Development Operations Group Leader

About the role

The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA) is a private, nonprofit corporation that supports the University of Wisconsin-Madison through fundraising and alumni relations. As an Operations Group Leader (OGL), you will play a key role in supporting the Campus-Wide Initiatives group.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary contact for campus units needing development support or external contacts, volunteers, and fundraising groups.
• Coordinate with WFAA resources and teams to compile data for strategic planning, donor recognition, and stewardship activities.
• Implement and oversee consistent standards for customer service to VIP donors and campus partners.
• Provide ongoing training and project management for donor-related initiatives.
• Partner with leadership to plan, implement, and evaluate strategies and projects to advance group and unit priorities and donor engagement.
• Create and maintain standards for exemplary customer service to donors and campus partners.
• Oversee the development of materials for donor meetings and manage Key Performance Indicators.
• Interface with relevant teams as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system subject matter expert.
• Act as the primary point of contact for WFAA’s VIP Stewardship Experience team.
• Develop and implement stewardship recommendations and projects in collaboration with unit leads and campus partners.
• Review and assess stewardship activities within your group while identifying new opportunities for donor engagement and impact reporting.
• Supervise, mentor, and assess the overall performance of your group’s development operations team.
• Identify opportunities for cross-functional training and manage project requests to promote efficiency.
• Recruit, orient, and mentor new staff while leading change initiatives.
• Oversee performance expectations and goals.
• Foster a positive work environment characterized by open communication and support.
• Support the group and fundraising needs of your group’s Vice President and Managing Group Leader.
• Manage internal coordination for campus-wide strategic fundraising initiatives in partnership with leadership.
• Facilitate education and understanding of strategic initiatives with colleagues and campus partners.
• Coordinate high-level meetings with campus and WFAA leaders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred or equivalent work experience.
• 5+ years of relevant professional work experience in a non-profit or fundraising environment.
• 2+ years of experience in a team lead or supervisory role.
• High degree of proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint).
• Experience with database reporting and constituent relationship management software.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and strong attention to detail.
• Ability to judge the relative importance of issues and act independently to address them.
• Self-motivation, a proactive nature, curiosity, persistence, flexibility, and dependability.
• Ability to work effectively with a team in an entrepreneurial environment and interact well with all internal and external constituents.