Senior Vice President, Development Operations

National Multiple Sclerosis Society • Chicago, IL

6d • $180,000 • Remote

About The Position

The Senior Vice President (SVP) of Development Operations is a strategic advancement and fundraising operations leader with more than 20 years of experience, scaling and optimizing donor-centered operational processes, fundraising support functions, prospect development operations, gift administration, and development-focused business enablement activities. This role provides executive level leadership across Development Operations, including fundraising operational strategy, donor engagement operations, staff enablement, gift processing, prospect pipeline operations, operational reporting needs, and continuous process improvement to support fundraising growth, operational effectiveness, and exceptional donor experiences. Serving as a trusted partner to executive leadership, development staff, and external stakeholders, this role helps align Development operational priorities with enterprise constituent engagement, reporting, and organizational growth strategies. The position leads Development operational teams, oversees complex systems and vendor environments, and ensures compliance, governance, and continuous improvement across the advancement enterprise.

Requirements

• 20+ years of progressive leadership experience in advancement, development operations, or nonprofit/higher education fundraising environments.
• Demonstrated success building and scaling enterprise development operations functions, fundraising operational processes, business enablement capabilities, and cross-functional operational partnerships in complex environments.
• Deep expertise in fundraising operations, development technologies, CRM-enabled fundraising workflow, fundraising analytics, operational reporting, and data-informed fundraising practices.
• Significant experience overseeing gift processing, compliance, audit support, and financial controls.
• Proven leadership in prospect research, pipeline development, and data-informed fundraising strategy.
• Track record of establishing strong donor relations and stewardship practices that support major and institutional fundraising.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively within cross-functional enterprise governance, technology, analytics, and operational partnership models.
• Experience partnering with executive leadership, boards, and external stakeholders in complex, high-growth environments, including comprehensive campaigns.
• Demonstrated ability to lead change, manage complexity, and balance strategic vision with operational execution.

Nice To Haves

• MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred

Responsibilities

• Serve as Development’s lead partner to the technology team, including advising on development-related components of CRM architecture, enterprise reporting, data governance, analytics, and platform integrations.
• Collaborate with technology to evaluate, prioritize, and help to operationalize Development-related technology requests as they intersect across the organization.
• Design and implement scalable Development operational frameworks that support fundraising growth, campaign execution, and long-term institutional strategy.
• Provide Development operational requirements and stakeholder input for fundraising platform evaluations, operational tooling decisions, and related vendor discussions in partnership with supporting cross-functional teams.
• Establish and deliver comprehensive training programs for Development staff to ensure effective use of systems, data standards, and operational processes.
• Partner with technology, finance, and information security teams to advance cybersecurity, compliance, and responsible data use, including PCI-DSS and privacy standards.
• Partner with technology to evaluate, pilot, and operationalize approved innovative and AI-enabled solutions that support fundraising effectiveness, improve operational efficiency, donor engagement insights, and service delivery across Development Operations.
• Provide oversight and strategic leadership for gift processing functions, including receipt, recording, acknowledgement, reconciliation, and compliance.
• Lead or support the transition of gift processing responsibilities (receipting, stewardship, etc.) into Development Operations, ensuring accuracy, continuity, and strong internal controls.
• Develop, document, and maintain gift management policies and procedures in alignment with financial, legal, audit, and donor requirements.
• Partner closely with Finance, Finance Committee, auditors, and legal counsel to ensure transparent, compliant, and timely gift administration.
• Implement cross-departmental workflows that improve efficiency, data quality, and donor experience across the gift lifecycle in partnership with Technology, Finance, and operational stakeholders.
• Lead prospect research, analytics, and portfolio management strategies to support major, individual, and planned gift fundraising.
• Partner cross-functionally to support execution and scaling of the organization-wide Integrated Prospect Pipeline.
• Define and support moves management frameworks and performance dashboards to inform strategy and forecasting in partnership with Technology and Finance teams.
• Define and operationalize donor and engagement scoring models that drive prospect identification, prioritization, and solicitation planning in alignment with enterprise data governance and analytics standards.
• Partner with frontline fundraisers and development leadership to align prospect strategy with institutional priorities and campaign goals.
• Ensure prospect research practices, operational data use, and stewardship recommendations adhere to ethical standards, enterprise data governance, and organizational compliance requirements.
• Provide executive-level leadership for donor relations, stewardship strategy, and donor engagement operations.
• Establish operational processes and partner on supporting systems and workflows that ensure timely, meaningful, and consistent donor acknowledgement and stewardship.
• Partner cross-functionally with Development leadership, MarComms, and Technology to support donor-centered experiences that build trust, transparency, and long-term philanthropic relationships.
• Support campaign and leadership giving stewardship, including reporting, recognition, and board-level engagement materials.
• Use data and analytics to assess donor engagement, retention, and impact, informing continuous improvement in donor relations strategy in alignment with enterprise reporting and data governance standards.
• Design, lead, and evaluate Development operational plans to enable multi-year Campaign planning.
• Serve as the Development lead to the integrated revenue planning process, partnering with Marcomms and Finance to develop multi-year revenue projections and assess key dependencies and investments.
• In partnership with the CDO and Finance, serve as the Development lead for the annual budget planning process, convening business line leaders and ensuring alignment with revenue goals.
• Develop Key Performance Indicators for Development Operations in alignment with enterprise reporting, and data governance, and provide quarterly reports and evaluation to the CDO.
• Drive process improvements across Development Operations for the benefit of enterprise-wide performance.

Benefits

• Considerable Paid Time Off Plan
• Paid Holidays
• 401k Retirement Savings Plan with Society match
• Commuter Benefit Plan
• Comprehensive Health & Welfare benefits including: Medical, Dental, Vision
• Flex Spending Accounts
• Life Insurance
• Disability Coverage
• Spring Health Membership offering free therapy and professional coaching, as well as additional voluntary benefit offerings.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive