steps system for multiple local state cap agencies. "
Communication skills. Lastly, "communication skills" is an important element of what a development assistant does. Development assistant responsibilities require this skill because "social and human service assistants talk with clients about the challenges in their lives and assist them in getting help." This resume example highlights how development assistant duties rely on this skill: "performed millennium data entry, developed, edited, and produced communications, reports and presentation materials for internal and external audiences"
The three companies that hire the most development assistants are:
- Oracle101 development assistants jobs
- Boston Consulting Group12 development assistants jobs
- Columbia University in the City of New York6 development assistants jobs
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Compare different development assistants
Development assistant vs. Business development coordinator
A business development coordinator specializes in devising strategies to identify and develop new sales and marketing opportunities, ensuring profitable growth and a strong client base. Their responsibilities revolve around gathering data, conducting research and analysis, organizing conferences and other events, maintaining records and data, and disseminating information such as proposals, memos, instructional documents, and more. There are also instances when a business development coordinator must liaise with clients and external agencies, even respond to calls and correspondence from customers.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a development assistant are more likely to require skills like "java," "data entry," "css," and "java servlets." On the other hand, a job as a business development coordinator requires skills like "crm," "patients," "excellent interpersonal," and "real estate." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Business development coordinators tend to make the most money working in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $66,679. In contrast, development assistants make the biggest average salary, $35,250, in the health care industry.On average, business development coordinators reach similar levels of education than development assistants. Business development coordinators are 0.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Development assistant vs. Assistant
An assistant intern is responsible for facilitating administrative and clerical tasks as assigned by the management. Assistant interns' duties include keeping records of meetings, receiving calls and handling customer inquiries, assisting on writing reports and data entry processing, cooperating and providing support for business events, and adhering to company policies and regulatory procedures. Successful assistant interns must have excellent time-management, multi-tasking, and communication skills. They must be a team player and fast-learner to handle various tasks in the corporate industry.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real development assistant resumes. While development assistant responsibilities can utilize skills like "java," "database management," "data entry," and "css," assistants use skills like "patients," "patient care," "sales floor," and "scheduling appointments."
Assistants earn a lower average salary than development assistants. But assistants earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $39,026. Additionally, development assistants earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $35,250 annually.In general, assistants achieve similar levels of education than development assistants. They're 4.6% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Development assistant vs. Client services assistant
A client services assistant is responsible for responding to the clients' inquiries and concerns, escalating high-level complaints to the appropriate department, and accurately processing their service requests. Client services assistants also manage disputes, issue refunds as needed, schedule management meetings, and support the organization's strategic procedures to ensure client satisfaction and maintain a good reputation. They also help identify business opportunities, considering clients' preference to close more projects that would generate revenues and achieve profitability goals.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, development assistants are more likely to have skills like "java," "database management," "data entry," and "css." But a client services assistant is more likely to have skills like "assist clients," "client service," "adl," and "financial statements."
Client services assistants earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $40,561. Comparatively, development assistants have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $35,250.When it comes to education, client services assistants tend to earn similar degree levels compared to development assistants. In fact, they're 4.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Development assistant vs. Advising assistant
An advising assistant works with school or university counselors, with a primary focus on students' mental welfare. Their responsibilities are to document sessions with patients, provide clerical assistance, and assist with psychological assessments. This position preferably requires a degree in psychology. Strong communication and organization skills are also necessary.
Types of development assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
