Senior Manager - Development Operations & Communications

Location: Remote 

Reports to: Development Director 

About Us

Empower Project is the national leader in both paid and volunteer relational organizing (RO). 

Empower Project organizes to improve people’s lives using the power of relational organizing. Together with our partners, we’ve helped boost voter turnout, especially for BIPOC communities, through our approach of tapping into personal networks of friends and family. We provide the software and expertise to help communities, progressive organizations, and nonprofits leverage their personal relationships to build power and dramatically expand the electorate. Our cutting-edge technology, Empower, stands at the forefront of the industry and is trusted by over 1,500 organizations nationwide.

It’s effective. Empower has been studied in 12 different independently-run, randomly controlled trials which all found that its usage led to large and statistically significant increases in voter turnout — far more effective than phone-banking, text-banking, or door-to-door canvassing.

It’s growing fast. The number of conversations Empower facilitated grew by over 10x between the 2016 and 2018 election cycles, grew by 10x again in the 2020 election cycle, and then grew by 30x for the 2024 election cycle. In order to keep up that pace going forward, we need to grow our team and keep adding features that help our organizations!

Position Overview

The Senior Manager - Development Operations & Communications will work closely with the Director of Development in executing the organization's fundraising operation. Internally, this position will manage the team’s internal tracking processes to steward donor relationships. This position will also support the Director of Development with communications and other special projects. Externally, this position will staff the President in external meetings and assist with preparing briefings and materials to support high-stakes engagements. This role reports to the Director of Development and works in close coordination with the full development and program teams.

This is a full-time, remote, temporary salaried position available immediately. The expectation is that staff are generally available between 9am–6pm Central Time. 

Start Date: Monday, July 27th, 2026 or as soon as possible

End Date: Friday, December 18th, 2026

Principal Support & Project Management

• Staff the President in external meetings — preparing briefings, tracking action items, and driving follow-up to completion.
• Draft donor correspondence, meeting memos, proposals, and presentations on behalf of the President.
• Work cross-functionally with program teams to steward key initiatives for 2026 and 2027.

Donor Relations

• Track donor and partner activity, notes, and relationship mapping through the organization's CRM.
• Support fundraising trips, donor events, and engagement activities in coordination with the Development Director.

Communications & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Support the execution of donor communications and stewardship touchpoints throughout the year.
• Prepare compelling proposals, reports, and impact presentations for funders in coordination with program staff.
• Represent the organization with professionalism and discretion in all external interactions.

Successful candidates will meet the following criteria  

• 2-3 years of professional experience in fundraising at campaigns, advocacy organizations, philanthropic institutions, or other external-facing roles
• Knowledge and understanding of nuance and limitations in fundraising for 501(c)(4), 501(c)(3) and PACs
• Proven track record of making asks and closing gifts
• Experience staffing principals
• Strong relationship-building skills and ability to engage with donors, partners, and colleagues at all levels
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills
• Proficiency with CRM systems, preferably NGP
• Willingness to travel regionally (approximately 25%)

Additional consideration will be given to candidates with any of the following backgrounds

• Experience with and commitment to people-centered and ethical storytelling
• Ability to think creatively, identify barriers and roadblocks, and propose solutions and recommendations
• Previous background working in diverse communities or cultures
• Have existing relationships with national or state partners

Preference for candidates who are fluent in a second language, including Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Hmong, or Navajo. 

$6,000 a month plus benefits. In order to counter pay inequality and uphold internal parity, salaries are non-negotiable for new staff. Benefits include health insurance, dental insurance, and paid time off. Paid time off includes vacation, sick leave, personal days, and federal holidays.