Head of Philanthropy Data & CRM Strategy

Northwestern Medicine; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwestern Medicine Foundation in Chicago seeks a Manager, Philanthropy to lead planning and execution of fundraising programs and CRM initiatives. You will set programmatic and financial goals, manage budgets, and collaborate with stakeholders across units to deliver measurable outcomes.

The role requires 5+ years in data management, CRM operations, or related fields within nonprofit/healthcare, with advanced Excel and CRM experience to ensure data accuracy and strategic reporting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or 4 years equivalent work experience.
• 5+ years of experience in data management, CRM administration, fundraising operations, business systems management, or related roles, preferably within a nonprofit, healthcare, or philanthropic organization.
• Ability to earn the confidence of a wide range of internal and external constituents and to network within a professional, corporate environment.
• Demonstrated project management, organizational, analysis and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent oral, communication and interpersonal skills.
• High degree of professionalism, sensitivity, and integrity.
• Strong intellectual curiosity, initiative and highly effective listening/communication skills.
• Proven ability to meet deadlines, communicate effectively and track details.
• Demonstrated high levels of leadership and flexibility in a team environment.
• Comfort leading projects, setting priorities for a team, thinking creatively and working as both a collaborative team member and leader.
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Experience administering, supporting, or optimizing CRM platforms and related business applications.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel for data analysis, manipulation, validation, and cleansing.

Responsibilities

• Demonstrate program expertise and clear leadership with the ability to manage both programs and team members, articulating concise deliverables and adapting to the evolving needs of both.
• In conjunction with NMF leadership and department Director, sets annual programmatic and financial goals for NMF. Develops and implements short- and long-term objectives to meet those goals in partnership with staff across business units.
• Demonstrate strong ability to illustrate and effectively present complex and planning scenarios at a variety of technical levels to advisors, colleagues and donors/prospects.
• Develop, manage and professionally grow a high-functioning team.
• Develop and manage an operating budget.
• Maintain and/or develop organization-wide and departmental policies/procedures relevant to areas of responsibility.
• Participate in professional development opportunities to continuously strengthen leadership capabilities.
• Utilize meaningful metrics to assess outcomes and achieve goals.
• Exemplify the NMHC values of patients first, integrity, excellence and teamwork.
• Supports CRM initiatives and system changes, including participation in CRM conversion activities, testing, validation, and implementation efforts as well as third-party vendor integrations; where appropriate, lead project management for enhancement initiatives or integrations.
• Collaborates with stakeholders to identify and implement system and data solutions that ensure compliance and support fundraising, stewardship, operational initiatives, and business practices.
• Partners with business stakeholders to translate strategic objectives into technical requirements and system enhancements.
• Collaborate with Information Services and CRM administration teams to resolve escalated issues, prioritize remediation efforts, and validate outcomes, workflows and reports against business requirements.
• Contributes to and enforces standards for documentation, architecture, governance, and change management.
• Provides thought leadership on Salesforce best practices, emerging features, and the platform roadmap.
• Ensures integrity, reliability, and quality of data through CRM oversight, quality assurance practices, adherence to data standards, and implementation of solutions that improve data accuracy, consistency, and usability.
• Maintains and improves procedures, documentation, workflows, and database processes, leading cleanup and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency, accuracy, scalability, and user experience.
• Promotes adoption of established processes, data standards, and best practices through user guidance, training, and ongoing support.

Job description

Northwestern Medicine Foundation in Chicago seeks a Manager, Philanthropy to lead planning and execution of fundraising programs and CRM initiatives. You will set programmatic and financial goals, manage budgets, and collaborate with stakeholders across units to deliver measurable outcomes.

The role requires 5+ years in data management, CRM operations, or related fields within nonprofit/healthcare, with advanced Excel and CRM experience to ensure data accuracy and strategic reporting.