Development Operations Manager

What We Do

At Leading Educators (LE), we know that excellent teaching is the most important driver of student success. The moment a student steps foot in the classroom, their ability to learn depends on how prepared their teacher is to convey complex content knowledge as engaging, student-centered lessons that help students learn deeply and apply their thinking to the real world.

That’s a big lift, and teachers often do this alone. As a national nonprofit, we partner with school systems to overcome persistent instructional challenges, foster intentional collaboration and adult learning by design, and ignite new possibilities through systemic solutions at the intersection of teaching, talent, and technology.

We work shoulder-to-shoulder with educators at every level of the education system to strengthen their instructional and leadership practices, bring a vision for excellent instruction to life with consistency, and ultimately ensure that every student has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Through direct support, strategic advising, innovation pilots, and best-in-class research, we help educators shape a future where every student can thrive. Learn more about our work at leadingeducators.org.

Internal and External Candidate Application Deadline: Tuesday, May 26th

Position

Are you an early career professional with 3 to 5 years of experience who is ready for a role that will accelerate your growth, stretch your skills, and give you meaningful exposure to how fundraising strategy and nonprofit operations actually work behind the scenes? Leading Educators is looking for a Development Operations Manager who is excited to grow into a high impact operations professional within a fast paced, mission driven national nonprofit organization.

This role is intentionally designed for someone early in their career who already has a strong foundation in operations, systems, data management, project coordination, or fundraising support work and is ready for the next level of learning, ownership, and professional growth. We are not looking for someone who already knows everything. We are looking for someone who is curious, ambitious, organized, adaptable, and eager to build deep expertise in development operations over time.

This is not just a systems and data role. It is an opportunity to become a critical partner to a high performing Development team that secures transformational investments for students, schools, and communities across the country.
In this role, you will work closely with the Director of Development Operations and collaborate across the Development team to help manage fundraising systems, maintain accurate donor and pipeline data, conduct prospect research, support reporting and insights, coordinate team processes, and improve how work gets done across the function.

Have you started building skills in…

• Working with systems, databases, CRMs, spreadsheets, or operational tools and enjoy keeping information organized, accurate, and useful?
• Supporting projects, workflows, or team operations in fast paced environments where priorities shift quickly and strong follow through matters?
• Managing details, balancing multiple priorities, and creating structure in environments that require adaptability and problem solving?
• Conducting research, pulling data, or creating reports that help teams make informed strategic decisions?
• Learning new systems and tools quickly and approaching unfamiliar challenges with curiosity and a growth mindset?

Are you energized by opportunities to…

• Grow quickly within a supportive but high expectations environment early in your career?
• Be the person who keeps things running smoothly behind the scenes and helps teams operate more effectively?
• Create organization, structure, and clarity in complex or fast moving environments?
• Solve operational problems, improve processes, and find ways to make work more efficient?
• Work in collaborative, mission driven environments with people who care deeply about impact and continuous improvement?
• Build a long term career in nonprofit fundraising operations, strategy, or organizational operations?

If you've answered affirmatively to these questions and meet the following prerequisites, we urge you to seize this opportunity. This role calls for the following:

• 3-5 years of related experience in development operations, fundraising operations, or nonprofit operations environments
• Experience using CRM systems such as Salesforce, Raiser's Edge, or similar platforms
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Comfort working with spreadsheets, reports, data, and operational systems
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and adapt in fast paced environments
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• A proactive mindset and willingness to learn, ask questions, and take initiative
• Experience in the K-12 education sector or familiarity with the education nonprofit landscape preferred

Travel Requirements

• This is a remote position requires moderate travel
• National travel for org retreats, programming, job related travel, or professional development 
• Outside of the above mentioned travel, this person will work from a home office that must be located anywhere within the U.S. 

Questions? We’re here to help.

If you have questions about this role or about our hiring process at any point, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at talent@leadingeducators.org. This inbox is monitored regularly, and we aim to respond within two business days. To ensure your question receives a thoughtful and timely response, we kindly ask that you refrain from emailing individual staff members or members of our HR team directly. The best way to connect with us is always through talent@leadingeducators.org.

Why Work at Leading Educators? 

Imagine being part of an organization where your ideas and perspectives are highly valued. At Leading Educators, we believe in fostering individual strengths, encouraging personal growth, and embracing innovative ideas. If you thrive in a remote working environment, with the added excitement of travel, we're the perfect fit for you. By joining us, you become part of a powerful community of peers nationwide. Regardless of your location, you possess the power to make a significant impact on both students and teachers who rely on us daily. Join Leading Educators and play an integral part in shaping the future of education. 

Learn About Our Mission & Values:

Mission: Leading Educators partners with school systems to sustain the teaching, leadership, and conditions for every student to succeed in school and in life.

Values:

• Build on strengths: We affirm and begin with the unique and collective talents, experiences, and wisdom of ourselves and others.
• Continuously learn: We develop ourselves and others. We apply new learning and deepened self-awareness to our relationships and practices.
• Prioritize people: We build trust and reflect on the impact of different perspectives and experiences.
• Champion success for all: We re-imagine structures, habits, and mindsets to ensure every learner has access to evidence-based learning opportunities.

Use of Artificial Intelligence in Hiring

We use artificial intelligence–enabled tools throughout our hiring process, from the moment a candidate applies through the offer stage, to support administrative tasks and the initial review of candidate materials. These tools help us organize, analyze, and surface relevant information efficiently, but they do not make hiring decisions. All candidate materials—including applications, resumes, assessments, and interview feedback—are reviewed and evaluated by people. All hiring decisions, including interview selection, advancement, and offers of employment, are made by humans. We use AI solely as a support tool to assist with early-stage reviews and process efficiency. We do not use AI in ways that discriminate based on protected characteristics, nor do we use ZIP codes or similar data to target or exclude protected groups. Our hiring practices are designed to be fair, consistent, and aligned with equal employment opportunity standards.

Compensation: 

• If hired for this position, the base salary range is $70,920 to $90,272 per year. Most new hires enter the range at a specific point based on their qualifications and the role level. For this position, the standard starting salary is $80,600, which is based on meeting the minimum requirement of 3-5 years of relevant experience.
• If you have more than 5 years of directly relevant experience, your starting salary may be adjusted higher within the range, up to a maximum starting salary of $84,745. This approach ensures that candidates with additional experience beyond the minimum are recognized in the initial salary offer.

Benefits: 

100% paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for individual employees. Additional premium costs are covered 60% by Leading Educators for partners and dependents on medical, dental, and vision plans. 4% matching 401k plan, Flexible Spending Accounts for medical, childcare and commuter expenses, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Benefits are valued at or above $9,000 for employees.

Time Off: 

• First three years of employment, full time staff accrue 22 days a year. 
• Five additional days are accrued after the third and sixth year of employment.
• Leading Educators also offer 16 additional paid days off for various holidays, including three floating holidays staff may use at their discretion.

Equal Opportunity Employment 

Leading Educators is an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations.

Apply: https://leadingeducators.org/careers/opportunities

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