Join Shelburne Museum during an exciting time of growth and transformation! As the largest art and history museum in northern New England, we are dedicated to enhancing our vibrant cultural landscape. We invite you to become a key member of our expanding and dynamic Development team as our Development Operations Manager.
Role Overview:
The Development Operations Manager serves as an essential member of the Development team who instills best practices in the science of fundraising. In this new role, you will be responsible for managing the overall operational efficiencies of the Development department including overseeing and optimizing the use of the Museum’s donor database (Raiser’s Edge/NXT), managing gift entry and acknowledgement processes, generating complex reports, overseeing the department budget, and managing Development events. The Development Operations Manager must be highly analytical, detail-oriented, proactive, and possess a solid understanding of fundraising fundamentals.
The position reports to the Director of Development and participates as a team member of a highly effective fundraising department to manage operations and administrative functions for all Development activities.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
- Manage the donor database (Raiser’s Edge/NXT), serving as the primary system administrator for the Development team, ensuring data integrity, accuracy, and consistency through audits, cleanup, and adherence to departmental standards.
- Develop and deliver reports, dashboards, and analysis to support fundraising strategy, campaign tracking, donor segmentation, portfolio management, and revenue growth. Provide data-driven insights and recommendations to leadership.
- Oversee gift entry and acknowledgement processes across all revenue streams, ensuring timely and accurate donor communications.
- Collaborate with the Director of Development on operational planning, prioritization, and implementation of departmental initiatives. Develop and maintain operational policies and procedures to improve efficiency and support data-driven decision-making. Identify and implement process improvements across systems and workflows.
- Manage department budget, including revenue and expenses. Partner with Finance on reconciliation, reporting, wire transfers, and audit preparation. Work with Director of Development to regularly monitor income and expense forecasts against goals.
- Manage the planning and execution of Development events, including cultivation, stewardship, and fundraising events. Manage logistics such as invitations, RSVP tracking, guest lists, and coordination with internal and external stakeholders. Collaborate with Marketing & Communications to support event promotion and donor engagement.
- Foster a culture of philanthropy by supporting strong communication and engagement across departments and collaborating with colleagues to advance fundraising initiatives. Build and maintain effective working relationships with donors, volunteers, and community partners in support of Development activities.
- Provide onboarding, training, and ongoing support to Development staff on CRM systems, reporting tools, fundraising processes, and operational best practices.
- Manage vendor relationships for development platforms and tools including Blackbaud/Raiser’s Edge NXT, TAM, Omatic, MyEmma.
- Maintain departmental administrative operations including calendar coordination, meeting support, mail processing, invoice and check requests, and related administrative needs.
- Provide regular reporting on fundraising performance, campaign progress, and departmental activity.
- Perform other duties as assigned in support of Museum strategic priorities.
Supervisory Responsibility: Directly supervises the Development Coordinator.
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree.
- Minimum of 3–5 years of operations or development management experience, with at least 2–3 years working within a Development team; experience in museums, cultural institutions, or the non-profit sector preferred.
General Requirements:
- Proficiency with databases or donor management systems/CRMs (Raiser’s Edge/NXT preferred) and other integrated information systems to support fundraising, reporting, and data-driven decision-making.
- Familiarity with budgeting, financial administration, and tracking; ability to manage reconciliations, budgets, and campaign reporting.
- Excellent organizational skills with strong attention to detail.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
- Demonstrated initiative and ability to work independently and proactively.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams), Adobe Acrobat, and Zoom.
- High level of professionalism, discretion, and integrity; ability to safeguard confidential information. Comfortable with high profile individuals.
- Experience with event coordination and hospitality preferred.
- Collaborative team player with a flexible, positive attitude.
- Analytical mindset with experience using data to guide planning and strategy.
- Ability and willingness to work evenings and weekends for events and museum activities.
Physical Requirements:
- Able to stand for extended periods and work at a computer for long durations
- Comfortable walking up and down stairs multiple times daily
- Able to lift and carry up to 40 pounds
- Able to actively participate in physical aspects of event setup and breakdown
Schedule: Monday–Friday with evenings and weekends as needed. Weekend availability is required. In-person position based in Shelburne, VT.
Benefits:
- Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance & AD&D and Short/Long-Term Disability.
- Combined time off up to 160 hours per year, 8 hours for your birthday, and 8 hours for community service leave.
- Employees may contribute to the Museum’s Retirement plan, effective 1st of the month following their start date. After one year of service employees are eligible for a 2% Match and 3% Safe Harbor contribution, paid for by the Museum.
- Other benefits include free Museum access for immediate family members and an employee discount at the Museum store and café.
To apply:
Please email our Human Resources department at [email protected] and provide a Cover Letter and Resume (PDF format preferred). For more information, visit our careers page: https://shelburnemuseum.org/about/employment/. Please note that any offer of employment is contingent upon a clear background check.
Shelburne Museum is an equal opportunity employer and gives consideration for employment to qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. If you’d like more information about your EEO rights as an applicant under the law, please download the EEO brochure to view your rights.
Pay: $65,000.00 - $75,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Dependent health insurance coverage
- Employee assistance program
- Employee discount
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
