Senior Development Operations Associate

July 2026

Position Title:  Senior Development Operations Associate

Reports To:  Senior Director of Development Operations & Events

Department:  External Affairs - Development

Location: New York, NY

Work Arrangement:  In office a minimum of 3 days per week with flexibility to work from home up to 2 days, and in accordance with business needs

Salary Range:  $68,000 - $70,000

About the Open Space Institute

The Open Space Institute is a national leader in land conservation and efforts to make parks and other protected land more welcoming for all. Since 1974, OSI has partnered in the protection of more than 2.5 million at-risk and environmentally sensitive acres in the eastern U.S. OSI’s land protection promotes clean air and water, improves access to recreation, provides wildlife habitat, strengthens communities, and combats the devastating impacts of extreme weather.

Position Summary

The Senior Development Associate plays a vital role on the Development Operations and Events team, supporting the department’s essential day-to-day fundraising processes. Reporting to the Senior Director of Development Operations and Events and collaborating with the entire development department, the Senior Development Operations Associate is responsible for all gift entry, acknowledgment, inter-department coordination, and record keeping related to donations. The Senior Associate is responsible for maintaining the donor database, tracking all donations and constituent information, producing and tailoring gift acknowledgements and generating database reports. The Senior Associate also provides administrative support for the Development department.

Gift Entry Process

• Process incoming funds and reconcile/coordinate gifts with Finance Department
• Manage Raiser’s Edge (RE) gift entry process, conforming to and maintaining OSI’s gift tracking system
• Serve as the point person of non-cash gift recording procedures and frequently meet with members of the Finance and Legal teams to ensure a accurate and consistent recording processes
• Coordinate with colleagues across the organization to ensure donation designations are accurately recorded
• Track expected gifts and grants to be prepared to identify the donor and designation of funds upon arrival
• Pull reports from online donation platform (Luminate) and enter into Raiser’s Edge or utilize Omatic to ensure all online gifts are recorded in RE within a week of receipt
• Produce fundraising reports from Raiser’s Edge
• Craft gift acknowledgement letters and generate and track tax-receipts on a prescribed and consistent timeline
• Track and follow-up on questions about funds received, ensuring every donation issue is resolved, accurately recorded and acknowledged in a timely manner
• Update and maintain the Raiser’s Edge database of donors and prospects, ensuring timely execution and entry of activities, including reconciliation with other platforms
• Ensure consistency in data tracking, coding, reporting and data modeling in Raiser’s Edge and online donation platform.
• Perform audits of RE’s campaigns and funds to ensure up to date project tracking
• Process credit card donations and manage OSI use of processing system
• Track pledge payment deadline and send invoices to donors when pledge payments are due
• Adhere to and assist with development of OSI’s Raiser’s Edge use guidelines
• Produce and maintain letter and document templates

 Donor Relations

• Foster strong donor relationships through competent and empathic communication
• Serve as a point of contact for donors, ensuring all interactions reflect a welcoming, professional, and responsive approach
• Manage miscellaneous portals, procedures and registrations, such as matching gifts and donor-advised fund portals
• Track donor attribution through Raiser’s Edge and outside tracking system and produce annual donor acknowledgement lists for publications, ensuring inclusion of all supporters
• Interact with donors in response to donation inquiries and information updates
• Update and maintain donor notes, actions, solicitations, and proposals as needed
• Assist with mail house appeal processes with list management and segmentation

Other Responsibilities

• Support the Development team by performing administrative duties as needed including organization of digital and hard copy records, filing, copying, sorting, mailing, processing invoices, preparing expense reports, coordinating food and beverage orders for Development department meetings and retreats, etc.
• Support and assist with special communications, including mailings, appeals, event invitations, and email correspondence
• Assist with prospect research, face books, and meeting briefings for individuals, institutions, and event guests
• Assist with internal meetings including supporting schedules, confirmation with all attendees, and preparing agendas, materials or taking notes and following up on action items as needed.
• Provide basic RE support and training for other staff members on the systems.
• Serve as a point of contact between the development and finance departments, as well as program teams.
• Proactively perform basic RE cleanup as part of regular use.
• Research and order OSI gear when needed
• Support and assist with other development activities and special projects as assigned.

Shared Programmatic Commitments

• Incorporate OSI’s internal and programmatic commitment to equity in communications and outreach to funders and donors. 

This job description is not intended to represent a complete, comprehensive list of all duties and responsibilities that may be required in this position. There may be unplanned activities and other duties as assigned.

Culture & Equity Responsibilities

All OSI staff are expected to contribute to a workplace culture grounded in respect, fairness, and inclusion. This includes highlighting the importance of group identity and considering how personal bias or favoritism may affect interactions or result in inequitable treatment or communication-sharing throughout the organization. Staff are also expected to cultivate networks and candidate pipelines that include group identities currently underrepresented at OSI, and to draw from those networks when positions are open.

Required Skills

• Ability to think and act autonomously. Must be able to take initiative but willing to ask questions. 
• Exceptional organizational skills with meticulous strong attention to detail.
• Demonstrated writing skills, specifically for donor correspondence.
• Excellent formatting skills and thorough familiarity with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to work to reasonable deadlines and plan accordingly.
• Strong time management skills with the ability to prioritize numerous ongoing projects.
• Ability to maintain the confidentiality of privileged information.

Qualifications

• Experience and understanding of Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge (NXT and Database view) strongly preferred.
• Minimum two years’ experience in fundraising/development role in non-profit sector preferred.
• Undergraduate degree or equivalent experience.
• Experience in and successful track record in writing donor correspondence.
• Knowledge of Raiser’s Edge or equivalent CRM/donor database.
• Commitment to OSI’s mission, vision, and values. Knowledge of conservation issues or experience fundraising in support of environmental issues is preferred.

Physical Requirements

• The position is based in OSI’s New York City office with a minimum of 3 days in office expected weekly.
• Frequently sits for long periods of time.
• Frequently speaks, reads, writes and uses a computer keyboard.
• May require occasional standing, walking, lifting up to 30 lbs, stooping, and bending.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends in support of donor events, meetings, and other Development activities.

Please note: If you do not wholly meet the above qualifications but believe you are otherwise well-suited to meet the needs of this position, we encourage you to apply.

Working Arrangements, Pay and Benefits

This is a full-time position requiring 37.5 hours per week within regular business hours. All of our offices are open and fully operational five days per week, as we believe that working together in person can facilitate spontaneous interaction, clearer communication, efficient problem-solving, stronger team cohesion, and support for newer employees. However, OSI recognizes the importance of flexibility for our staff and offers a hybrid work policy. This role involves working onsite at our midtown Manhattan office at least three days per week.  

Pay for this position is $68,000-$70,000, commensurate with the candidate’s skill level and experience. The recruiting team is committed to sharing details regarding compensation based on the candidate's qualifications during the interview process.

OSI offers a competitive, comprehensive benefits package, including a choice of medical plans (both traditional and high-deductible health plans with HSA that OSI contributes to), with premiums for employees and their dependents covered up to 100% on some plans; dental and vision coverage, with premiums for employees and their dependents 100% covered by OSI; flexible spending accounts; a 403(b) plan with both an up to 4% employer match and 4% discretionary employer contribution after 2 years of service; paid time off, including paid holidays, accrued PTO and sick days, 3 “Summer Fridays”, and 2 floating holidays; life insurance; disability coverage; an employee assistance program; and more.

How to Apply

Apply using the button below! Attach a cover letter that includes where you learned of the job posting along with your resume. Applications without a cover letter are not likely to be considered.

Applications will be actively reviewed on a rolling basis from the time of posting in July 2026, with earlier submissions receiving priority consideration. If you are interested in applying for this position, please submit your application as soon as possible, as the role will be unposted once a strong candidate pool has been identified. You will receive an acknowledgment once your application has been submitted, and we will contact you if we would like to schedule an interview.  

Equal Opportunity Statement

OSI is an equal opportunity employer. We recognize that our conservation mission is best advanced by the contributions of people of diverse backgrounds, experiences, beliefs, and cultures. We are committed to cultivating and retaining a diverse and inclusive work environment that fosters belonging.

OSI offers accommodations for individuals with disabilities in our job application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please send a note to resumes@osiny.org with Request for Accommodation in the subject line. 

Consistent with New York State law, OSI does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, height, weight, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. OSI will not sponsor applicants for work visas.