Manager, Development Operations Administration

Obama Foundation; United States; Hybrid; USD 87,000 - 109,000; Full time

Job summary

Obama Foundation is seeking a Manager of Development Operations Administration to lead budgeting, contracts, onboarding, and team development at our Chicago-based hybrid hub. You will partner with Finance, People, and external partners to ensure precise fiscal operations and a strong, inclusive culture.

You will oversee the Development Operations Analyst, drive process improvements, and deliver monthly leadership dashboards while supporting annual revenue growth and sustainability goals.

Qualifications

• 4–6 years of progressive operations experience; leadership readiness.

Responsibilities

• Budget oversight and monthly reconciliation with Finance.
• Manage vendor contracts, SOWs, POs, and invoices.
• Compile monthly dashboards and analytics for leadership.
• Lead onboarding, training, and professional development programs.
• Supervise Development Operations Analyst and support team.
• Improve processes to increase efficiency across subteams.

Skills

Operations experience

Budget management

Team leadership

Communication skills

Project management

Tools

Salesforce

Spreadsheets

Project management tools

Job description

At The Obama Foundation, our mission is to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world. We seek to build an active democratic culture where people are equipped and motivated to make change in the communities where they live, work, and play. Right here on the South Side of Chicago, we’re building a home for this vision, a global center for change with a range of opportunities - coordinated programming, community outreach events, educational moments, and more - that invite visitors from down the block or across the globe to turn hope into action. Achieving our ambitious goals starts with an exceptional team built on our Hope to Action Values - Courage, Empathy, Integrity, Accountability, Community, Inclusivity, Pragmatism, Resilience, Imagination, and Hope. A Framework that anyone, anywhere, can use to build trust, activate participation, and expand opportunity in their community.

Purpose of the Role Reporting directly to the Senior Director of Development Operations, the Manager of Development Operations Administration is a key operational leader responsible for driving the internal business, fiscal, talent, and cultural infrastructure of the Development Operations division. This role ensures that our systems, financial resources, personnel onboarding, and administrative workflows run with absolute precision to support the Foundation's increasing annual revenue goals and long-term sustainability. The Manager oversees internal divisional budget management, vendor contracts, procurement workflows, and executive reporting. Additionally, serving as the department’s talent and onboarding lead in partnership with the People Team, this role designs and administers structured onboarding, professional development programs, and team culture initiatives. The Manager directly supervises the Development Operations Analyst, directing agile operational support across the division.

Core Job Responsibilities

• Internal Budget Oversight: Drive the creation, monthly tracking, and formal reconciliation of Development Operations’ internal operating budget, serving as the primary liaison to the Finance department for internal operational expenditures.
• Contract & Procurement Management: Manage the end-to-end lifecycle for divisional vendor contracts, statement of work (SOW) processing, purchase orders, and invoice approvals, ensuring compliance with institutional procurement policies.
• Executive Reporting Support: Partner closely with the Senior Director of Development Operations to compile, manage, and distribute monthly progress reports, executive dashboards, and performance analytics for Development, Board and Foundation leadership.
• Talent Acquisition, Onboarding & Professional Development:
  • Hiring Pipeline Management: Serve as the division's primary operational lead to the People Team, efficiently coordinating job descriptions, sourcing workflows with talent acquisition, and providing updates on progress to the division.
  • Onboarding Architecture: Design, organize, and lead a standardized, high-touch departmental onboarding program for all new operations hires, partnering directly with hiring managers to ensure rapid role acclimatization and technical readiness.
  • Professional Development & Culture: Co-design and administer divisional training modules and professional development opportunities. In particular, supporting the Development team’s group of dispersed Analysts, ensuring cohesion and coordinated oversight of projects and training, as needed. Proactively drive initiatives that foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team culture.
• Pod Leadership & Operations Support:
  • Direct Supervision: Manage, coach, and evaluate the Development Operations Analyst, directing their daily task prioritization across central projects, operational help-desk triage, and cross-pod support.
  • Process Optimization: Continually audit internal administrative processes, standardizing operating procedures to eliminate friction and maximize operational efficiency across all operations subteams.

Required Qualifications

• 4-6 years of progressive experience in operations, project management, internal budget tracking, or non-profit administration, with demonstrated leadership readiness or direct supervisory experience.
• Strong financial acumen with hands-on experience building, tracking, and reconciling departmental operating budgets and managing procurement/contract lifecycles.
• Proven experience in talent coordination, designing onboarding workflows, or leading team professional development initiatives.
• Exceptional organizational, project management, and time-management skills; highly detail-oriented with the ability to manage competing priorities under tight deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to build strong, empathetic working relationships across teams and with external partners.
• Proficiency with CRM systems (Salesforce preferred), financial tracking software/spreadsheets, and project management tools.
• Commitment to the values and mission of the Foundation.

Key Deliverables / Outcomes

• Flawless monthly budget tracking, invoice processing, and variance reporting delivered to the Senior Director and Finance.
• A streamlined, highly efficient hiring and onboarding pipeline executed in close partnership with the People Team and hiring managers, measurably shortening time-to-fill and new hire ramp-up periods.
• Standardized vendor contract workflows with zero contract lapses or compliance delays.
• Effective supervision and mentorship of the Development Operations Analyst to excellence.
• Measurable contribution to high team morale, retention, and operational cohesion across the Development Operations division.

The salary range for this role is between $87,020 and $108,775.

This is a hybrid role based at the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park in Chicago.

For an overview of our benefits package, including insurance, paid time off, retirement & more, please visit https://www.obama.org/careers/.

The Foundation is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. The Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at [e-mail] if you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application.

At the Obama Foundation, we are guided by a core belief: that ordinary people working together can change history. We were founded by community organizers, so when we seek change, we do it by bringing people together. That approach begins at home, on the South Side of Chicago, where we are building the Obama Presidential Center. The Center represents a historic opportunity for Chicago: a chance to build a world‑class museum and public gathering space that celebrates our nation’s first African American President and First Lady, steps away from where he began his career, where she was raised, and where—together—they made their home. But that approach extends to all our work, whether it’s holding leadership training sessions in communities throughout the U.S., bringing local leaders together in countries around the world, working to support the global education of girls, or ensuring young men of color have pathways to opportunity. As President Obama has said, “we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together.” So join us. For more information, please visit www.obama.org.