Director, Enterprise Applications and Data Analytics (Ellicott City)

Position Summary

The Director of Enterprise Applications & Data Analytics is a senior technology leader responsible for strategy, governance, and operational performance of the organization’s enterprise application portfolio. The role serves as the transitional technology partner to Development, Finance, HR, Advocacy, Digital and Program teams, ensuring that systems, data, and integrations are well‑architected, reliably operated, and continuously improving. The leader bridges deep technical understanding with strong stakeholder communication—translating organizational needs into system solutions and system capabilities into business outcomes.

Responsibilities

Enterprise Application Portfolio Management

• Own the full lifecycle of the organization’s enterprise application portfolio transformational roadmap, including CRM, marketing automation and donor‑facing applications.
• Maintain portfolio governance framework that guides platform selection, investment prioritization, and alignment with reference architecture.
• Partner with business stakeholders to translate needs into clear system requirements and ensure platforms are configured and optimized to support those needs.
• Evaluate new technology solutions with rigor—assessing fit, total cost of ownership, integration complexity and vendor risk before commitment is made.

Data & Analytics

• Assess and provide suggestions for the state of the organization’s data architecture and analytics function, including the data model, reporting infrastructure, and self‑service analytics capabilities delivered to Development, Digital Advocacy & Fundraising, and Finance teams.
• Assess and prioritize third‑party data integration strategy, including demographic data and data append programs to establish a unified audience segmentation capability to advance fundraising and advocacy goals.
• Collaborate with Managing Director of Enterprise AI and Solutions to:
• Establish and enforce data governance standards: data definitions, quality controls, access policies and stewardship practices that ensure data is accurate, consistent and trusted.
• Provide the data foundation—clean, well‑governed and accessible on which AI use cases are built.

Integration Ecosystem

• Assess the organization’s integration layer—the middleware, APIs and data exchange patterns that connect enterprise applications to each other and external third‑party platforms.
• Assess the payment ecosystem, including the digital donation platform, direct mail caging vendor, and third‑party partner platforms that process or transmit donor payment data.
• Ensure payment‑related controls are maintained in alignment with PCI DSS requirements and in close coordination with IT cybersecurity and Office of General Counsel (OGC) compliance teams.
• Lead vendor selection, contract negotiation and ongoing performance management for all application and integration vendors.

Stakeholder Partnership & Organizational Enablement

• Serve as the primary technology partner to Development, Digital, Advocacy, Program leadership.
• Lead, mentor, and grow a high‑performing team of CRM administrators, developers, analysts, and data specialists.
• Clarify roles, responsibilities, and career paths to support engagement and retention.
• Foster a collaborative, service‑oriented culture that balances responsiveness with strategic discipline.

Team Leadership & Culture

• Lead, develop and retain a high‑performing team spanning application administration, solutions and data analytics/engineering functions.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and department heads on Enterprise Applications/Technology capabilities.
• Model cross‑functional collaboration by actively engaging with peer domain leaders on shared initiatives and organization‑wide technology decisions.
• Promote data literacy and adoption through training, communication, and enablement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Data Analytics, Business, or a related field.
• 7+ years of previous work experience with technology leadership spanning software development, enterprise platform management, data analytics, or AI/ML implementation.
• 3+ years of previous people management experience.
• Demonstrated experience owning and scaling a CRM platform (Salesforce or equivalent strongly preferred), including roadmap ownership, governance, and cross‑functional alignment.
• Strong understanding of data analytics, reporting, and data governance principles.
• Proven ability to partner with non‑technical stakeholders and executive leadership.
• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise project and portfolio management, including intake, prioritization, governance, and delivery of complex, cross‑functional initiatives.
• Experience with Moden Data Tools – Snowflake, dbt, Workato, Tableau.
• Experience in Project/Portfolio Management.
• Experience in a nonprofit, mission‑driven, or highly matrixed organization, preferred.

Skills, Abilities, Competencies

• Strategic thinking and execution
• Data‑driven decision‑making
• Change management and influence
• Systems thinking and problem‑solving
• Strong communication and storytelling with data
• People leadership and talent development
• Strong understanding of data analytics, reporting, and data governance principles
• Proven ability to partner with non‑technical stakeholders and executive leadership
• Familiarity with fundraising, donor management, or constituent engagement data
• Familiarity with Project Management Tools – Asana
• Strategic thinking and execution
• Data‑driven decision‑making
• Change management and influence
• Systems thinking and problem‑solving
• Strong communication and storytelling with data
• People leadership and talent development

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under‑represented in the environmental movement.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. For this position, the salary range is $145,000 to $175,000.

NRDC operates under a hybrid work model. Employees are required to come to the office 8 days per month.