Associate Director of Development Operations

Associate Director of Development Operations

At Communities In Schools (CIS) of Chicago we believe students can enhance their learning when their needs are met and that includes mental and emotional health. Every day we partner with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and hundreds of community organizations to bring no-cost high-quality programs directly to schools. These programs help students stay focused engaged and on track to graduate.

During the 202526 school year we served over 80000 students across 250 schools connecting them to life-changing support from arts and academic enrichment to health and mental wellness services. And we need your help to make it happen.

The mission of Communities In Schools of Chicago is to surround students with a community of support empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. The vision of CIS of Chicago is to ensure that every public school student in Chicago graduates from high school prepared to succeed. The organizations core values are Impact Integrity Relationships and Social Justice.

Position Overview

Were seeking an Associate Director of Development Operations to join our high-performing Development team. This role is ideal for a strategic detail-oriented operations professional who enjoys improving systems leveraging data to drive fundraising success and bringing large-scale donor events to life. As the operational backbone of the Development team youll oversee donor database management fundraising operations gift processing reporting and analytics and event logistics while ensuring the team has the tools processes and insights needed to cultivate and steward donors effectively.

Your Core Responsibilities

Development Operations & CRM:

• Manage the organizations donor database ensuring accurate secure and timely donor and gift records.
• Lead CRM optimization and support future database enhancements.
• Develop reports dashboards and donor analyses to inform fundraising strategy.
• Oversee gift processing donor acknowledgments and fundraising metrics in partnership with the Development Assistant.
• Support key fundraising initiatives including the Annual Appeal and other donor campaigns.
• Train Development team members on CRM best practices and data management.

Fundraising Operations:

• Conduct donor and prospect research to identify new funding opportunities.
• Manage pledge tracking reporting and fundraising analytics.
• Continuously improve operational processes and team workflows.

Financial & Cross-Functional Support:

• Serve as the primary liaison with Finance for reconciliations budgeting gift reporting and financial tracking.
• Coordinate data requests and support special projects across departments.

Event Engagement:

• Lead planning and execution of donor cultivation events including vendor management logistics registration and post-event reporting.
• Support volunteer committees and attend select evening or weekend events as needed.

What You Bring:

• Bachelors degree
• 5-7 years of experience in development operations fundraising database management event management or a related field.
• Experience with donor CRM systems (Salesforce preferred).
• Strong project management analytical and organizational skills.
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills particularly Excel.
• Exceptional attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Commitment to the mission of Communities In Schools of Chicago.
  

What Youll Get:

• Salary: $70000
• Comprehensive benefits including health insurance retirement plan and generous paid time off.
• A collaborative community of educators nonprofit leaders and partners working together to create lasting change across Chicago.
• Meaningful impact with the opportunity to change lives one student one school and one community at a time.

Communities In Schools of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where all individuals feel valued respected and supported. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on sex gender identity or expression sexual orientation pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions) race color ethnicity national origin religion age disability medical condition marital or family status veteran or military status citizenship genetic information or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local law.

This commitment applies to every aspect of employment at CIS of Chicago-including recruitment hiring training promotion compensation and all other conditions of employment. We believe that building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve strengthens our mission to surround students with a community of support empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

Required Experience:

Director