Senior Director Development Administration

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Now more than ever, our guiding principles are helping us in our search for exceptional talent - candidates who align with our unique workplace culture and who want to maximize the abundant opportunities for growth and success.
 
If this describes you then let’s talk!
 
HSS is consistently among the top-ranked hospitals for orthopedics and rheumatology by U.S. News & World Report. As a recipient of the Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence, HSS was the first hospital in New York City to receive the distinguished designation. Whether you are early in your career or an expert in your field, you will find HSS an innovative, supportive and inclusive environment.

Working with colleagues who love what they do and are deeply committed to our Mission, you too can be part of our transformation across the enterprise.

Emp Status

Regular Full time

Work Shift

Compensation Range

The base pay scale for this position is $109,000.00 - $166,000.00. In addition, this position will be eligible for additional benefits consistent with the role. The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be determined based on various factors, including but not limited to: scope of role, level of experience, education, accomplishments, internal equity, budget, and subject to Fair Market Value evaluation. The hiring range listed is a good faith determination of potential compensation at the time of this job advertisement and may be modified in the future.What you will be doing

Key Responsibilities

Finance and Compliance

• Lead Development’s internal finance operations, including expense management workflows, operational controls, and accountability for timely reconciliation and follow-through.
• Coordinate annual budget development and operate an ongoing budget-to-actual cadence with forecasting and variance management.
• In partnership with HSS Finance and Foundation Finance stakeholders, ensure reconciliations, exception management, and audit readiness practices within scope are accurate, timely, and well-controlled.
• Own gift fund creation and related cross-functional coordination to ensure accurate setup, documentation, and reliable handoffs.
• Coordinate Development’s inputs for required compliance and external reporting processes within scope, including audit support, annual filings, and benchmarking surveys.
• Manage realized bequest administration and serve as Development’s primary liaison to attorneys, external partners, and internal Finance and Legal stakeholders, ensuring timely and accurate closure.

Operations Standards and Enablement

• Own Development’s operations standards (process documentation, role clarity, decision rights, escalation paths, and control points) and ensure they are maintained and usable.
• Establish and maintain training, job aids, and onboarding materials that drive adoption, reduce rework, and enable cross-coverage.
• Maintain key department-wide operational reference artifacts (for example glossary, documentation hygiene standards, and records management/audit trail expectations).

Development Office Administration

• Operate and continuously improve Development’s centralized service model in Monday.com, including intake standards, validation, triage, routing, and service lane management.
• Serve as Development’s centralized operational expert for navigating HSS systems, tools, and administrative processes that enable day-to-day execution, including guidance, training/job aids, and clear escalation paths.
• Partner with teams across Development to translate documented processes into workflow tooling, dashboards, and operational routines that create visibility and follow-through.
• In partnership with Data & Systems team, maintain governance of workflow tooling (for example Monday.com board structure, naming conventions, statuses, and definitions).
• Own department operations support, including onboarding coordination, coverage schedules, department calendars, hospital pick-ups and drop-offs, emergency readiness logistics, and communications/contact lists needed for operational continuity.
• Be accountable for resolution of facilities and safety issues impacting Development workspaces, coordinating with internal service partners through to completion, including proactive communication, appropriate escalation, and follow-up.
• Support vendor onboarding and administrative operations in partnership with Development team members, including contract coordination with Legal and Finance, ensuring clear ownership and timely follow-through.

Donor Recognition Administration

• Oversee legacy donor recognition and signage program operations, including cross-functional coordination (vendors, approvals, installation timelines) and quality control.
• Manage vendors and contracts within scope, ensuring clear deliverables, quality standards, and operational follow-through.
• Ensure tracking tools are accurate, current, and usable, with clear delegation and accountability for donor-facing quality and reliability.

Leadership and Continuous Improvement

• Lead, coach, and performance-manage the Development Administration team; set clear expectations, priorities, and accountability.
• Build cross-coverage and resiliency so critical workflows are not single points of failure, including peak-period readiness and business continuity planning.
• Serve as a primary operations liaison to Finance, Legal, Compliance, IT, and other operational partners, as applicable to this role’s scope.
• Define and track operational KPIs (for example cycle time, quality, exceptions, SLA adherence, and stakeholder experience) and operate a continuous improvement cadence that reduces preventable errors and rework.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 7-10 years of experience
• Significant leadership experience in development operations within a complex nonprofit, academic medical center, healthcare, or equivalent environment.
• Demonstrated ownership of finance-adjacent operational processes, including budget-to-actual cadence, reconciliations, internal controls, and audit readiness practices.
• Demonstrated success building and maintaining SOPs, training, and operating rhythms that drive adoption and operational maturity.

Key Competencies

• Operational Excellence and Quality: Builds reliable processes and controls that reduce rework and increase trust; manages exceptions with discipline and clear follow-through.
• Financial Acumen (Operational): Understands budget and reconciliation mechanics; translates operational realities into clear reporting cadence, variance narratives, and corrective actions.
• Process and Change Leadership: Designs practical workflows, drives adoption through training and enablement, and institutionalizes improvements through standards and review cadences.
• Collaboration and Influence: Partners effectively across Finance, Legal, Compliance, IT, and Development leadership; navigates shared ownership with Data & Systems while maintaining clarity on decision rights.
• People Leadership: Sets expectations, coaches performance, builds cross-coverage, and develops a team culture of accountability and service.
• Judgment and Integrity: Handles sensitive information appropriately; demonstrates discretion, professionalism, and donor-centered operational rigor.

Non-Discrimination Policy
Hospital for Special Surgery is committed to providing high quality care and skilled, compassionate, reliable service to our community in a safe and healing environment. Consistent with this commitment, Hospital for Special Surgery provides care, admits, and treats patients and provides all services without regard to age, race, color, creed, ethnicity, religion, national origin, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, veteran or military status, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law or by accreditation standards.