Manager of Development Operations & Research

Job Description

Job Description

Salary: $62,500

Title: Manager of Institutional Giving & Development Operations

Supervised by: Director of Development

Status: Exempt, Salaried, Full-Time

Date: July 2025

ORGANIZATION

VOCEL is a nonprofit early childhood education organization dedicated to equipping and supporting parents, teachers, and school leaders to strengthen early learning in homes and schools. With a core focus on brain-building, playful learning, VOCEL designs innovative programs across Chicago communities facing economic hardship. Our mission is to ensure every child has the foundation to learn, grow, and leadand every fundraising effort brings us one step closer to that goal.

YOUR NEXT BIG ADVENTURE

Were seeking a detail-oriented, analytical, and systems-minded Manager of Individual Giving & Operations to help power VOCELs fundraising growth. Reporting directly to the Director of Development, youll nurture our portfolio of foundation and corporate supporters and lead our grant management process. In addition, youll ensure accurate, timely management of all development operations and reporting to finance. Altogether, youll play a key role in executing VOCELs strategic plan to triple our reach and grow our budget from $2.5 million to $5 million by 2029.

This role offers a unique opportunity to shape our grant writing; prospect strategy; and gift processing, acknowledgement, and reconciliation processes to set the foundation for sustainable revenue growth. In this capacity, youll help build our people-first, innovative development operation, enabling significant growth of VOCELs vision of early childhood excellence in Chicago and beyond.

Its important you know VOCELs Development Team is collaborative, innovative, and building a dynamic, highly effective, and anti-racist development operation, rooted in partnership, compassion, and joy. You wont walk into an environment with all the kinks worked out and systems built, but youll have the opportunity to help build it with stellar team members.

WHAT YOULL DO:

Institutional Giving Portfolio: Grant Writing & Grant Management 45%

• Lead management of VOCELs grant processes: overseeing the calendar of grant applications and reports; supporting the team with planning toward deadlines; formatting grant applications; collecting all requested materials and attachments
• Lead a collaborative grant writing process with the Director of Development and Executive Director, taking the lead to write persuasive and impact-driven grant proposals, reports, and LOIs that drive renewals and increased giving
• Collaborate closely with the Director of Development and Executive Director to create budgets for proposals, and coordinate with Program and Finance teams as needed in developing appropriate project metrics and outcomes

• Manage timelines and relationships with points of contacts/portfolio managers of foundation and corporate funders, prioritizing proactive communication, people-focused relationship building, and impact-driven partnership
• Collaborate with Director of Development and other staff as needed to plan year-round engagement opportunities including site visits and volunteer sessions for foundation and corporate partners, such as our annual Gift of Joy holiday drive

Prospect Research & Data Analysis 20%

• Conduct ongoing research to identify new corporate, foundation, and other institutional prospects broadening VOCELs funding portfolio to include more regional and national institutions

• Analyze wealth indicators, giving patterns, and philanthropic trends to inform fundraising strategy

• Provide strategic insights and donor profiles to the Director of Development and Executive Director to guide cultivation and solicitation

Gift Processing, Acknowledgements, & Finance Reconciliation 15%

• Ensure timely and accurate gift entry and processing into Bloomerang CRM including processing online donations, wire transfers, stock transfers, and other giving vehicles
• Align with Director of Development and Managing Director of Finance & Operations to capture grant pledges into CRM system for multi-year and major grant tracking

• Craft tax acknowledgment letters for all applicable donations, working closely with the Director of Development and Manager of Individual Giving & Events to ensure timely delivery to donors

• Collaborate closely with the Finance Team to reconcile monthly donation reports and align on any discrepancies between Development CRM and Finance accounting books
• Manage VOCELs online donation processing platform (QGiv) and ensure all donation forms are running efficiently

Donor Database Management 10%

• Maintain the integrity and accuracy of our CRM (Bloomerang), including management of constituent profiles, campaigns and appeals, and reports
• Collaborate closely with Director of Development and Manager of Individual Giving & Events to add/update constituent profiles and add donors notes and interactions (such as record of event attendance) to their records

• Refine and sustain internal systems for capturing donor and gift information across all fundraising efforts, especially institutional and individual giving

• Support data-driven decision-making through routine performance reporting while identifying and implementing CRM enhancements

Miscellaneous Development Operations Support 10%

• Provide ad hoc project and administrative support to the Development Team

• Support internal tracking tools, quarterly reporting, document management systems, and team calendars

• Collaborate across departments Development, Operations, and Program as needed to support organization-wide processes that nurture a team-oriented workplace
• Actively serve on VOCELs team culture committee, attend staff meetings, and participate in other organizational activities and duties as assigned

YOUR QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelors degree

• At least 3 years of experience in development, operations, or nonprofit fundraising (education sector experience a plus)

• A passion for early childhood education and a deep alignment with VOCELs core values: Put People First, Welcome All, Embrace the Child Within, Innovate with Intention, Promote Equity, and Build a Better Tomorrow

YOUR SUPERPOWERS:

Data & Research Mastery: You have a sharp eye for trends and connections with experience in donor and/or grants research, leveraging the ability to translate data into insights

Compelling, Donor-Centric Communication: Excellent writing and interpersonal skills to create engaging, impact-driven grant appeals and build relationships with donors and stakeholders that inspire confidence, openness, and shared vision

Project Management: Youre highly organized, able to manage multiple complex timelines and deliverables across teams

Systems Thinking: You love to build and improve processes, and youre energized by optimizing systems to support a teams success

Technical Proficiency: Youre comfortable navigating CRMs and spreadsheets; ideally have experience with Bloomerang, Salesforce, or a similar fundraising platform; and know how to leverage tools like Candids Foundation Directory, Instrumentl, Guidestar, and/or iWave

OUR WORK ENVIRONMENT

• The daily schedule is flexible and will be set in conjunction with the Director of Development.
• This position is based in Chicago and requires regular in-person work at VOCELs office and event venues across Chicago and the surrounding area. The role includes flexibility to work from home on a weekly basis and will occasionally involve evening or weekend hours for events.
• You will routinely use standard office equipment (laptops, photocopiers, scanners, filing cabinets, and common office supplies) and a reliable cell phone with apps for communication (e.g., Slack, BambooHR).
• The role involves frequent talking, hearing, and visual interaction; you may be required to stand, walk, and use hands to operate office equipment, and there may be long periods of sitting. Occasional lifting of objects up to 50 pounds (with assistance if needed) may be required.
• VOCEL offers a smoke- and drug-free environment.
• Documentation of U.S. citizenship or eligibility to work in the U.S. is required.

OUR PERKS & BENEFITS

VOCEL offers a competitive compensation package including:

• Annual salary of approximately $62,500, commensurate with experience and qualifications
• Health, dental, and vision insurance (50-60% covered by VOCEL)
• IRA with employer matching
• Technology reimbursement
• Mileage reimbursement
• Generous paid time including:
  • Paid holidays with opportunity to swap holidays for personal/religious
    observance
  • 20 days of elective paid time off per year
  • Up to 5 paid sick days
  • Up to 5 paid self, family, and community care days
• Flexible VOCEL Fridays with most staff finishing their work day by 1:00
  pm

DONT CHECK EVERY BOX?

We understand that candidates often hesitate to apply unless they meet every single requirement. Research shows that many highly capable individualsespecially candidates from historically excluded groupsapply only when they meet 100% of the qualifications. If you believe your unique experiences and passion for our mission make you a great fit, even if you dont check every box, we encourage you to apply and share in your cover letter why youd excel in this role.

WE WELCOME ALL

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

All decisions and criteria governing the employment
relationship with all employees are made in a non-discriminatory manner, without regard
to race, ethnicity, creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or
expression, genetic information, age, national origin, marital status, pregnancy, military
service, order of protection status, physical, mental, or neuro disability, or any other
factor determined to be unlawful by federal, state, or local statutes.

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