EVP, Fundraising Strategy & Operations

American Cancer Society; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 206,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PTO

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Retirement plan

Wellness programs

Professional development

Job summary

American Cancer Society seeks a proven operations leader to serve as the primary internal operations officer for the Development pillar, architecting infrastructure and processes powering transformational revenue growth. You will unify campaign management, constituent relations, data analytics, and gift processing into a cohesive engine, enabling frontline teams to maximize philanthropic impact.

This role leads strategic operations, partners with Finance and IT, and guides data-driven

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 10+ years leading development operations and strategy across multiple fundraising channels.
• Ability to translate data into actionable insights for executive decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership to operations across Campaign Management, Constituent Management, and Development Services.
• Define the overarching operations strategy and optimize CRM workflows, gift processing, and IT infrastructure.
• Oversee donor move management, pipeline reporting, and stewardship initiatives.
• Lead analytics programs to inform donor segmentation and ROI analyses for leadership.
• Collaborate with Finance to forecast revenue and monitor budgets.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Growth mindset & strategic thinking

CRM & data visualization tools

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Tools

CRM software

Data visualization tools

Job description

This role serves as the primary internal operations officer for the Development pillar, architecting critical infrastructure, systems, and processes that power transformational revenue growth. By unifying campaign management, constituent relations, data analytics, and gift processing under a cohesive vision, the leader ensures seamless, data-driven fundraising execution and optimizes the internal fundraising engine to enable frontline teams to focus on maximizing philanthropic impact.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Strategic Team Leadership & Management – Provide visionary leadership and direction to a strategic operations function focused on Campaign Management, Constituent Management, and Development Services. Foster cross‑functional alignment to ensure teams collaborate effectively and support fundraising operations. (30%)
• Operational Strategy & Infrastructure – Develop and implement the overarching operations strategy, driving continuous process improvement to eliminate bottlenecks. Partner with Marketing and IT leadership to optimize CRM workflows, gift processing, and broader technical infrastructure for compliance and accuracy. (25%)
• Fundraising Enablement & Campaign Execution – Guide the systems for donor move management, pipeline reporting, and stewardship to ensure highly curated donor journeys. Oversee campaign management execution to establish early momentum and brand projects, building fundraising capacity rather than merely meeting goals. (20%)
• Data Analytics & Business Intelligence – Champion a data‑informed culture by leading analytics initiatives that inform donor segmentation, portfolio assignments, and rigorous ROI analysis of fundraising activities. Translate complex data sets into actionable, strategic insights for executive decision-making. (15%)
• Financial Planning & Budget Oversight – Collaborate closely with finance teams to forecast revenue, monitor departmental expense budgets, and report performance metrics to senior leadership and the board. Balance cost, risk, and long‑term impact in all strategic and financial analysis. (10%)

EXPERIENCE / QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum Degree: Bachelor's Degree
• Preferred Degree: Bachelor's Degree
• Ten or more years leading development operations and strategy across multiple fundraising channels.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITY

• Strategic oversight, vision, and leadership for large teams in complex environments.
• Growth mindset and strategic thinking.
• Expertise in fundraising operations and awareness of key industry issues.
• Strong organizational skills to manage multiple long‑term, complex initiatives simultaneously.
• Interpersonal skills to influence and align cross‑functional teams.
• Ability to translate complex data into actionable insights for strategic decision‑making.
• Advanced proficiency with CRMs and data visualization tools.
• Results‑oriented leadership with goal setting and high‑performance focus.
• Experience developing, implementing, and monitoring strategic plans with reporting to senior leaders.
• Strategic and financial analysis skills, balancing cost, risk, and long‑term impact.
• High professionalism, diplomacy, and political savvy.
• Conflict resolution skills for individuals and groups.
• Excellent communication skills to engage stakeholders at all levels.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

Regular travel, including evening and weekend work, required.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Work setting is in a typical office and/or home‑based office.

COMPENSATION

The starting rate is $206,000 to $270,000 annually. The final candidate’s relevant experience and skills will be considered before an offer is extended; actual starting pay will vary based on non‑discriminatory factors, including geographic location, experience, skills, specialty, and education.

BENEFITS

ACS provides a generous paid time off policy; medical, dental, retirement benefits, wellness programs, and professional development programs. Further details can be found on the careers site.

EEO STATEMENT

We are a proud equal opportunity employer.