Manager, Development Strategy & Operations

Museum of the City of New York; City of Niagara Falls (NY); On-site; USD 59,000 - 72,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401K and pension plan

Paid time off escalating by year

Employee admissions to museums

Job summary

The Museum of the City of New York seeks a Manager, Development Strategy & Operations to lead the department’s data, systems, and processes. You will oversee Altru CRM, run revenue projections, and partner with Finance on budgets, while coordinating donor prospecting materials and event data management.

The ideal candidate has 3–5 years in development operations, strong Excel and Microsoft 365 skills, and a keen interest in AI tools with a focus on data privacy and accuracy.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years in development operations or similar role.
• Altru experience strongly preferred; other fundraising CRM acceptable.
• Experience with revenue tracking, forecasting, or budget reporting.
• Advanced Excel and Microsoft 365 proficiency.
• Interest in AI tools with data privacy and accuracy sensibility.
• Event registration and guest list experience a plus.
• Strong organization, multitasking, and communication skills.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Development Department’s use of all museum databases and technology, including the CRM (Altru) and AI integrations; serve as liaison to IT.
• Manage all reporting from the CRM, including queries, contact lists, gift reports, and dashboards.
• Oversee gift entry and acknowledgement; coordinate with Finance for reconciliation.
• Forecast revenue and budget projections with development, finance, and programs teams.
• Lead event registration and manage lists and check-in staff.
• Support prospect research, move management, and wealth screening; synthesize into donor profiles.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Microsoft 365

Data analysis

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Team collaboration

Fundraising fundamentals

AI tools curiosity

Presentation of figures

Tools

Altru CRM

Job description

Manager, Development Strategy & Operations

The Museum of the City of New York fosters understanding of the distinctive nature of urban life in the world’s most influential metropolis. It engages visitors by celebrating, documenting, and interpreting the city’s past, present, and future. Founded in 1923, the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) showcases the city’s unique stories and cultural treasures. The country’s first and largest city museum, MCNY presents immersive exhibitions and programs at the intersection of history, popular culture, and art to 200,000 people annually, including 30,000 students and educators, fostering shared identity, civic pride and engagement, and social cohesion for New Yorkers. MCNY has been recognized as one of the leading museums in New York City by publications such as Condé Nast Traveler and the New York Times, with Time Out New York awarding MCNY “Best Museum” in New York in 2021.

The Manager, Development Strategy & Operations is an essential member of the Development team, responsible for the systems, data, and processes that power the Museum’s fundraising. This role serves as the team’s database lead and operational backbone. Key responsibilities include managing the Development team’s use of its primary database, Altru; running point on quarterly revenue reprojections and monthly revenue-to-date reporting for the Board of Trustees; partnering with Finance and other departments, especially Curatorial, on budgets; managing event data and registration; leading donor prospecting and briefing materials; and identifying where AI tools can strengthen the team’s workflow. The Manager, Development Strategy & Operations must be highly analytical and detail-oriented, and possess a solid understanding of fundraising fundamentals. This is a full-time, regular position that reports directly to the Associate Director, Development Events & Strategy.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Lead the Development Department’s use of all museum databases and technology, including the CRM (Altru), prospecting platforms, internal project management tools, and AI integrations. Serve as the team’s primary liaison to the IT Department to ensure tools and systems are consistently meeting current needs as they evolve, including AI integration when appropriate and useful.
• Manage all reporting out of the CRM, including pulling timely and accurate queries, contact lists, gift reports, and dashboards. Work cross-departmentally to ensure reports are accurate and meet museum-wide needs.
• Oversee all aspects of gift entry and acknowledgement across all contributed revenue lines; partner with the finance team to ensure regular reconciliation processes.
• Project manage revenue forecasting, reprojection, and budgeting processes, working with development, finance, and program teams.
• Serve as the department head for event registration, including managing lists and training check-in staff.
• Support institutional and individual giving teams on prospect research, move management processes, and wealth screening. Synthesize information into donor profiles, event look books, and meeting briefs as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.

A successful candidate will have:

• Three to five years of experience in development operations, database management, or a similar role
• Experience with Altru strongly preferred; proficiency with a comparable fundraising CRM required
• Experience with revenue tracking, forecasting, or budget reporting; comfort presenting figures to senior leadership
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and proficiency across Microsoft 365
• Curiosity about emerging technology, including AI tools, and sound judgment in evaluating them against data privacy and accuracy standards
• Experience with event registration and guest list management a plus
• Prospect research experience a plus
• Excellent organization and prioritization skills with a proven ability to manage multiple deadlines
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Attention to detail, strong analytical and critical thinking skills
• Enthusiastic collaborator and a team player
• Solid understanding of fundraising fundamentals
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively with staff at all levels of the organization
• A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and a passion for advancing equity and addressing structural racism within nonprofit organizations.

Physical Requirements & Work Environment:

Sedentary work. Work is performed in an office environment and requires the ability to operate standard office equipment and keyboards. Must be able to remain in a stationary position 90% of the time and able to traverse through office and museum gallery environment. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. Repetitive motion. Substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers. The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color and peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. While performing the essential functions of the job, this role primarily works on Monday-Friday with occasional weekend or evening work required.

The annual salary for this position is $65,000. The position offers a competitive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, FSA, HSA, life insurance, 401K and a defined benefit pension plan, short and long-term disability, and an Employee Assistance Program, with options for critical illness insurance, accident insurance, legal services, and pet insurance. The Museum provides a paid time off policy that includes 10 days of annual leave, rising to 15 days in year 2, 20 days in year 3, and to 25 days in year 10, plus 12 sick days per year and 12 holidays. Your employment relationship with the Museum qualifies you for free or discounted admissions to other participating cultural institutions.

The Museum of the City of New York is committed to fostering a collaborative and respectful work environment with staff as diverse as New York City and the audiences who are curious about learning more about its history and engaging in contemporary urban issues. Our staff members are dedicated to working towards a common goal: creating the most dynamic and inspiring city museum in the world.

The Museum of the City of New York is an equal opportunity employer. As such, the museum provides equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants without unlawful discrimination with respect to age, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender identification or expression, marital status, military status or veteran, national origin, political association, political/personal convictions, predisposing genetic characteristics, race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and style), religion (including attire, clothing or facial hair worn in accordance with religious requirements), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions and transgender status), sexual orientation, socio-economic status, geographic location, philosophies, or any other classification protected by federal, state or local laws, in all employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, training, compensation, promotion, demotion, transfer, lay-off, and termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment. The Museum complies with applicable state and local law governing nondiscrimination in employment which prohibits discrimination and harassment against any employees, applicants for employment or interns, as well as contractors, subcontractors, vendors, consultants, other individuals providing services in the workplace or their employees in every location in which the Museum has facilities.