Advancement Operations Specialist

Society for Science; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 62,000 - 69,000; Full time

Job summary

Society for Science, based in Washington, DC, seeks an Advancement Operations Specialist to align the Advancement and Finance teams. You will manage gift processing, fund coding, monthly reconciliation, and grant reporting for 30+ active awards, ensuring accuracy and compliance.

The role emphasizes accuracy, cross‑department collaboration, and building scalable processes. A growth path exists for high performers in operational and analytical skills within a nonprofit setting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and nonprofit advancement operations experience.
• Experience with CRM databases and gift processing.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel for financial data.
• Strong written and verbal communication.
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines.
• Familiarity with gift reporting and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Gift Processing: process gifts across cash, checks, cards, wire, stock, and pledges; record in CRM with donor, fund, amount, date, restrictions.
• Receipting & Compliance: issue IRS-compliant receipts and manage donor acknowledgments and non-cash gifts.
• Financial Reconciliation: monthly CRM-to-GL reconciliation; assist Finance with variances.
• Grant Financial Reporting: generate reports for foundation/corporate grants and deadlines.
• Systems & Data Integrity: maintain data quality in Dynamics and train staff.
• Work Environment & Growth: hybrid DC office with growth path toward advanced roles.

Skills

CRM experience

Excel

Attention to detail

Communication

Multitasking

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft Dynamics

Raiser's Edge

Salesforce

Job description

Society for Science is dedicated to expanding scientific literacy, access to STEM education and scientific research for more than 100 years. As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization, our mission promotes the understanding and appreciation of science and the vital role it plays in human advancement: to inform, educate, and inspire. We are best known for our award-winning magazine, Science News, our world class science research competitions and our outreach and equity STEM Programs making sure that every young person can strive to become an engineer or scientist.

Position Overview

The Society is looking for an Advancement Operations Specialist to support the Advancement team. The Advancement Operations Specialist is the operational link between the Advancement department and the Finance team, ensuring that gift revenue is accurately recorded, reconciled, and reported across both systems. This role is the financial backbone of the advancement operation – responsible for gift processing, fund coding, monthly reconciliation, and grant financial reporting across a portfolio of 30+ active institutional grants.

This is a detail-oriented, systems-fluent position that requires both technical precision and the ability to work effectively across departments. The Advancement Operations Specialist translates between the language of fundraising and the language of accounting and is the person both teams rely on when the numbers need to be right.

We value strong analytical and interpersonal skills, and the ability to contribute to a fast-paced environment as an individual and as part of a team.
This role offers a clear path of growth. A Specialist who demonstrates strong performance and develops their technical, operational and relationship-management capabilities will be considered for advancement to a higher-level position.

Responsibilities

Gift Processing

• Process all incoming gifts accurately and on schedule – including cash, check, credit card, wire transfer, stock, in-kind, and pledge payments – ensuring each is entered into the CRM (Microsoft Dynamics) with correct donor, fund, amount, date, and restriction data.
• Assign fund codes to all gifts in alignment with Finance's chart of accounts; identify and resolve coding discrepancies before they reach the general ledger.
• Manage pledge schedules and installment tracking for multi-year commitments, including institutional grants; generate reminders and match payments to original pledge records.
• Process gift adjustments, reversals, and corrections with appropriate documentation and authorization.
• Manage the matching gift submission and tracking process to ensure eligible gifts are followed through to completion.

Receipting and Compliance

• Generate IRS-compliant gift receipts within established turnaround standards.
• Maintain accurate documentation for quid pro quo gifts, stock contributions, in-kind gifts, and other non-cash giving requiring special acknowledgment language.
• Oversee donor recognition data accuracy, ensuring acknowledgment records reflect current naming preference, recognition levels, and cumulative giving totals.
• Support year-end tax documentation, including coordination of receipting for payroll deduction and workplace giving programs such as the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) and State Giving Campaigns.
• Stay current on IRS regulations, CASE standards, and AFP guidelines affecting gift recording, receipting and reporting.

Financial Reconciliation

• Support the Director of Advancement Operations as primary Advancement liaison to the Finance team for all gift-related matters, including fund establishment, restricted fund tracking, and donor commitment and payment reconciliation; serve as backup to the Director when they are unavailable.
• Prepare monthly reconciliation of the Advancement CRM against the Finance general ledger under the Director's oversight; identify, investigate and resolve variances in partnership with the Finance team.
• Produce monthly and quarterly gift revenue reports for Advancement leadership, ensuring alignment with Finance's financial statements; maintain reporting continuity in the Director's absence.

Grant Financial Reporting

• Coordinate with Institutional Giving and Finance to produce accurate financial reports for foundation and corporate grants across a portfolio of 30+ active awards and sponsorships, including multi-year grants with complex restrictions.
• Maintain the grant financial reporting calendar and ensure all deadlines are met in accordance with established workflow SLAs.
• Support preparation of grant budgets for new proposals in collaboration with Institutional Giving and Finance.
• Draft grant award memos for Director, Institutional Giving review following the established workflow, ensuring all financial data is accurate and fund codes are active prior to distribution.

Systems and Data Integrity

• Maintain data quality in Microsoft Dynamics, including merging duplicate records, correcting miscoded gifts, and resolving incomplete or missing gift documentation.
• Develop and maintain documentation for gift processing procedures; support training of advancement staff on gift entry and data standards.
• Contribute to process improvement initiatives that reduce manual work and increase accuracy across the gift-to-finance pipeline.
• Maintain a repository of advancement operational resources and templates for team use.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
• One to three years of experience in nonprofit advancement operations, gift processing, or a finance support role in a nonprofit setting.
• CRM/database experience, preferably Microsoft Dynamics; Raiser's Edge, Salesforce, or equivalent accepted.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel, for financial data management and reporting.
• Strong attention to detail with a track record of accuracy in data entry and financial record-keeping.
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines simultaneously and flag issues proactively rather than reactively.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain financial data to non-finance colleagues.
• Demonstrated affinity for the mission of Society for Science.
• Ability to develop rapport with colleagues and external clients.

Preferred

• Experience supporting grant financial reporting for foundation, corporate, or government awards.
• Familiarity with fund accounting principles and nonprofit chart of accounts structures.
• Exposure to CASE reporting standards or AFP ethical guidelines for gift processing.
• Experience with workplace giving programs including CFC or state giving campaigns.
• Experience in growing or restructuring advancement operations.

What Success Looks Like

• In the first 90 days: This person has learned every gift type processed by the Advancement team, understands the fund code structure and how it maps to Finance's chart of accounts, and has established a productive working relationship with their Finance counterpart. Receipts are going out on time and the monthly reconciliation prep work is running smoothly.
• At six months: This person ensures reconciliation closes on time with minimal unresolved variances. Grant financial reports are meeting funder deadlines. The Institutional Giving team trusts that the financial data in their reports is accurate before it leaves the building.
• At one year: This person has documented the gift processing procedures, identified at least one workflow improvement, and is the reliable connector that both Advancement and Finance call when something doesn't add up. They are ready to begin taking on greater analytical and strategic responsibility.

Work Environment

While performing the duties of this job, the employee usually works in an office setting. This position is based at Society for Science's Washington, D.C. headquarters, near the Dupont Circle and Farragut North Metro stations. The Society is operating on a hybrid work schedule, with an in-office requirement of 2 days a week.

Position Type and Expected Hours

Standard hours are Monday through Friday during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern time, with core hours of 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.). Light travel and occasional evening or weekend work are required to support major events such as ISEF.

Salary

The salary range is $61,800 - $69,400

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands and fingers to operate a computer and other office equipment.

Additional Information

Society for Science has mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for employees coming into the office and attending Society events. Exceptions to the vaccine requirement may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover every duty, responsibility and activity that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Society for Science

Founded in 1921, the Society for Science (Society), is a champion for science, dedicated to expanding scientific literacy, effective STEM education, and scientific research. Through its world-class competitions, including the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, and its award-winning magazines, Science News and Science News Explores, the Society, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization, is focused on promoting the understanding and appreciation of science and the vital role it plays in human advancement: to inform, education, and inspire.

EEO Statement

The Society is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

Society for Science & the Public is committed to equal employment opportunity. In order to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals, the Society does not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis, including but not limited to: veteran status, race, color, religion, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identify or expression, ancestry, national origin, disability, personal appearance, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, age and/or any other categories protected by the laws of the United States or the District of Columbia.