Foundation Relations Director at Specht & Associates

Our client, a healthcare facility in Boston, MA, has a need for an experienced Foundation Relations Director to join their team. 

Please note the following requirements.  If you don’t meet all of these requirements, you will NOT be considered!

• Master’s degree
• 10-12 years of foundation relations, grant development, and writing or program development experience with demonstrated growth in scope, scale, and responsibility of positions
• Six years experience of managing team members and driving grant cycle process
• Demonstrated fundraising success in driving revenue through foundation relationships, preferably in a healthcare setting
• Desire to work as part of a team of highly engaged, enthusiastic, dedicated people focused on engaging our foundation donors and prospects in the vital work of our organization
• Strong executive presence

Reporting to the Sr Director/Vice President, the newly established role of Director, Foundation Relations will lead a team of Development professionals who are instrumental in achieving the multi-million-dollar annual Foundation grants goal. The Director will be responsible for expanding this division, training team members, setting strategy and monitoring progress towards multiple goals for new and increased gifts to the institution. The Director will be responsible for managing the team on the full donor cycle of Foundation Relations from prospect research and identification, evaluation, cultivation and strategy, solicitation, recognition, and stewardship.

The Director, Foundation Relations must be an entrepreneur and strategist who can lead the Foundation Relations team and manage a portfolio of top foundations. This leader will synthesize complex information from principal investigators and program leaders to solicit grants in support of various clinical initiatives, equity-driven and education programs, training, and patient-centered research at the hospital. They must be a strategic thinker with strong political sensitivities and sound judgment; an outstanding writer; a skilled project manager able to inspire multiple people to work towards the submission of high-quality, competitive grant proposals; and an expert in the intricacies of the foundation grant cycle. 

An ambassador for Development across campus, the Director of Foundation Relations will collaborate with clinical department chairs and chiefs, principal investigators/program leaders, the hospital research division, and other key stakeholders. This candidate should possess knowledge of healthcare service delivery models, trends in the industry and financing of healthcare systems, and the particulars of RFPs and grant guidelines. Knowledge of research and evaluation methods and budgeting principles is beneficial along with the necessary background and experience in order to assess proposals for innovation and impact; advise investigators/program leaders concerning proposal content, funder priorities, and guidelines; and strengthen proposal contents.

The Director of Foundation Relations will collaborate with senior clinical and administrative staff, including Development colleagues, to brainstorm and generate new opportunities for the hospital and manage proposal development. Whenever possible, they facilitate productive dialogue between funders and investigators/program leaders to ensure that proposals have a high likelihood of success. Initiative, intellectual curiosity, political savviness, attention to detail, and superior interpersonal skills are key to this position.

A successful candidate will perform well under deadlines; relish the many opportunities to develop new multi-disciplinary programs aligned with the hospital’s institutional priorities; broker new internal and external collaborations and partnerships; cultivate new seven-figure funding sources and principal investigators; and be a team player in the Development office and across campus.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree
• 10-12 years of foundation relations, grant development, and writing or program development experience with demonstrated growth in scope, scale, and responsibility of positions
• Six years experience of managing team members and driving grant cycle process
• Demonstrated fundraising success in driving revenue through foundation relationships, preferably in a healthcare setting
• Desire to work as part of a team of highly engaged, enthusiastic, dedicated people focused on engaging our foundation donors and prospects in the vital work of our organization
• Strong executive presence