Jamie Justice joined Development Guild DDI in 2013 as an Accounting Assistant and has since held a few different roles. We caught up with her to discuss her recent promotion to Senior Manager, Accounting and Contracts and her time at Development Guild.
What does your day to day look like? Who do you collaborate with the most?
In my current position as Senior Manager, Accounting and Contracts, most of my time is split across those two functions. Accounting work being cyclical as it is, there is always some aspect of those daily operations making up part of my day. Contract management work varies day to day as it spans all aspects of our operations – there is always something new to do!
I work closely with our Chief Operating Officer, Deborah Brown, in both accounting and contracts and I feel quite lucky that we have established such a great working relationship over the years! Though I consider myself in many respects an individual contributor, my role allows me to work with and get to know everyone at the company on an individual level in some capacity or another – whether it’s providing onboarding trainings for new hires, collaborating with our sales staff on a proposal, meeting with project leads to review their projects, or even just helping with an expense report.
What has been your career path at Development Guild?
Jamie Justice
I joined Development Guild right out of college in 2013 as the Accounting Assistant, eventually being promoted to Accounting Associate and then Accounting Manager. In these roles my duties mainly focused on the day-to-day accounting operations, though accounting has never been my sole responsibility! I’ve worn many hats during my time at Development Guild, including working as a help desk tech, assisting with processes in the human resources department, handling facilities and office management duties, and serving on the DEI task force. Currently, I serve as the co-chair of the community building committee, a cross-departmental committee that plans events to boost company morale and provides opportunities for staff to get to know each other.
In 2018, I began as the Accounting and Contracts Manager as I started taking more of an interest in the development of client proposals and agreements. It was a natural transition as I was already managing or involved in the systems needed for contract management. This spring I was made the Senior Manager, Accounting and Contracts, and in that role I hope to continue finding ways to improve our core efficiencies.
What would be your advice for finding success at Development Guild?
The number one thing that comes to mind is to be an advocate both for the work and for yourself. A benefit to working at a firm of our size is that there are a variety of opportunities to gain access to leadership and present your ideas for improving the processes and tools that support our work. I think it’s important to take advantage of those opportunities to find success here. I also find that as a group of people who have chosen to work with nonprofits (either directly or indirectly), everyone who works at Development Guild is mission-driven in some way, which makes for a team that is incredibly willing to help each other – so if you find yourself in a position where you need support or guidance, you will always find it if you ask.
What is a cause you’re passionate about?
I have always been an avid reader and learner – I was one of those kids who enjoyed school. I think that reading from so many different perspectives (whether it be a novel, a textbook, a memoir, or a psychological thriller) has helped greatly to heighten my ability to empathize with others. For me, empathy plays a critical role as a catalyst for action and change in taking care of the people, communities, and world around us. I also believe that education and knowledge have the power to spark change as well, making fair and equal access to education extremely important.
What’s something that you are currently looking forward to?
I’m currently looking forward to continuing to partner with Deborah Brown and others in the firm on exploring new and old business software that we have to find possible efficiencies and improvements to our core processes and systems. Finding new ways to think about existing processes and making them better is always something I have enjoyed professionally. I’m also excited to continue planning fun events with the community building committee!
As for personally, I love summer and I cannot wait for that time of year to get here. I am looking forward to traveling, both domestically and internationally – a fun upcoming trip is an extended trip to Bulgaria with my partner Andy.