Director of Development Operations - Data-Driven Fundraising

Lyric Opera of Chicago; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 100,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

403B

401(k) with company match

PTO incl. sick, vacation, and personal

Life/AD&D coverage

Complimentary tickets

Job summary

Lyric Opera of Chicago is seeking a Director to lead Development Operations, overseeing Tessitura and related tech to support fundraising goals. You will provide strategic leadership, data governance, and insightful reporting for senior leadership and philanthropy officers.

The role requires 7+ years in fundraising operations, strong Excel and SQL skills, and experience supervising staff. This is a full-time, on-site position based in Chicago.

Qualifications

• Seven or more years in Development/Fundraising/Advancement, with at least three in development operations or gift processing.
• Proven experience with Tessitura CRM; working knowledge of SQL is appreciated.
• Experience supervising staff and mentoring junior colleagues.
• Excellent interpersonal and presentation skills for stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to translate complex data, systems, and processes into clear information.

Responsibilities

• Lead Development Operations with strategic direction and team development.
• Oversee data strategy, analytics, and fundraising enablement, including dashboards.
• Design and maintain Tessitura dashboards for donor engagement and revenue insights.
• Govern Tessitura governance standards and promote system adoption.
• Coordinate financial reconciliation and gift processing with Finance.

Skills

Leadership

Data analysis

Communication

Project management

Staff mentoring

Tools

Tessitura CRM

SQL

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Lyric Opera of Chicago is seeking a Director to lead Development Operations, overseeing Tessitura and related tech to support fundraising goals. You will provide strategic leadership, data governance, and insightful reporting for senior leadership and philanthropy officers.

The role requires 7+ years in fundraising operations, strong Excel and SQL skills, and experience supervising staff. This is a full-time, on-site position based in Chicago.