Director of Development Operations

About PAFA

Founded in 1805 the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is Americas first art museum and art school. With a world-class collection of American art and a vibrant community of working artists PAFA occupies a unique place in the cultural landscape of Philadelphia and the nation. Docents help bring this legacy to life by connecting visitors to art artists and the creative process.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Development Operations provides strategic leadership for the systems data processes reporting and infrastructure that support PAFAs fundraising program. The Director ensures that donor and gift information is accurate secure accessible and consistently managed so Development leaders and frontline fundraisers can make informed decisions steward donors effectively and reliably report on fundraising performance.

The Director serves as the primary administrator for Raisers Edge NXT; leads gift and pledge administration reconciliation reporting data governance and prospect-management operations; and establishes policies standards and training that promote data integrity and organizational accountability.

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer the Director supervises the Development Operations Associate and works closely with Finance IT Membership and Development colleagues. The Director partners with Membership and IT to govern shared data and ensure reliable information flow between systems.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy Governance & Operational Leadership

• Develop and execute an annual and multi-year Development Operations strategy aligned with PAFAs fundraising priorities reporting requirements and institutional needs.
• Establish and maintain clear ownership decision rights data standards change controls and operating procedures for fundraising data and Development systems.
• Assess operational risks identify opportunities for improvement and lead projects that strengthen efficiency accuracy continuity and staff adoption.
• Serve as a strategic adviser to the Chief Development Officer and Development leadership on data systems reporting workflow and operational capacity.

Raisers Edge NXT Administration & Data Integrity

• Serve as PAFAs primary administrator for Raisers Edge NXT in partnership with IT as technical and security owner.
• Maintain appropriate database architecture including Campaigns Funds Appeals constituent codes attributes relationships actions opportunities fundraiser assignments and other core structures.
• Manage user access recommendations approved imports and exports data-quality controls duplicate prevention and resolution routine maintenance and testing of material changes.
• Develop and monitor data-quality standards and audits; prioritize and oversee corrective work while preserving historical integrity and documenting exceptions.
• Maintain current documentation of system configuration recurring imports integrations business rules and data definitions.

Gift Pledge & Financial Administration

• Oversee accurate and timely processing of gifts pledges payments adjustments acknowledgments pledge reminders and related donor documentation.
• Establish and maintain procedures for cash checks online gifts donor-advised funds matching gifts securities planned gifts anonymous gifts restricted gifts event revenue and other complex transactions.
• Partner with Finance to maintain consistent gift and fund coding complete monthly reconciliation resolve discrepancies monitor pledges and receivables and support audit and compliance requirements.
• Ensure appropriate handling documentation privacy security and retention of confidential donor and financial information.

Reporting Analytics & Decision Support

• Develop and maintain reliable recurring reports and dashboards that track revenue pledges fundraising performance portfolio activity donor trends and progress against goals.
• Fulfill approved ad hoc queries exports mailing lists and analyses accurately and within established service standards.
• Partner with Development leadership to define reporting requirements interpret results document known limitations and strengthen the use of data in fundraising strategy and forecasting.
• Maintain a report inventory with clear definitions sources production schedules owners and instructions.

Prospect Management & Fundraising Support

• Establish and maintain consistent portfolio moves-management action opportunity and proposal tracking practices across the Development team.
• Support portfolio review prospect assignment pipeline analysis research coordination meeting preparation and follow-up tracking.
• Partner with frontline fundraisers to improve data completeness accountability forecasting and continuity of donor relationships.

Cross-System & Institutional Collaboration

• Partner with IT on access security technical configuration integrations troubleshooting testing vendor coordination and system changes affecting Raisers Edge NXT.
• Partner with Membership as owner of ACME and membership business processes to define shared-data standards reconciliation and donor/member conversion pathways.
• Collaborate with Finance Membership IT Marketing program areas and external consultants to resolve cross-functional issues and improve the reliability of institutional information.
• Participate in or lead a data-governance process for material changes imports integrations and unresolved cross-system decisions.

Team Leadership Training & Continuity

• Supervise coach and develop the Development Operations Associate establishing clear priorities performance expectations and opportunities for increasing responsibility.
• Provide role-appropriate Raisers Edge NXT training documentation and user support for Development staff and other authorized users.
• Maintain current standard operating procedures and ensure essential processes are documented accessible and not dependent on a single individual.
• Manage relevant consultants and vendors and ensure that projects conclude with usable documentation and knowledge transfer.

Institutional Contribution

• Serve as a senior Development colleague and constructive thought partner contributing sound judgment and solutions beyond a single functional area.
• Promote a culture of philanthropy accountability collaboration service and responsible data stewardship across PAFA.
• Represent PAFA with professionalism discretion responsiveness and respect for donor intent and confidentiality.
• Perform other duties as assigned in support of Development and institutional priorities.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education & Experience

• Bachelors degree required; relevant advanced degree or professional certification preferred.
• Minimum of 57 years of progressive experience in development operations advancement services nonprofit database administration gift administration or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience administering Raisers Edge NXT or a comparable fundraising CRM including database architecture reporting data quality imports and user support.
• Experience with gift processing Finance reconciliation prospect management data governance and cross-functional systems work.
• Prior supervisory project-management or consultant-management experience strongly preferred.
• Experience in a museum arts education or other nonprofit environment preferred.

Knowledge Skills & Competencies

• Strong strategic analytical and systems thinking with the ability to translate complex operational problems into practical and sustainable solutions.
• Advanced reporting and data-management skills; strong proficiency with Microsoft Excel and working knowledge of Microsoft Office.
• Understanding of fundraising practices gift and pledge administration donor confidentiality data privacy internal controls and generally accepted Development Operations standards.
• Excellent project management documentation organization and follow-through; ability to manage competing priorities and dependencies.
• Ability to communicate technical and data issues clearly to nontechnical colleagues and to build productive working relationships across departments.
• High degree of accuracy discretion accountability patience adaptability and service orientation.

Required Experience:

Director