Director, Operations and Systems (Development and External Affairs)

Position Summary 

Reporting to the Chief Development and External Affairs Officer, the Director is responsible for equipping the Development and External Affairs function with the operational systems, policies and processes to meet ambitious goals supported through strong fundraising, relationship management and engagement of Upstream’s Board of Directors. The Director will bring a strong background in development operations, revenue reporting and CRM management with a spirit of agility and adaptability that can be applied to a growing organization and function operating at a fast-pace. The Director will bring a focus on continuous improvement and excellence in support of stewarding our key relationships and revenue goals.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• In partnership with Upstream’s central Data, Analytics, and Technology (DAT) team, oversees Development and External Affairs team’s utilization of Salesforce in support of development and external affairs goals ranging from portfolio management, fundraising and stewardship, gift accounting, stakeholder engagement and investor/stakeholder communication. This includes creating and maintaining policies and procedures, supporting data clean up and hygiene and training/support.
• Accountable and responsible for team’s portfolio of reporting obligations to both internal teams and external audiences (e.g. Board, Finance Committee, and funders); set and manage prioritization and execution of fundraising and other data requests in order to meet reporting deadlines in a timely manner.
• Oversee grant deliverables program and provides vision to ensure the systems, processes, and workflows to effectively steward and report to donors across all areas of giving.
• Oversee development, refinement and execution of key team processes including: SWAG management, goals tracking, functional on-boarding, executive activity tracking, team retreats, professional development opportunities, team building, calendar scheduling, and others that could be shared across teams.
• Lead comprehensive budgeting across Development and External Affairs teams; train team members in budgeting and expense management best practices and expectations.
• Oversee and coordinate gift processing and gift acknowledgement.
• Serves as a liaison to the Finance Department on financial reporting, reconciliation, tracking, projections, restricted fund monitoring and other issues.
• Lead revenue budgeting process in partnership with fundraising teams working with Upstream’s philanthropic revenue streams
• Align and operationalize central and dedicated communications staff, systems and resources in support of key audiences within Development, External Affairs and Board
• Maintain team calendar and regular internal communications
• Additional duties as assigned

Required Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Upstream celebrates and fosters an inclusive work environment and encourages people of all identities, perspectives and backgrounds to apply.   

• 8-10+ years of progressively responsible experience inclusive of development operations
• Experience working with donor databases and reporting, preferably Salesforce
• Ability to balance operational systems with multiple projects and deadlines in a growth environment.
• Advanced MS Excel skills and an aptitude for data and analysis
• Ability to solve problems creatively in order to meet organizational goals and objectives within capacity constraints
• Proven ability to learn and communicate new systems, processes, and concepts quickly and accurately
• Exercises independent judgment and decision making on complex issues regarding job duties and related tasks, and works under minimal supervision. Consults with leadership on final implementation of high-profile or high-impact solutions.
• Experience working with diverse teams of partners, cross-functionally and cross-geographically
• Keen attention to detail and able to exercise discretion
• Commitment to Upstream’s mission and to mission-driven work
• Awareness of the latest trends and industry practices in philanthropy, fundraising, and prospect research
• Ability to effectively deliver and receive both positive and constructive feedback
• Proficiency with Salesforce, Google and Microsoft Suites
• Sense of humor - knows how to put the “fun” in fundraising

Other Upstream Staff Expectations

• Upstream USA’s COVID-19 Vaccine Policy requires employees to have completed a COVID-19 vaccine primary series unless a medical or religious exemption is approved. As a condition of employment, newly hired employees must provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccination or, if applicable, request a medical or religious exemption.
• All Upstreamers must also be able to attend work-related in-person meetings and functions as needed.
• In our hybrid work environments, there is a basic expectation that our Upstreamers will ensure that their work from home setups will have reliable access to phone and Internet to ensure connectivity to their teams.
• At Upstream we gather for moments that matter for training, teaming and connection. Our teams come together for occasional in person meetings and organizational retreats. As part of our hybrid work practices, this travel expectation will be applicable for all Upstreamers, even those based remotely.
• Engage in EDI learning & development, community engagement, and culture building activities up to 5% FTE (i.e., 2 work hours per 40 hour work week). Examples include attending trainings, conferences and summits, volunteering time, participating in local community events, mentoring and learning, participating in Communities of Belonging or Culture Council, developing language acquisition, learning universal design principles, and using professional development benefits for EDI topics, among other activities.

Travel Requirements

This role will require up to 15%  business travel. All Upstreamers can expect a minimum of 8 days of business travel per year to attend 1-2 annual organizational retreats and two annual team/department meetings.