Ops Insights #045 Hire an Ops Professional Not a Database Admin
June 29, 2024 | Read Time: 3 minutes | Written by Jenny Kleintop
This edition is for leaders who have open job postings for data/ops or soon will.
When looking for someone to join your team on the data, database, and operations side of the house, you want someone who understands philanthropy operations and can partner positively with the frontline. You do not want someone who only understands database administration and prefers to be isolated in the data or behind the computer.
Let’s talk through why you need an operations professional over a database admin and what you are looking for when trying to fill open positions.
Why you need a philanthropy operations professional over a database admin:
Gone are the days when we could sit behind a computer all day long, not interact with anyone, and effectively support fundraising efforts. Think of the stereotype coder with a hoodie sitting in the back room in the dark. This is far from the truth of how fundraising is today.
In fundraising, you need donors. You need shortcuts for data mining to find those diamonds in the rough. You need to utilize personalized interactions to engage quickly. You need someone who can declutter the mess and uncomplicate the tech for you. You need someone to explain it to you in a non-tech way to help you get in and out of the database. You need someone who will have the patience to teach, train, and support your team members to use the data and tech.
The person is a philanthropy operations professional. A database admin will cover you halfway through all this, but a philanthropy operations professional will cover you all the way.
If you look up the definition of a database administrator (aka DBA) in Webster, you will see “An individual responsible for the design and management of the database and for the evaluation, selection, and implementation of the database management system.”
There is no mention of Together
Teamwork skills.
Operational skills.
Go-for it skills.
Empathy skills.
Teaching skills.
Helpful skills.
Energy skills.
Responsiveness skills.
Together is what you need.
What you are looking for when trying to fill open positions:
Someone who will partner side-by-side with your other team members, especially on the frontline, to co-pilot positively together. This will allow you to go further faster.
My definition of a philanthropy operations professional is “Someone who takes ownership of data, database, and processes and effectively partners cross-functionally to propel an organization’s fundraising forward.”
You need someone who can help non-technical users use the database.
You need someone who understands saying yes, we can do that over “no” is needed to thrive.
Today, data, databases, and operational processes are at the heart of everything we do in fundraising. Hire an Ops Professional who can handle this and not the Database Admin who cannot, and you will be much more successful.
Take Action
Ready to find your Philanthropy Operations professional?
Take these steps:
➡ Review the definition of database admin vs. a philanthropy operations professional.
➡ Look for someone who knows the data and tech so you can trust they got it covered but is also a good people-person who can interact with all team members/various roles and is donor-centric minded.
➡ Come back for the next edition and review the interview questions you can use.
Database Admin vs. Philanthropy Operations Professional
The image on the left of the database admin is completely stereotypical, and don’t get me wrong I still have days today when that looks like me. It’s typically when I’m doing a ton of coding to build out converters to streamline processes or large data projects, as I like to be in the zone. For some reason, a hoodie with music playing in the background allows me to be in the zone.
The point here is to find someone who can do both the left and right sides. That is when you know you’ve found a true gem and want to do what you can to keep that person as we hard to find.💎
You’ve got this and I’ve got you!
👋 See you next time.
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