Director of Development Operations

Position: Director of Development Operations

Department: Development

Supervisor: Chief Advancement Officer

Supervises: Development Database Manager, Development Associate

Employee Status: Year-Round, Full Time, Exempt

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday

Salary: $77,000 - $83,000 annually, depending on experience

Who We Are

Shelburne Farms is an education nonprofit on a mission to inspire and cultivate a sustainable future. We
offer transformative learning experiences to help educators and students create a better world. Our
home campus is a 1,400-acre working farm located on the unceded, traditional, and contemporary
homelands of the Winooskik band of the Abenaki.

Commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Shelburne Farms recognizes that justice, equity, and access are central to sustainability. We are
committed to translating these values into action across the organization by improving equitable
outcomes in our culture, programs, and services. Shelburne Farms is working to create experiences of
belonging for all, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, and people of all
economic realities.

Position Objective

The Director of Development Operations is responsible for managing and growing a strategic annual
giving program at Shelburne Farms. While leading the development operations team, this position
oversees the administration of the Raiser’s Edge/NXT database and the design, implementation, and
analysis of all development systems and data management processes to support all cultivation and
stewardship strategies and initiatives at Shelburne Farms.

Key Responsibilities

Annual Fund Management

• Develop, support and execute the annual membership and annual fund plan in order to inspire
  and maximize donor participation in support of the Farm
• Manage annual solicitations and special donor appeals and communications throughout the year
  in order to strengthen the donor base, build relationships and express appreciation
• Monitor annual fund and membership financial performance, and strategize and execute
  adjustments as needed to meet targets
• Oversee the monthly membership renewal process to ensure that it runs smoothly and continues
  to be successful.
• Manage the monthly sustaining giving program, including designing a program for upgrades and
  sending an annual acknowledgement summary of giving for multi-gift donors.
• Design and implement a new donor engagement program/strategy
• Develop strategies for upgrading and renewing donors at all giving levels.
• Analyze data to help drive prospect discovery within the Annual Fund and prioritize the top
  prospective donors for qualification by the Major Gifts team.

Development Operations Management

• Lead the Development Operations team and directly manage the Development Database Manager
  and the Development Assistant. Ensure all database administration, training, gift entry processes,
  procedures, and systems are optimized to best meet the needs of the organization.
• Run and analyze monthly, annual and ad-hoc reports on fundraising performance from the
  database.
• Oversee and keep current all Development web pages and donation forms.
• Manage all stock gifts and ACH transfers.
• Manage coding, entry, and tracking of planned gifts.
• Reports & Reconciliation: oversee monthly reconciliation with accounting office; annual audit and
  annual report preparation
• Manage and execute all development donor relations/fundraising events. This requires occasional
  weekends and evenings.
• Manage relationships with vendor account representatives, including Blackbaud, Constant
  Contact, Goodbox, and Omatic.
• Oversee the administration of the Raiser’s Edge/NXT donor database, ensuring that it continues
  to meet the growing and changing needs of the development team and the overall organization.
• Oversee staff training on the use of the database and ensure new procedures are documented.
• Champion the use of Raiser’s Edge as a CRM to have a 360-degree view of the organization’s
  constituents.
• Oversee Raiser’s Edge database integration with organization systems that collects data and
  names of people who are engaging with the Farm, including the Shelburne Farms Inn, Community
  Programs, Mail Order, Farm Store, and Communications.
  Prospect Research and Management
• Utilize and manage Prospect Research and Wealth Screening tools to support all Major Gifts
  initiatives, and design and implement donor and prospect pipeline and classification in
  collaboration with the Major Gifts team
• Coordinate and review the work of the prospect research consultant with a long term goal to
  broaden prospect research skills within the development operations team.
• Develop and maintain relationships with major gift officers to help manage their prospect
  portfolios, assist in prioritization, identify new prospects, and handle other prospect development
  related requests as needed.

Capital Campaigns

• Design development operations system support for future campaigns.
• Manage the system for sending campaign pledge reminders as needed.
• Coordinate donor recognition initiatives and tracking of naming preferences.
• Coordinate with the accounting team to designate, reconcile, and manage all Campaign giving.

Other Roles & Responsibilities

•  Membership and reception phone support as needed

Qualifications & Experience

• Inspired by the Farm’s mission, vision, core values, and strategic framework.
• Commitment to fostering a culturally aware learning community, open to multiple perspectives.
• 2+ years of Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge experience, RE/NXT experience preferred.
• 2+ years of experience in development/fundraising preferred.
• Experience managing a team of 2-3.
• Knowledge of fundraising principles and ethics; discretion to handle confidential information.
• Demonstrated work experience in data analysis, management, and manipulation in a relational
  database.
• Technology savvy, with an orientation for troubleshooting and comfort navigating across multiple
  systems (working knowledge of online communications tools such as Constant Contact a plus).
• Highest level of attention to detail, accuracy, and confidentiality.
• Intermediate user in Microsoft Office Suite products, specifically Excel, plus the
  ability/willingness to learn new programs as needed.
• Google Workspace experience is a plus.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and sensitivity to the process and needs of relationship building, with
  an orientation toward the people behind the data.
• Highly organized, self-starter with experience managing and accomplishing multiple tasks.
• Must possess strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills, flexibility, resilience.
• Ability to work well independently and as a team player.

Physical Factors

• Able to work in close quarters in an open, busy office environment.
• This position involves lifting 25 pound boxes of office supplies, moving to storage rooms, carrying
  items up and down stairs.

Benefits
For year-round, full-time staff: Benefit summary here for 2025 benefits.

To Apply

If our vision and mission excite you, we hope you will share with us your experience and skill set that you feel would qualify you to make a contribution to the Farm.

Click here to submit an application and please include responses to the following questions in your cover letter. These are not meant to be a writing exercise but to introduce yourself in a meaningful way.

• Why are you interested in working for Shelburne Farms?
• Why are you interested in this position?
• How did you hear about the position?

Shelburne Farms is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and we strongly stand against discrimination and
harassment of any kind. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion,
gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
If you need accommodations throughout the application process or have general questions, please contact us at
jobs@shelburnefarms.org or 802-985-8686.