Director-Philanthropy Operations, CRM/Data Management and Gift Administration

Northwestern Memorial Healthcare•Chicago, IL

About The Position

The Director, Philanthropy reflects the mission, vision, and values of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare (NMHC), adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards. The Director, Philanthropy Operations - CRM/Data Management & Gift Administration provides leadership and oversight of philanthropy operations, including CRM strategy, data governance, organizational change management, and gift administration. The Director partners closely with the Director of Operations, who oversees prospect research and development, reporting and analytics, restricted funds and gift agreements, and other special projects essential to fundraising progress and performance. This role serves as the business owner of CRM needs, data standards, fundraising operational workflows, and partnering with IS/IT—who serve as the technical platform owners—to ensure CRM capabilities support the strategic objectives of the fundraising team and the broader health system. In addition to leading the transition to a new CRM platform, the Director is responsible for the setting the direction and priorities for ongoing maintenance, configuration, optimization, and continuous evolution of the system in partnership with IS/IT, ensuring it is leveraged innovatively to strengthen fundraising performance, drive operational efficiency, and enhance the donor experience. NMF raises funds to support the health system’s strategic goals to deliver exceptional care and experience, advance and extend medical science and knowledge and enhance people, culture and resources through: (1) raising planned, principal and major gifts, (2) cultivating and stewarding donors, and (3) fostering a culture of philanthropy at NMHC.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree
8+ years of experience in a fundraising, community outreach, healthcare or development position with a proven track record, preferably in a non-profit organization
Prior staff, budget and operational management experience
Ability to earn the confidence of a wide range of internal and external constituents and to network within a professional, corporate environment
Demonstrated project management, organizational, analysis and problem-solving skills
Excellent oral, communication and interpersonal skills
High degree of professionalism, sensitivity, and integrity
Strong intellectual curiosity, initiative and highly effective listening/communication skills
Proven ability to meet deadlines, communicate effectively and track details
Demonstrate high levels of leadership and flexibility in a team environment
Comfortable leading multiple projects, accurately setting priorities for team(s) on a regular basis, thinking creatively and working as both a collaborative team member and leader
Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).

Nice To Haves

Experience leading a CRM transition, including workflow redesign, data migration planning, and change management.
Prior experience with Salesforce in a fundraising or nonprofit context.
Background in CRM product ownership, data governance, or philanthropy operations.
Experience collaborating with IS/IT teams on system architecture and integrations.
Strong communication, stakeholder management, and problem‑solving skills.

Responsibilities

Establishes the strategy, vision, and standards for CRM functionality, data management, and operational workflows under the guidance of NMF leadership.
Leads the transition to a new CRM system, including business requirements, architecture input, workflow redesign, training strategy, adoption planning, and foundation‑wide change management.
Collaborates with IS/IT to shape CRM architecture so integrations, data models, user roles, and system configurations align with fundraising, stewardship, prospecting and gift administration needs.
Provides high‑level product and project leadership, setting priorities, defining objectives, resolving issues, and ensuring successful execution of CRM and data initiatives, including ongoing enhancements, iterative improvements, and continuous system optimization.
Sets and enforces data governance policies, data definitions, coding standards, and access controls; ensures ongoing data quality management, continuous monitoring, and timely resolution of system, data or workflow errors.
Manages all third‑party applications, tools, and platforms that support or integrate with the CRM(e.g., online giving platforms, analytics and reporting tools, wealth screening solutions, communication platforms, and vendor‑supported applications).
Builds strong communication channels with leadership, staff, and partners to ensure clarity around system updates, governance decisions, CRM transition milestones, and operational dependencies.
Defines the training curriculum and strategy for CRM and related systems; oversees onboarding and continued education/on-going training to ensure strong user adoption.
Convenes and leads CRM governance committees, operational planning groups, and cross‑functional working committees as relevant.
Drives continuous improvement by leveraging CRM capabilities and related platforms to innovate fundraising practices, streamline operations, and strengthen donor and staff experiences.
Provides strategic oversight and leadership for the gift administration function, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and the integrity of gift processing activity.
Establishes operational and governance standards for gift entry, batching, posting, documentations, coding schemas, soft credit rules, and gift acceptance requirements.
Ensures compliant and timely execution of tax receipting, gift acknowledgment and documentation workflows for all gift types.
Partners closely with finance/fund accounting on reconciliation processes, month‑end close, audit preparation, and adherence to regulatory and documentation requirements.
Creates strong communication channels with finance/fund accounting, frontline fundraising teams, donor relations and communications, IS/IT, and other partners to coordinate gift‑related processes, online giving needs and any operational dependencies.
Guides resolution of complex gift administration issues and navigating sensitive matters with discretion.