Development Operations Manager

About the ABF

The American Bar Foundation (ABF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research institute that expands knowledge and advances justice through rigorous empirical research on law, legal processes, and legal institutions. The ABF's primary sources of funding are an annual grant from the American Bar Endowment (ABE) and contributions by the Fellows of the ABF – a global honorary society of attorneys, judges, faculty, and scholars whose careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession. The ABF offices are located on Northwestern University’s Chicago campus in Streeterville.

Position Overview

The Development Operations Manager serves as a key member of the eight-person Development team, which generates nearly $4 million annually for the ABF. The Manager is responsible for maintaining the donor database to ensure accuracy and integrity; overseeing gift entry, acknowledgments, and revenue reporting for the Fellows; and communicating with donors to resolve issues. The position also works with Board members to steward donors and assists with Fellows events. This position reports to the Senior Director of the Fellows and provides essential support across the organization to further the ABF’s mission.

Key Responsibilities

Raiser’s Edge & Gift Management (50%)

• Oversee all gift entries and online event RSVP processing, while ensuring accuracy and resolving gift or bank batch inquiries.
• Maintain accurate constituent records by managing profile updates and tracking donor activities and attributes.
• Onboard and train colleagues on Raiser’s Edge in collaboration with Senior Director of the Fellows.
• Serve as the ABF’s liaison with Blackbaud, and troubleshoot Raiser’s Edge technological issues internally with IT Manager.
• Plan and execute the organization’s migration to RE NXT to ensure a seamless transition as legacy database view functionalities expire.
• Develop and maintain policies and procedures to ensure data integrity, while researching and applying best practices in data management and analysis.

Fundraising & Stewardship Support (25%)

• Create and send gift acknowledgements.
• Assist donors with questions and issues related to gifts.
• Liaise with ABF Board members to support donor stewardship initiatives through personal and timely communications.
• Support the execution of email and mailed appeal campaigns in coordination with the Senior Director of the Fellows, and conduct data segmentation queries to ensure personalized, donor-centric communications.
• Coordinate with third-party vendors on mail campaigns and maintain adequate supplies of letterhead and other print materials.

Data Reporting & Analysis (15%)

• Deliver timely reports to Development and Finance teams, including weekly revenue reports and monthly reconciliation.
• Conduct occasional in-depth analysis of Raiser’s Edge data, including giving trends and response rates, and make recommendations related to fundraising activities.

Assist with Fellows events (10%)

• Assist Fellows Events Manager with pulling lists for event marketing, tickets, and sponsorship.
• As needed, assist with implementing virtual and in-person events, including the ABA Midyear and Annual meetings.

Other duties not listed above may be required of this position.

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of relevant work experience.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Raiser’s Edge and Raiser’s Edge NXT, including running complex queries, exports, and imports.
• Superb organizational skills, meticulous attention to detail, and commitment to data integrity.
• Advanced Excel skills, including data sorting, formulas, and conditional formatting.
• Proficiency with other Microsoft products, especially mail merge tools.
• Self-motivated, independent worker able to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously with accuracy.
• Collaborative team member able to engage effectively with attorneys, judges, scholars, and academic professionals.
• Strategic and creative thinker with knowledge of donor relations.
• Committed to confidentiality and discretion in all aspects of ABF business.
• Ability to move materials and boxes up to 15 lbs.
• Illinois residency and U.S. work authorization required throughout employment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Basic programming capabilities (e.g., Python, JavaScript).
• Experience working at a nonprofit organization.

Work Structure and Environment

This is a full-time (35 hours/week), exempt position. ABF employees are expected to work at the ABF offices at 40% of their workweek and to work within the state of Illinois the rest of the time. Standard work hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, with a one-hour lunch period. Occasional work outside of these hours is expected in connection with ABF events (e.g., Board meetings). Out-of-state travel may be required for this position.

The American Bar Foundation (ABF) is firmly committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons, including providing reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants. All decisions regarding employment will be made without unlawful discrimination on the basis of age; ancestry; certain arrest or criminal history records; citizenship; color; disability; gender; gender identity; genetic information; housing status; marital status; military status; national origin; order of protection status; parental status; pregnancy; protected activity (e.g., reporting of prohibited discrimination or harassment); race (including traits associated with race such as hair texture or hair styles); religion; reproductive health decisions; sex; sexual orientation; source of income; status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence, gender violence, or any other crime of violence or who have family or household members who are victims of such violence; unfavorable discharge from the military; or any other status or classification protected by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. 

Full-time administrative staff benefits currently include:

• 35-hour work week, plus early-dismissal Summer Fridays
• Flexible work scheduling and/or compensatory time
• 403(b) retirement plan with 5% automatic employer contribution AND 5% employer match
• Generous paid leave: 17+ holidays, including a weeklong winter recess; 30 vacation/sick/personal days; paid family/medical leave; and other leave as needed (e.g., short- and long-term disability)
• Medical and dental insurance – BCBS-IL
• Vision insurance – UnitedHealthCare
• Short- and long-term disability plans
• Flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA)
• Transit and parking benefits, including discounted parking
• Life insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Legal assistance plan
• Other perks offered by the ABF and Northwestern University

Fluency in verbal and written English