DIRECTOR, CAMPAIGN OPERATIONS, Development & Alumni Relations

Our Mission

We in Boston University Advancement harness the power of philanthropy to make an excellent education accessible and welcoming to all, and to advance BU’s global leadership in research, scholarship, artistic creation, and professional practice. To support our work, we have built—and are continuing to build—an outstanding team of dynamic, mission-driven advancement professionals who constantly strive to create an environment where everyone belongs. Where it’s not just about a job, but a career and a community.

Now, our Development team is looking for a Director who will be instrumental in designing and implementing project management processes, documenting workflows, and establishing standards for campaign coordination.

Director, Campaign Operations

Reporting to the Vice President for Development and Campaigns, the Director, Campaign Operations is a newly created, entrepreneurial role integral to building the campaign infrastructure for Boston University’s central Advancement team.

As the first dedicated project manager in Advancement focused on campaign execution, the Director will play a hands-on role in supporting mini-campaigns connected to key presidential priorities while helping prepare Advancement for a comprehensive university-wide campaign in the coming years. The Director will not only manage day-to-day campaign operations but will also serve as a strategic advisor—partnering closely with senior leadership to develop data-informed campaign strategies, clarify campaign objectives, assess impact, and optimize resource allocation. By translating broad campaign objectives into actionable, data-driven plans, this role anticipates challenges, proactively adjusts approaches, and delivers scalable solutions that drive Advancement’s long-term goals.

With minimal direction and significant autonomy, the Director anticipates needs, solves operational challenges, and creates practical, scalable solutions for a growing and evolving team. The Director will blend project management fundamentals with strategic thinking and analytical aptitude to bring clarity, structure, and discipline—not only tracking tasks and deliverables but also enabling more effective collaboration across Advancement and the wider university.

This is an exciting time to join a growing and evolving Advancement team valuing teamwork, transparency, mutual respect, strategic thinking, continuous improvement, and joy. The ideal candidate brings a strong sense of ownership, curiosity, a collaborative spirit, and enjoys building relationships and bringing structure to evolving processes. An ability to work autonomously, a good sense of humor, and appreciation for shared team culture are also highly valued.

Responsibilities:

Campaign Operations & Special Projects

• Serve as project manager for assigned fundraising mini-campaigns and emerging initiatives including the “You Are Why” mini-campaign for research and forthcoming BU Arts Initiative; coordinate planning, track milestones, and ensure follow-through against campaign goals.
• Collaborate with senior leadership and key stakeholders to develop, refine, and align campaign strategies informed by data insights and evolving institutional priorities.
• Utilize performance data to evaluate campaign effectiveness and recommend timely strategic adjustments to improve fundraising outcomes.
• Lead scenario planning, risk assessment, and impact forecasting to anticipate operational challenges and strategic opportunities.
• Partner with colleagues in Advancement and key campus offices to clarify priorities, anticipate project needs, and execute deliverables aligned with overall campaign strategy.
• Monitor campaign progress, identify and resolve inefficiencies or recurring needs, and recommend workflow and timeline optimizations in real time.
• Proactively identify gaps in campaign operations and propose and implement innovative, data-driven solutions.

Process Building & Implementation

• Lay the groundwork for project management best practices within Advancement—piloting, refining, and solidifying methods for campaign coordination and communication with a strategic, data-centered approach.
• Design and implement analytics frameworks and tools to measure campaign impact, resource utilization, and operational efficiency.
• Create templates, trackers, dashboards, status reports, and processes that integrate all campaign components and inform decision-making at all levels.
• Develop, document, and share project management and analytical best practices for Advancement campaign operations while partnering with other project management and Business Intelligence colleagues across the unit; facilitate knowledge sharing, workflow optimization, and continuity planning.

Data & Budget Support

• Lead development of comprehensive dashboards and reports that provide actionable analytics on campaign progress, donor engagement, and fundraising metrics.
• Track and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) to guide strategic adjustments and provide regular updates to senior leadership.
• Conduct trend analysis, segmentation, and predictive analytics in collaboration with the Business Intelligence team to identify high-impact donor prospects and opportunities for campaign growth. Support data gathering, advanced analysis, and interpretation to strengthen campaign performance reporting and storytelling.
• Monitor campaign budgets and expenditures in partnership with Finance and Administration colleagues to ensure fiscal responsibility and strategic resource allocation.

Collaboration & Continuous Improvement

• Foster a culture of transparency, strategic thinking, data-driven decision-making, teamwork, and inclusion.
• Build strong relationships across Advancement and the wider university, encouraging cross-functional cooperation and collaboration.
• Lead initiatives to cultivate a data-informed culture within Advancement, promoting adoption of analytics to enhance planning and evaluation.
• Encourage continuous growth, learning, and the pursuit of innovation in campaign operations through analytical insights.
• Remain adaptable and enthusiastic about change as systems, structures, and campaign objectives evolve.

Other Duties as Assigned

• Support additional campaign and stewardship initiatives, division strategic goals, and special projects as determined by Vice President and organizational priorities.

Required Skills

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree.
• A minimum of eight years of relevant experience.
• Strong knowledge of campaign fundraising analytics.
• Experience staffing executive and academic leadership.
• Excellent written and oral communication and presentation skills.
• Superior collaboration skills.
• Significant travel, including domestic and international, with some nights and weekends required.
• Ability to manage data and work with constituent relationship management system (BBEC) in a highly proficient manner, including creating and managing reports and other prospect data. Must have ability to interface and partner with Data Applications team.
• Advanced strategic skills and creative problem solving. Ability to influence and persuade others in a busy, deadline driven environment. Ability to deal with ambiguity and proactively seek input in a professional and collegial manner.

But that’s not all we’re looking for; we want someone who embodies our values:

Teamwork, transparency, and mutual respect , because we value every member’s contributions and know that leadership can come from anywhere.

Diversity, equity, inclusion , and a commitment to ensuring that each of us knows we belong

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.