Director, Development Operations

Winrock International•Arlington, WA

13h•$155,000 - $170,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Development Operations leads the operations and operating strategy for Winrock’s Development team, building an integrated, scalable revenue operation. Reporting to the Vice President of Development, the Director enables senior fundraising leaders to build donor and partner relationships, grow and diversify revenue, lead solicitations and negotiations, engage stakeholders, and set fundraising strategy. The role oversees competitive and non-competitive proposal operations and the systems, processes, capacity, and quality standards needed to turn qualified pipeline opportunities into competitive submissions and awards. The Director owns the operational systems, processes, data, forecasting, and execution practices that support sustained fundraising across Winrock’s funding streams. Core areas include annual planning, pipeline management and forecasting, proposal and capture operations, philanthropy and individual fundraising operations, standard operating procedures, performance standards, training, and capability building. The position manages the day-to-day operations of Development, supervises development operations across funder portfolios, and oversees broader fundraising operations as the organization scales. The role oversees Development’s systems, data, and analytics, including Salesforce and related fundraising and prospect research platforms, data quality and gift data, event data, and knowledge-management resources. It develops and maintains workflows and standard operating procedures across competitive grants and philanthropy; manages pipeline and revenue forecasting, reporting, budgeting, and cross-functional coordination; and supervises and mentors operations staff. It also oversees shared proposal and capture services, including staffing and consultants, pursuit resourcing, go/no-go decisions, proposal quality and compliance, budgeting, donor negotiations, and award start-up support. The position is based in the U.S. in a hybrid arrangement in Arlington, Virginia, or remotely, with proximity to the Washington, DC area preferred. Travel is up to 15% domestically, with occasional international travel for team meetings and organizational events. Applications are encouraged as soon as possible and must be submitted no later than November 18, 2026. The stated annual salary range is $155,000–$170,000, commensurate with experience, skills, and internal equity.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
At least 10 years of Development Operations experience.
At least 6 years of demonstrated success managing and leading high-performing Development Operations teams supporting individual giving, institutional philanthropy, and business development functions.
Experience supporting individual giving, including major giving, annual giving, gift processing, stewardship, and events.
Experience supporting institutional philanthropy, including corporate and foundation grants.
Experience in business development, including resource management and quality oversight for RFP-driven contracting.
Proven track record managing a Development or Fundraising Operations function and team.
Strong analytical and research skills and strategic-thinking ability.
Experience establishing and continually improving proposal-management systems, processes, tools, templates, and quality standards.
Experience managing department-level and opportunity-specific budgets and external services.
Ability to manage proposal workloads and surge capacity, determine staffing needs, and deploy employees, consultants, and technical resources across concurrent opportunities.
Strong project, time, and priority management in a fast-paced environment.
Experience partnering with technical, finance, awards management, and senior leadership teams to address proposal risks and ensure technically responsive, financially sound, and compliant submissions.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex information in clear, compelling narratives.
Strong relationship-building skills with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
High level of professionalism, creativity, and diplomatic interpersonal skills.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Copilot.
Experience with a CRM platform.
English proficiency.
Ability to travel up to 15% domestically and occasionally internationally.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in business or nonprofit administration, or another relevant field.
Experience with Salesforce.
Proximity to the Washington, DC area for applicants seeking the U.S. remote arrangement.

Responsibilities

Oversee Development systems, data, and technology, including the CRM technology stack, administration, governance, fundraising software, prospect research tools, integrations, and event platforms and analytics.
Set data quality standards and oversee gift and donor data management.
Establish and maintain knowledge-management systems and repositories, including a knowledge library, bid calendars, cases for support, core fundraising materials, and pipeline resource-allocation information.
Oversee standard operating procedures for fundraising, business development, and stewardship across competitive grants and philanthropy.
Design and maintain workflows and procedures covering the competitive RFP lifecycle, philanthropic and individual giving, major gift cultivation, corporate and foundation relations, gift processing and acknowledgements, donor privacy, prospect research, and donor intelligence.
Lead continuous process improvement across proposal lifecycle management, fundraising moves management, and portfolio management.
Coordinate team project management and workflows across Development operations.
Manage pipeline and revenue forecasting across government, bilateral and multilateral, foundation, corporate, and individual-giving revenue streams; maintain pipeline reporting and KPI dashboards and provide revenue updates and board- and executive-level performance reporting.
Oversee development budgeting, procurement, and financial reconciliation in partnership with Finance.
Coordinate collaboration between Development, Programs, Finance, Awards Management, and Compliance.
Supervise and mentor Development operations staff and lead change management, system adoption, training, and continuous-learning initiatives.
Oversee prospect research and qualification, wealth screening, portfolio analytics, and relationship mapping to inform portfolio assignments and pipeline strategy.
Oversee gift-processing execution.
Manage full-time staff and consultants providing fundraising data and technology support and proposal management.
Provide Development’s SDA approval for Go/No-Go and Bid/No-Bid decisions.
Approve pursuit and proposal resourcing plans and oversee proposal managers, coordinators, writers and editors, graphics and production support, and the consultant network.
Support capture activities with the Directors of USG and Philanthropy portfolios, including partner identification and vetting and qualification of high-level individual and institutional funders.
Oversee development of cost-competitive budgets, budget narratives, and financial projections aligned with technical approaches.
Lead proposal reviews and ensure quality, responsiveness, and compliance.
Support negotiation of donor contract terms, conditions, and modifications; interpret solicitation requirements and translate them into pursuit strategies.
Support award start-up planning and implementation and team briefings, and maintain institutional knowledge of donor requirements, regulations, and emerging priorities.
For philanthropy opportunities, oversee grant production, editing, stewardship reporting, and proposal coordination, and provide these services directly when needed.