Senior Director, Development Operations

We have ambitious plans, and we know the most critical step is building an incredible team that reflects the diverse fabric of our nation and embodies our values. Our team is made up of people who are equal parts dreamers and doers. We are people who care as much about how we achieve our goals as we do about the goals themselves. Our values drive our team and are instilled in the work this Foundation does every day. We are also committed to creating an anti-racist organization in order to do our part to help combat racism and inequity in all forms, in communities across our nation and around the world. Read our full statement on anti-racism and equity here.

Purpose of Role

Reporting directly to the Vice President of Development, the Senior Director of Development Operations will be part of a core group of senior leaders across the Obama Foundation’s 50-person Development department. This is an ideal opportunity for a proven, creative, and values-driven non-profit leader with management experience who’s highly motivated to drive towards ambitious goals in collaboration with a dynamic and values-driven team. The Senior Director will play a critical role in helping to reach the Foundation’s ambitious $180M year-over-year fundraising goals, closing out its active $1.6B campaign, and achieving long-term sustainability for the organization.

The Senior Director will help shape the department’s strategic vision by leveraging data to inform decision-making and drive impactful philanthropic initiatives. As a key member of the Development Leadership team, the Senior Director of Development Operations oversees departmental strategic planning while ensuring alignment with institutional strategic planning. This position will oversee six (6) full-time employees that constitute the department’s Database Management, Gift Acceptance, and Prospect Research subteams.

The Senior Director will play a key role in structuring, measuring, and analyzing donor and income trends to inform fundraising strategy and decision-making and will work closely with our Finance and Legal departments. This individual will be comfortable managing complex vendor relationships, possess significant database, systems, strategy, and analysis experience, and strongly desire to maximize results while managing resources, expectations, and organizational needs.

Core Job Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Planning

• Drive strategic, data-led fundraising efforts by providing vision and direction to Development Operations subteams.

• Serve as the departmental representative in organization-wide strategic planning efforts.

• Identify key metrics to fundraising success and evaluative measures. Provide transparent progress reporting to all departmental staff.

• Review and update current standard operating procedures to optimize the Development Operations function, creating new procedures where necessary.

• Oversee development budgets, track all invoices and expenses, and provide regular written reports with commentary to management.

• Act as the primary point of contact with vendors, managing several critical vendor relationships to achieve ambitious growth goals.

Data & Prospect Management

• Identify, develop, and implement strategies to maintain accurate and timely entry of donor and gift data in Salesforce, utilizing automated systems whenever possible, and design and enforce accountability protocols.

• Create and implement strategies to grow funding sources, including using internal data and innovative technologies to identify and cultivate new potential donors.

• Provide strategic oversight of the prospect management function, ensuring strategies are developed to expand the prospect pipeline and that all portfolios successfully move donors through the qualification process.

• Offer strategic recommendations to the Database Management subteam in order to ensure data cleanliness, accuracy, completeness, and regular updates within Salesforce (e.g., demographic data), using automated systems as much as possible.

Team Coaching & Process Management

• Manage and coach the members of the Prospect Research, Gift Acceptance, and Database Management subteams, and oversee relevant vendors and part-time staff.

• Serve as department liaison with the Legal and Finance departments.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

Key Deliverables / Outcomes

• Clear development operations strategy for the Development Operations vertical, ensuring that systems and processes support all areas of fundraising.

• Strong documented processes and controls are in place to ensure that all data is accurately maintained and updated regularly.

• Daily, weekly, and monthly reporting to enable informed decisions within Development.

• All donations are accurately recorded in Salesforce within 24 hours of receipt.

Required Qualifications

• Significant experience leading a development operation for a large, diversified fundraising program, including a large number of complex donations across many different types and levels of giving.

• Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and manage high-performing, collaborative teams.

• Hands-on experience driving successful campaigns, growing revenue, building endowments, conducting prospect research, cultivating donor relationships, utilizing CRM systems, and optimizing philanthropic operations.

• Strong interest in exploring and adopting new technologies to enhance existing systems and processes.

The salary range for this role is between $166,820 and $208,573. 

Location: Chicago-preferred or remote with occasional travel to Chicago.

#LI-Hybrid #LI-Remote #LI-SF1

Foundation Values

The Foundation Values are Courage, Empathy, Integrity, Accountability, Community, Inclusivity, Pragmatism, Resilience, Imagination, and Hope.

Don’t check off every box in the requirements listed above? Please apply anyway! Studies have shown that marginalized communities - such as women, LGBTQ+ and people of color - are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. The Obama Foundation is dedicated to building an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible workplace that fosters a sense of belonging – so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to still consider submitting an application. You may be just the right candidate for this role or another one of our openings!

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Foundation is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. The Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at careers@obama.org if you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application.

Apply