Senior Manager of Development Operations

Application Deadline: July 31, 2025

Overview

The Land Trust Alliance is the voice of the land trust community. As the national leader in policy, standards and education, we work passionately to support land trusts across America so they can save more land and better serve their communities.

Our natural places and working lands are a lifeline to clean air, water, food and good health. These lands also bring us together, inspire us and provide opportunities to recreate and recharge. The land trust community is a crucial component in this equation. With important places under continual threat, land trusts need access to the best tools, information and policy advocates. Armed with a diverse network and valuable resources, the Alliance is the land trust community’s source for the knowledge and capabilities they need to reach their goals. From tax and funding policies on Capitol Hill to innovative ideas, partnerships and initiatives, we ensure our land trust members can always be heard and achieve more.

The Alliance is seeking to elevate land conservation as a priority nationwide. We envision a reenergized, more relevant conservation movement in which land trusts join with partners that have not traditionally identified as conservation organizations, including from the for-profit sector, around our shared interest of protecting special places.

Summary Description

Reporting to the Vice President of Development, the Senior Manager of Development Operations oversees a growing donor operations team at the Alliance. The scope of the donor operations team includes, but is not limited to, all aspects of the Alliance’s customer relationship management system (Salesforce) that impact fundraising; department-wide cultivation and stewardship needs, such as acknowledgements, select events, mailings and other activities; prospect research; tracking and analyzing key fundraising performance indicators; and various department administrative needs. The Senior Manager helps to develop and then oversees the procedures and systems required to ensure the highest quality department products and outcomes, with a focus on accurate donor/prospect information and timely donor-centric stewardship and engagement. The Senior Manager will have program and project management responsibilities and will supervise development operations team staff. This position is a key thought partner for the Vice President and for the development department’s lead staff for individual giving and principal giving, corporate giving and sponsorships and private and federal grants. The Senior Manager works with these leads to plan for and ensure the operations team delivers quality backend needs that are essential to enabling growth in front-line fundraising success.

Key Duties

• Oversee development department’s procedures and help to develop, manage and advise new operations procedures based on fundraising best practices.
• Supervise the Development Systems Specialist and future Development Associate.
• Work with the Development Systems Specialist to advise, manage and maintain development’s use of Salesforce for optimal donor integrity, fundraising operations and revenue results and to inform the Salesforce governance team of new needs.
• Work in partnership with the Vice President to develop, maintain and provide dynamic reports on key performance indicators, including regular reports for the Board of Directors, CEO, and finance department.
• Work with the VP of Development, Senior Director of Principal Giving, Associate Director of Foundation Relations and Associate Director of Corporate Relations to establish, document and help execute prospect pipeline protocols, including protocols for campaign versus annual prospects and protocols related to volunteer-led fundraising.
• Oversee procedures and systems for the prospect pipeline, donor research, and prospect/donor briefings. Work with the operations team, Individual Giving Coordinator and others across the department to ensure creation of timely and accurate materials for staff and volunteer front-line fundraisers and for pipeline decisions.
• Oversee department-wide revenue recording and acknowledgements processes, managing the accuracy of these activities and the timely completion of acknowledgements to both institutional and individual donors.
• Oversee, and project manage as needed, department-wide cultivation and stewardship activities, including select in-person and online events, mailings and emails. Deploy operations team staff in the required supporting activities, which may include prospect, donor and partner management, prospect list creation and management and various vendor management.
• Oversee department-wide administration related to donor and funder deliverables, invoice fulfillment, invoice issuance, expense review and expense reporting, deploying operations team staff for timely and accurate implementation.
• Oversee the maintenance of department resources such as an inventory of stationery, brochures, and swag as well as online filings of current funder-facing materials (talking points, one pagers, brochures, current proposals, reports, etc.).
• Manage coordination with the operations department on charitable registrations and with the operations department and communications on charity rating sites.
• Help generate or edit fundraising materials and collateral as needed and/or deploy operations staff as needed.
• Oversee and/or manage various vendors needed for fundraising operations, such as research tools.
• Participate in Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference and other occasional events.
• Help build knowledge of fundraising operations best practices across the organization.

Qualifications

• At least five to seven years of demonstrated progressive experience in development operations, with at least three years of program or complex project management experience.
• At least two years of experience in staff management.
• Experience managing Salesforce for fundraising. Experience in Nonprofit Success Pack a plus.
• Strong appreciation for and command of fundraising best practices, with the ability to adapt that knowledge to fit unique organizational contexts.
• Experience developing systems to manage and improve fundraising cultivation and stewardship activities.
• Experience creating, executing and following up on complex development events and other donor-centric activities.
• Experience with donor research.
• Impeccable attention to and care for detail and accuracy.
• Demonstrated experience in strategic and creative thinking and sound problem solving.
• Demonstrated ability to lead collaborations with internal staff and external donors, partners and vendors.
• Strong interpersonal skills: experience building relationships internally and externally at all levels.
• Demonstrated organizational skills and the ability to produce quality work products and deliver multiple assignments on task deadlines.
• Strong analytical skills and sound judgment.
• Ability to work both independently with limited supervision and collaboratively.
• Flexible and able to handle multiple tasks, working with different personalities and tight timelines with skill.
• Strong interest in land conservation. A willingness to understand and enthusiastically promote the Alliance’s conservation mission and programs is essential.

Compensation

The nationwide salary range for this position is $85,000 -- $95,000. Actual salary will be commensurate with the skills, years of experience, physical location, and unique background and qualifications of the candidate.

The Land Trust Alliance offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, but is not limited to, medical, dental, vision and other health coverage; life and disability insurance; paid time off including vacation, sick and multiple holidays and 403(b) retirement benefits.

Application

Please submit your application for this position, attaching your resume and cover letter, on the following link: https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=159482&clientkey=CF3ADEB4BF06BDCD626EF14936C1FEE5. If the electronic application is not an option, applications will be accepted by mail to Human Resources, Land Trust Alliance, 1250 H St, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005.

The Land Trust Alliance’s mission is to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America. The Land Trust Alliance is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability or marital status.