Manager, Development Research and Operations

The Manager, Development Research and Operations at KIPP Foundation identifies and researches potential individual and institutional donors to secure major and principal gifts. This role involves managing research data, overseeing annual campaigns for Friends Donor Level, and coordinating various Development Operations projects. The manager works closely with frontline fundraisers, providing data, analytics, and strategic support to advance educational opportunities for students from Black and Latinx communities nationwide.

Must Have

• Conduct comprehensive fundraising research to identify major and principal gift donors
• Manage data from research and annual campaigns
• Align prospect research efforts with fundraising goals
• Prepare profiles, event bios, and briefs for fundraisers and leadership
• Track donor interactions, solicitations, and outcomes
• Participate in portfolio management meetings
• Operationalize plans for securing annual fundraising gifts
• Coordinate and oversee Development Operations projects
• Develop detailed project plans
• Monitor project performance and implement solutions
• Conduct project reviews and create reports

Good to Have

• Experience in the K-12 or charter school sector
• Familiarity with standard biographical and financial reference sources
• Knowledge of basic donor prospect research practices

Perks & Benefits

• 25 holidays + 18 flexible PTO days (increases to 23/28 days)
• 100% paid parental leave
• 100% coverage of employee medical/dental/vision premiums, 75% for employee + family
• Wellness benefits (fitness reimbursements, discounted tickets, backup care, EAP)
• Finance Security benefits (401K retirement plan with 4% match, legal plans, life/disability insurance, flexible spending accounts)

Company Description

About the Organization

KIPP Public Schools is a national network of tuition-free public charter schools that prepares students with the skills and confidence to create the future they want for themselves, their communities, and us all. We are a network of 279 schools, nearly 16,500 educators, and nearly 210,000 students and alumni.

Our mission: Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose—college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world.

Our vision: Every child grows up free to create the future they want for themselves and their communities.

The KIPP Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports KIPP public charter schools across the country. The KIPP Foundation helps to develop outstanding educators to lead KIPP schools; provides tools and resources for excellent teaching and learning; promotes innovation; and facilitates the exchange of insights and ideas across KIPP and other public schools and organizations.

About Our Values:

Excellent Results for Students: We value results over effort and know that our work is not finished until all students thrive. We maintain high expectations for self, team, and students. We drive outcomes by operating with agility, removing barriers, differentiating support, and prioritizing student-centered solutions—especially for those at the margins.

Collective Impact: We are one team. We win together. We embody a one-team mindset by working collaboratively across teams, aligning goals, and leveraging the strengths of all teammates. We build trust-based relationships and ensure inclusive decision-making by engaging those closest to the work. We provide clarity through simple, repeatable systems and goals that enable transformational outcomes.

Courageous Action: Our belief in what we can achieve is unwavering, fueling our optimism and commitment to overcome any challenge. We demonstrate an unwavering belief in students' potential and a commitment to addressing systemic inequities. We approach challenges with resilience, a solutions-focused mindset, and adaptability. We foster a psychologically safe environment centered on trust and accountability where feedback is encouraged. We leverage data to reflect on progress, own setbacks, celebrate successes, and continuously improve to maximize impact.

Job Description

About The Position

The KIPP Foundation raises funds to support tens of thousands of students from Black and Latinx communities coast-to-coast so they will be equipped with the knowledge and skills required to live choice-filled lives. Expanding the set of champions invested in and engaged with KIPP, at the national and regional level, is critical to deliver our ambition. Reporting to the Senior Director, Development Operations, the Manager, Development Research and Operations will play an important role in fueling our plans and advancing educational opportunity.

The Manager is responsible for identifying and researching potential individual and institutional donors to invest in KIPP at the national and regional levels. They will also manage data surfaced through research, annual campaigns at the Friends Donor Level (Up to $25,000), and other projects within Development Operations.

Development Operations is a collaborative, service-oriented group within the Development team, focused on providing the front-line fundraisers with the data, analytics, reporting, research, systems, processes, and training needed to do their jobs effectively.

Responsibilities

Prospect Research

• Conduct comprehensive fundraising research to identify individuals, corporations, and foundations with the capacity to make major and principal gifts to KIPP Foundation. Utilize various resources including internal and external databases, wealth screening tools, AI, and publicly available information to gather prospect data.
• Work closely with the frontline fundraising team to align prospect research efforts with fundraising goals and priorities. As requested, provide support to fundraising staff in prospect identification and cultivation strategies.
• Assist with meetings and events preparation, including creating well-written and researched profiles, event bios, and briefs that are provided to Foundation fundraisers and senior leadership.
• Support fundraisers in tracking donor interactions, solicitations, and outcomes to measure portfolio progress.
• Proactively suggest targeted wealth screening to conduct and/or new prospects to research based on knowledge of KIPP, the charter school and ed reform sectors, and of KIPP supporters.
• Working closely with the Senior Director, participate in regular portfolio management meetings with fundraisers, ensuring that accurate and up-to-date records of prospect information is reflected in the database.

Friends-Level Giving & Development Operations

• Working closely with the Senior Director, Development Operations as well as the Vice President, Individual Giving, operationalize plan for frontline fundraisers to secure annual fundraising gifts from individuals in their portfolios, using a variety of outreach methods.
• As directed, coordinate and oversee Development Operations projects from inception to completion, ensuring they align with goals and expectations.
• For all projects, develop detailed project plans, including scope, timelines, and resource allocation, to guide team efforts and track progress.
• Facilitate communication among project stakeholders to maintain transparency and project alignment.
• Monitor project performance, identifying any issues or risks, and implement timely solutions to mitigate impact on project deliverables.
• Conduct project reviews and create reports to document learnings and provide insights for continuous improvement.

Qualifications

Skills and Mindsets

• Mission and Student Focus: Demonstrates passion and commitment to KIPP’s mission and possesses the desire and ability to uphold KIPP’s core values (Focus on Excellent Results, Collective Impact, and Courageous Action)
• Achievement & Outcomes Orientation: Demonstrated record of co-creating ambitious goals with their managers – and driving toward desired outcomes; Effectively monitors progress toward goals for multiple workstreams; Leverages understanding of an organization’s operating model, structure, and core operational process to effectively drive work to achieve goals; effectively works through others to follow through on commitments, ensuring others do the same.
• Effective Work Management: Effectively drives work they own through clear action planning. Manages time effectively around competing priorities. Skilled in creating and executing project plans through partnership with stakeholders and effective delegation to achieve intended results on time. Skilled in knowledge management.
• Communications: Effectively creates communications plans that supports team buy-in. Able to lead change efforts through clear and compelling communications. Acts as a champion for change with peers and within teams.
• Continuous Learning: Engages in the work of personal development at work, knowing that personal development is ongoing and vital to their personal and professional success; hold themself accountable to evolving, growing, learning, and unlearning in ways that improve results for students, adults, and the larger community.
• Collaboration: Leads successful stakeholder management, accounting for varied perspectives when gathering feedback. Builds coalition by prioritizing end-user experiences. Builds trusting relationships and effective communications. Able to identify and remove barriers to working across teams.

Experience and Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years of full-time work experience in a related field, preferably in a nonprofit, fundraising, conducting prospect research, and managing projects.
• Experience with CRM systems for tracking and reporting purposes.
• Demonstrated curiosity about and ability to use AI to advance projects and research, mindful of AI’s potential, limitations, and the need for guardrails and ethics.
• Experience working effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative working environment. Experience working in the K-12 or charter school sector is preferred.
• Commitment to uphold confidentiality of information with maturity and sensitivity; to abide by ethical standards set by Apra and AFP; and to understand and work within GDPR; the UK DPA; US federal and state; and/or other applicable privacy laws and regulations.
• Familiarity with standard biographical and financial reference sources preferred, as well as knowledge of basic donor prospect research practices. Ability to use prospect research resources (including but not limited to public information sources, AI, news media and company-research databases, foundation lookup tools, search engines, etc.) to synthesize large volumes of data to go beyond simply reporting facts to presenting information into relevant context.
• Experience working with high net-worth donor constituencies.
• Demonstrated ability to use MS Office applications including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Additional Information

Work Conditions

• Travel requirements: 210-0%
• Full-time, Exempt role

Location

It is preferred, but not mandatory for this role to be based out of a KIPP Foundation office. This role also has the option of working from a remote office full-time. KIPP Foundation offices are in NYC and Chicago.

Compensation and Benefits

In compliance with local law, we are disclosing the compensation, or a range thereof, for roles in locations where legally required. Actual salaries will vary based on several factors, including but not limited to external market data, internal equity, and relevant experience. The salary range for this position is $80,000 - $95,500. In addition, KIPP Foundation provides a variety of benefits to employees, including:

• 25 holidays for + 18 days additional flexible PTO days (flexible PTO increases to 23 days for years 3 and 4 and to 28 days for years 5+).
• 100% paid parental leave
• 100% coverage of the premium for employee and 75% for employee + family’s medical/dental/vision plans.
• Wellness benefits such as fitness reimbursements, discounted tickets to theme parks/attractions, backup care support for children and adults/elders, and our employee assistance program
• Finance Security benefits include such as a 401K retirement plan with 4% match, employer-sponsored legal plans, life/disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts

KIPP Foundation embraces the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects the diversity of the students and communities with whom we work and the world that’s around them. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, mental or physical disability, and genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, military status, protected veteran status or any other category protected by law.