African Wildlife Foundation

Associate Director, Development Operations

African Wildlife Foundation  •  $115k - $130k/yr  •  Washington, DC (Hybrid)  •  22 days ago
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Job Description

Title: Associate Director, Development Operations

Division: Business Operations

Department Design & Data Services

Reports To: Director, Design & Data Services

Matrix Management: N/A

Supervises: Prospect Research Manager, Data Services Manager, Data Services Analyst

Location: Washington, DC (Hybrid)

The Associate Director, Development Operations, provides leadership for AWF’s Data Services and Pro-spect Research functions and serves as a key systems partner to fundraising teams across the organization. Rooted in deep expertise in data services, CRM systems, analytics, and prospect research, this role strengthens how donor data and insights are generated, governed, and applied to support effective fundraising across all donor segments.

In addition, the role brings a strong working understanding of broader development operations functions, such as stewardship, events, and development communications, to help improve alignment, coordination, and intentionality across fundraising support functions, even where those functions sit outside the Design & Data Services Department. Over time, and subject to organizational alignment, the role may support the gradual integration of selected development operations functions into the department.

The ideal candidate is a strategic and systems-oriented leader who can translate complex data into actionable insights, improve cross-functional workflows, and lead high-performing teams in a collaborative, matrixed fundraising environment.

Salary:$115,000-$130,000

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Integration (30%)

  • Serve as a senior integration and coordination point between Data Services, Prospect Research, and AWF’s fundraising departments (including Individual Giving, Institutional Partnerships, and Principal Giving), ensuring that data systems, research outputs, and operational practices are aligned with fundraising priorities and donor engagement strategies.
  • Enable and continuously improve cross-functional development operations workflows by strengthening how donor data, prospect research, stewardship information, and engagement data flow across teams and systems throughout the donor lifecycle.
  • Collaborate with senior leadership, including leaders for Fundraising, Finance, and Business Operations, to provide data-informed insights that support planning, prioritization, and long-term fundraising effectiveness, without duplicating line management or departmental ownership.

Data Governance & Analytics (20%)

  • Oversee and ensure the integrity, security, and cleanliness of the donor database (CRM).
  • Oversee and ensure the development of robust reporting frameworks and dashboards to track KPIs, donor retention, pipelines, cash flow projections, and campaign progress.
  • Ensure data products are usable and actionable across fundraising, stewardship, events, finance, and grant management workflows.
  • Proactively monitor market trends to implement best practices in CRM utilization and automation.
  • Increase team capacity by actively contributing to complex CRM configuration, reporting design, and data analysis tasks, modeling best practices, and transferring practical skills through hands-on collaboration and coaching.

Prospect Research & Pipeline Strategy (20%)

  • Oversee and ensure that research efforts align with fundraisers' objectives to maximize out-comes from major and principal gift solicitation cycles.
  • Support fundraising teams and their leadership in assessing pipeline health to ensure that data-driven lead generation drives an effective portfolio and pipeline strategy.
  • Ensure donor research and pipeline support are provided to fundraising teams across all do-nor segments (individual, legacy, principal, corporate, foundations, public) and help build/feed pipeline growth, in addition to refining portfolios to maximize return on investments.
  • Strengthen team capacity by personally contributing to high-value prospect research, portfolio reviews, and pipeline analysis at critical moments, setting quality standards and mentoring staff through real-time, applied work.

Development Operations Support & Synergy (20%)

  • Support greater coherence and intentionality across development operations functions by promoting shared standards, clear interfaces, and effective use of donor data across departments.
  • Provide strategic support to the integration of stewardship, events, and engagement data into AWF’s CRM ecosystem, ensuring that information generated by these functions is captured consistently and can be leveraged for donor strategy, portfolio management, and future engagement. In coordination with the Director of Design & Data Services and fundraising leaders contribute to the evolution of AWF’s development operations model over time.
  • Develop organizational and team capacity by directly supporting priority development operations initiatives (e.g., stewardship data integration, events workflows, cross-team process design), using hands-on involvement to test, refine, and embed scalable practice.

Team Management & Oversight (10%)

  • Directly manage and mentor a diverse team, currently including the Data Services Manager, Prospect Research Manager, and Development Data Analyst.
  • Foster a culture of service, excellence, professional development, and cross-functional col-laboration.
  • Conduct regular performance reviews and provide strategic guidance on team and individual work plans.
  • May assume additional supervisory responsibility subject to organizational alignment and fu-ture resourcing decisions.

Key Qualifications

  • Education: Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or relevant certifications (e.g., PMP) preferred.
  • Experience: 7–9 years of progressive experience in development operations, advancement services, or nonprofit data management.
  • Leadership: Minimum of 3 years of experience managing direct reports and leading multi-functional teams.
  • Technical Proficiency: Deep expertise in CRM systems, data analytics, and visualization tools.
  • Core Competencies: A strategic thinker and solutions-oriented leader with exceptional interpersonal communication, organizational, and prioritization skills.
  • Strategic Mindset: Proven ability to act as an integrator who can communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
  • Other: Ability to work in a cross-cultural environment.

Application Deadline:May 18,2026

African Wildlife Foundation

About African Wildlife Foundation

The African Wildlife Foundation, together with the people of Africa, works to ensure the wildlife and wild lands of Africa will endure forever.

Founded in 1961 at the height of the African independence movement, AWF (then known at the African Wildlife Leadership Foundation) was created to help newly independent African nations and people conserve their own wildlife. AWF’s first approach was to train and educate African conservation professionals. AWF helped establish the College of African Wildlife Management, wildlife clubs in a number of African countries, and has sponsored dozens of African scholars in their pursuit of Master’s and Doctoral degrees in conservation.

For more than 50 years, AWF has been a key player in African conservation and sustainable development. AWF has defined large conservation landscapes that are essential to securing the future of Africa’s wildlife. Within these landscapes, AWF employs an integrated approach to conservation including land use planning, education and capacity building, development of conservation enterprise to improve livelihoods, and applied research.

Industry
Consulting & Advisory
Company Size
201-500 employees
Headquarters
Nairobi, KE
Year Founded
1961
Website
awf.org
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