Senior Director Development Administration

Key Responsibilities

• Finance and Compliance Lead Development’s internal finance operations, including expense management workflows, operational controls, and accountability for timely reconciliation and follow-through.
• Cook up annual budget development and operate an ongoing budget-to-actual cadence with forecasting and variance management.
• In partnership with HSS Finance and Foundation Finance stakeholders, ensure reconciliations, exception management, and audit readiness practices within scope are accurate, timely, and well-controlled.
• Own gift fund creation and related cross-functional coordination to ensure accurate setup, documentation, and reliable handoffs.
• Cook up Development’s inputs for required compliance and external reporting processes within scope, including audit support, annual filings, and benchmarking surveys.
• Manage realized bequest administration and serve as Development’s primary liaison to attorneys, external partners, and internal Finance and Legal stakeholders, ensuring timely and accurate closure.

Operations Standards and Enablement

• Own Development’s operations standards (process documentation, role clarity, decision rights, escalation paths, and control points) and ensure they are maintained and usable.
• Establish and maintain training, job aids, and onboarding materials that drive adoption, reduce rework, and enable cross-coverage.
• Maintain key department-wide operational reference artifacts (for example glossary, documentation hygiene standards, and records management/audit trail expectations).

Development Office Administration

• Operate and continuously improve Development’s centralized service model in Monday.com, including intake standards, validation, triage, routing, and service lane management.
• Partner with teams across Development to translate documented processes into workflow tooling, dashboards, and operational routines that create visibility and follow-through.
• Partner with Data & Systems team, maintain governance of workflow tooling (for example Monday.com board structure, naming conventions, statuses, and definitions).
• Own department operations support, including onboarding coordination, coverage schedules, department calendars, hospital pick-ups and drop-offs, emergency readiness logistics, and communications/contact lists needed for operational continuity.
• Be accountable for resolution of facilities and safety issues impacting Development workspaces, coordinating with internal service partners through to completion, including proactive communication, appropriate escalation, and follow-up.
• Support vendor onboarding and administrative operations in partnership with Development team members, including contract coordination with Legal and Finance, ensuring clear ownership and timely follow-through.

Donor Recognition Administration

• Oversee legacy donor recognition and signage program operations, including cross-functional coordination (vendors, approvals, installation timelines) and quality control.
• Manage vendors and contracts within scope, ensuring clear deliverables, quality standards, and operational follow-through.
• Ensure tracking tools are accurate, current, and usable, with clear delegation and accountability for donor-facing quality and reliability.

Leadership and Continuous Improvement

• Lead, coach, and performance-manage the Development Administration team; set clear expectations, priorities, and accountability.
• Build cross-coverage and resiliency so critical workflows are not single points of failure, including peak-period readiness and business continuity planning.
• Serve as a primary operations liaison to Finance, Legal, Compliance, IT, and other operational partners, as applicable to this role’s scope.
• Define and track operational KPIs (for example cycle time, quality, exceptions, SLA adherence, and stakeholder experience) and operate a continuous improvement cadence that reduces preventable errors and rework.

Education And Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 7-10 years of experience
• Significant leadership experience in development operations within a complex nonprofit, academic medical center, healthcare, or equivalent environment.
• Demonstrated ownership of finance-adjacent operational processes, including budget-to-actual cadence, reconciliations, internal controls, and audit readiness practices.
• Demonstrated success building and maintaining SOPs, training, and operating rhythms that drive adoption and operational maturity.

Key Competencies

• Operational Excellence and Quality: Builds reliable processes and controls that reduce rework and increase trust; manages exceptions with discipline and clear follow-through.
• Financial Acumen (Operational): Understands budget and reconciliation mechanics; translates operational realities into clear reporting cadence, variance narratives, and corrective actions.
• Process and Change Leadership: Designs practical workflows, drives adoption through training and enablement, and institutionalizes improvements through standards and review cadences.
• Collaboration and Influence: Partners effectively across Finance, Legal, Compliance, IT, and Development leadership; navigates shared ownership with Data & Systems while maintaining clarity on decision rights.
• People Leadership: Sets expectations, coaches performance, builds cross-coverage, and develops a team culture of accountability and service.
• Judgment and Integrity: Handles sensitive information appropriately; demonstrates discretion, professionalism, and donor-centered operational rigor.