Development Manager

Reports to: Chief Strategy Officer

Location: Stamford, CT and Greater Fairfield County

Salary Range: $60,000–$75,000, commensurate with experience

Join our team to help make a positive difference for families and individuals facing life's challenges in CT!

About Schoke JFS

Schoke Jewish Family Service strengthens our community by providing vital services and fostering meaningful connections across Fairfield County. Guided by our values of compassion, dignity, and responsibility, we support individuals and families in areas including food security, mental health, senior care, and emergency assistance.

Position Summary

The Development Manager owns the day-to-day coordination and execution of Schoke JFS’s fundraising operations, ensuring that development work is organized, accurate, timely, and donor-centered. Reporting to the Chief Strategy Officer, this role is responsible for strong development systems and execution across gift processing, database management, donor acknowledgments, reporting, campaign coordination, corporate sponsorships, events, and the annual development calendar.

The Development Manager works closely with development colleagues, Finance, Marketing, program staff, vendors, and volunteers to keep fundraising priorities moving forward and provide the operational structure needed to support donor relationships and revenue growth.

Key Responsibilities

Development Operations & Data Management

• Manage timely and accurate entry and updating of gifts, pledges, donor records, contact information, and related activity in the agency’s CRM.
• Maintain data integrity through routine review, cleanup, duplicate management, and consistent documentation standards.
• Produce mailing lists, donor segments, event lists, and other data extracts needed for campaigns, donor outreach, and stewardship activities.
• Coordinate with Finance on gift reconciliation, pledge tracking, and the maintenance of accurate and consistent financial and fundraising records.
• Identify opportunities to improve development processes, data practices, and workflows.

Acknowledgments & Stewardship Operations

• Own the donor acknowledgment process, including preparing letters and receipts, coordinating signatures and personalized notes, and ensuring timely delivery.
• Prepare tribute notifications, sponsorship acknowledgments, and other routine donor communications; respond to basic donor questions or route them to the appropriate staff member.
• Maintain systems for tracking stewardship commitments, follow-up, renewal dates, donor recognition, and other relationship-management activity.
• Work with development colleagues to ensure donor interactions and next steps are consistently documented and completed.

Events, Campaigns & Corporate Sponsorships

• Coordinate development operations and logistics for the annual gala, donor appreciation events, cultivation gatherings, and other fundraising activities.
• Maintain event and sponsorship records and coordinate registration, guest lists, seating, materials, vendor logistics, day-of execution, and post-event follow-up.
• Coordinate the operational components of corporate sponsorship efforts, including prospect and outreach tracking, sponsorship commitments, benefits fulfillment, recognition materials, renewals, and reporting.
• Support development leadership in maintaining and expanding relationships with corporate sponsors and community partners.
• Coordinate annual appeals and other fundraising campaigns through list preparation, mailings, response tracking, donor follow-up systems, and production of campaign materials.

Reporting, Calendar & Project Management

• Own and maintain the annual development calendar, including campaign, event, reporting, acknowledgment, stewardship, sponsorship, and communications deadlines.
• Prepare regular fundraising reports and dashboards on revenue, donor participation, campaign progress, events, sponsorships, and other key activity for staff and leadership review.
• Track departmental projects, deliverables, and deadlines; coordinate with contributors and ensure assigned work moves forward on schedule.
• Provide the Chief Strategy Officer and development team with accurate and timely information needed to assess progress and prioritize fundraising activity.
• Lead or support development-related research, process improvements, and special projects assigned by the Chief Strategy Officer.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Minimum of three years of relevant experience in development operations, fundraising, database administration, event management, project coordination, or a comparable field; nonprofit fundraising experience preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to independently manage recurring processes, deadlines, and multiple time-sensitive projects.
• Strong organizational skills and exceptional attention to detail.
• Proficiency with donor databases and Microsoft Office, particularly Excel; experience with Bloomerang, Salsa, GiveSmart, or similar platforms preferred.
• Ability to prepare clear, accurate reports and work comfortably with fundraising and financial data.
• Strong written and interpersonal communication skills, sound judgment, discretion, and a service-oriented approach to donors and colleagues.
• Ability to work collaboratively across departments while taking ownership of assigned responsibilities and deadlines.
• Ability to work occasional evenings or weekends for fundraising and stewardship events.
• Familiarity with Jewish communal life and the Fairfield County community is helpful but not required.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package, including agency-matched 403(b), paid holidays, and insurance options.
• Meaningful professional growth opportunities designed to support your passion for doing good.

Why Join Schoke JFS?

The Development Manager will play a central role in building a strong, organized fundraising operation behind a trusted community organization. This position offers the opportunity to take ownership of the systems that ensure donors are thanked well, information is dependable, events and campaigns run smoothly, commitments are followed through, and the development team has the infrastructure needed to grow Schoke JFS’s impact across Fairfield County.

To apply, please send your resume and a cover letter to Eli Schaffer, Chief Strategy Officer, at eschaffer@ctjfs.org.

• Comprehensive benefits package
• Agency-matched 403(b)
• Paid holidays
• Insurance options
• Meaningful professional growth opportunities designed to support your passion for doing good.