Director, Principal Gifts

Overview

Reporting to the Vice President or Assistant Vice President, Principal Gifts, and collaborating closely with the Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer as well as other members across the Division of Philanthropy, the Director is responsible for the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of a portfolio of prospective donors with a giving capacity of $1M to $9.9M or higher. They will inspire and mobilize the aspirations of prospects and donors and exemplify the sophisticated stewardship essential to maintaining and expanding donor relationships at the highest levels. The Director will partner closely with a new Faculty Engagement team and Institute leaders to articulate Institute objectives to gift audiences to reach ambitious revenue targets established based on Institute priorities. The external title is “Director, Individual Giving”.

The ideal candidate is a seasoned and dynamic fundraising professional with expertise in cultivating and stewarding relationships with high-net-worth individuals, trustees, and organizational leaders, and demonstrates a strong ability to connect donor passions with institutional priorities. An exceptional communicator, they will offer a talent for engaging diverse stakeholders and navigating complex organizational structures. The Director will bring expertise in big picture strategy development and strong cross-team collaboration to foster ideas and proposals that inspire philanthropic partnerships in support of the mission. They will bring outstanding organizational skills, excelling at balancing multiple priorities and driving results in a fast-paced environment. Success in this role will require authentic, transparent relationship building skills with an approach that equally values internal and external cultivation, high emotional intelligence, a drive to succeed, resiliency, an insatiable intellectual curiosity, and acting and speaking with transparency to contribute to a culture based on trust.

The onboarding of this role will include a comprehensive training process which includes completion of online modules, shadowing colleagues, as well as hands-on learning experiences.

Embody Dana-Farber’s Core Values: Impact; Excellence; Compassion & Respect; Discovery; and Equity and Inclusion every day. Add value to the Dana-Farber community by seeking opportunities to collaborate across the Institute. Foster an ethical, positive, results-oriented culture founded on open communication.

This position is considered remote, 0-1 days onsite at 10 Brookline Place, Brookline, MA each week. DFCI guidelines state that employees must reside in New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Resume and cover letter required with application submission. If you wish to disclose your personal pronouns, please include them within your resume and cover letter submission.

Located in Boston and the surrounding communities, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a leader in life changing breakthroughs in cancer research and patient care. We are united in our mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS and related diseases. We strive to create an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment where we provide compassionate and comprehensive care to patients of all backgrounds, and design programs to promote public health particularly among high-risk and underserved populations. We conduct groundbreaking research that advances treatment, we educate tomorrow's physician/researchers, and we work with amazing partners, including other Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals.

Responsibilities

• Cultivate, solicit, and otherwise manage a portfolio of 80-100 prospective principal gift donors to meet quarterly and annual Key Performance Indicators for fundraising and donor activities as determined by the VP and AVP, Principal Gifts;
• Lead strategic discussions with prospective donors to align their philanthropic goals with Dana-Farber’s needs and opportunities;
• Develop and recommend new strategies to enhance Principal Gifts fundraising and for gift solicitations;
• Bring strategic engagement mindset and experience in working to cultivate research identified, under-engaged unaffiliated prospects as well as grateful patients;
• Develop a deep understanding of different giving vehicles and work collaboratively on Planned Giving opportunities;
• Partner with Donor Experience & Engagement and Faculty Engagement teams to determine funding opportunities and create gift proposals aligned with Institute priorities;
• Partner with the Donor Experience & Engagement team on planning, executing, and attending donor stewardship and recognition events;
• Support and foster a culture of learning, improvement and collaboration among the Principal Gifts team and Division of Philanthropy;
• Travel as appropriate to meet with prospects and donors and/or hold a portfolio of a number of prospects in a dedicated region;
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, improvement and results-oriented team culture;
• Act as a mentor to other gift officers across the Division;
• Complete other projects as assigned by the Vice President and Assistant Vice President, Principal Gifts;
• Responsible for assisting the entire Division in reaching financial goals.

Qualifications

High school diploma or equivalency required; Bachelor’s degree preferred. 8+ years’ relevant work experience preferably in principal gifts fundraising.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:

Successful track record of solicitations in $1M-$9.9M donor category. Prior experience soliciting and closing interdisciplinary, complex gifts, partnering with internal and external stakeholders, and collaborating with organizational leadership. Superior written and verbal communication skills, strong organizational and managerial capabilities, ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks.

Effective public speaking and the ability to communicate and work with people at all levels.

A natural inclination towards integrating efforts to achieve goals. Must exercise significant judgment and confidentiality in working with prospects, volunteers, and Institute faculty and staff.

Mastery of virtual meeting platforms (e.g. Zoom) and Microsoft Office, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.

PATIENT CONTACT:

Yes.

Pay Transparency Statement

The hiring range is based on market pay structures, with individual salaries determined by factors such as business needs, market conditions, internal equity, and based on the candidate’s relevant experience, skills and qualifications.

For union positions, the pay range is determined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)

Salary: $193,798

At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, we work every day to create an innovative, caring, and inclusive environment where every patient, family, and staff member feels they belong. As relentless as we are in our mission to reduce the burden of cancer for all, we are committed to having faculty and staff who offer multifaceted experiences. Cancer knows no boundaries and when it comes to hiring the most dedicated and compassionate professionals, neither do we. If working in this kind of organization inspires you, we encourage you to apply.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is an equal opportunity employer and affirms the right of every qualified applicant to receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability, age, ancestry, military service, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law.  

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