The Assistant Vice President, Donor Experience & Engagement manages, creates, implements, and assesses a comprehensive donor stewardship and recognition program for the entire Division of Philanthropy. Responsible for assisting the entire Division with reaching financial goals.
Embody Dana-Farber’s Core Values: Impact; Excellence; Compassion & Respect; and Discovery 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.
Dana-Farber is pursuing an ambitious, multi-year fundraising effort to change the future of cancer research and care: The Dana-Farber Campaign. This multi-billion dollar campaign is the largest in the Institute’s history and one of the largest ever in the U.S. focused solely on cancer. Philanthropy raised through The Dana-Farber Campaign will accelerate the Institute’s strategic priorities by supporting revolutionary science, extraordinary care, exceptional expertise, and essential opportunities—helping us prevent, treat, and Defy Cancer.
Application Requirements:
Resume and cover letter required with application submission.
Responsibilities
Overarching:
• Oversee a 33-person team, including culture building and professional development.
• Coordinate comprehensive stewardship and recognition strategy, policy, and protocol for transformational, principal, major, foundation, corporate, and planned giving donors, as well as strategic partners.
• Develop cross-functional, Division-wide strategy to ensure consistency and coordination across all units.
• Support all phases of The Dana-Farber Campaign and subsequent campaigns.
• Oversee stewardship and cultivation strategies for top-tier prospects in Transformational Gifts & Strategic Initiatives, Principal & Major Gifts, Corporate Partnerships, Foundation Relations, and Planned Giving.
• Manage Dana-Farber special projects, working with staff in other Dana-Farber departments, as needed.
• Collaborate with the Assistant Vice Presidents of Philanthropy Communications and Digital Marketing to ensure coordinated marketing approaches, and Assistant Vice Presidents across the Division to meet all business needs.
• Manage the budget for Donor Experience & Engagement, provide counsel to other units in the Division on their budgets.
Events:
• Oversee and manage Dana-Farber’s Presidential Symposium, Dana-Farber’s flagship stewardship event, including all related budgets.
• Oversee donor events program to provide recognition, stewardship, and cultivation of major gift and annual donors, generators, and prospects.
• Oversee stewardship and engagement of physicians, researchers, and other Institute leaders, including speaking requests, event program involvement, and event attendance.
Recognition:
• Oversee and manage all capital and strategic projects related to space and naming opportunities.
• Oversee the uniform creation and maintenance of naming and recognition policies and guidelines, including materials for donor recognition, recognition walls and galleries, and available space inventory and tracking systems.
• Oversee strategy for Dana-Farber’s Patient Partner Program.
Stewardship:
• Oversee donor reporting system for endowments, programmatic funds, and high-level gifts annually.
• Oversee all custom acknowledgement letters from the President & CEO, Senior Vice President & Chief Philanthropy Officer, and Chairman of the Jimmy Fund; and others as needed.
• Vet all donor-named references in Dana-Farber publications.
• Strategic Content:
• Oversee proposal writing for potential gifts of $1 million or more.
• Oversee a comprehensive impact/stewardship report program.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
Reports to Associate Vice President, Campaigns, Donor Experience & Engagement. This position leads a Donor Experience & Engagement team of 30 staff, and directly supervises four Directors and one Senior Assistant. Works collaboratively with staff from the Division of Philanthropy, as well as members of the Institute’s senior leadership.
Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree required with 10+ years’ experience minimum. Significant donor and volunteer experience is needed. Direct report management experience required.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required:
Superior management, leadership abilities, and project management experience; strong organizational skills and attention to detail; superior writing skills; excellent communication and human relations skills; effective in working collaboratively with wide audiences (including highest level of Dana-Farber constituencies); strong customer service, events, and marketing knowledge and/or background.
This position will evaluate current programs and create and execute approved plans to expand and diversify the donors and participants for the events assigned in order to broaden our donor base and create even more inclusive events. Experience with diverse donors is a plus.
Patient Contact:
No.
Working Conditions:
This position is considered remote, up to 1 day in the office at 10 Brookline Place, Brookline, MA each week. Dana-Farber guidelines state that employees must reside in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, or Rhode Island.
Local travel required. Some evening and weekend work required.
Division of Philanthropy Inclusion, Diversity, & Equity Commitment Statement:
We’re stronger together.
In the Division of Philanthropy, we believe in the power of different voices. We encourage authenticity and diversity of every individual within our community. Our collective voices – donors, volunteers, staff, and patients alike – allow us to work together towards a world without cancer. Committed to being a place of inclusivity, belonging, and change, these are our core values.
DFCI DISCLAIMER:
The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. Requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” employment relationship.
External and internal applicants, as well as position incumbents who become disabled as defined under the Americans With Disabilities Act, must be able to perform the essential job functions (as listed) either unaided or with the assistance of a reasonable accommodation to be determined by management on a case-by-case basis.
DFCI offers a competitive benefits package including generous healthcare and retirement plans, at minimum 3-weeks’ vacation time in addition to 10 paid holidays, a flexible work environment, and work/life balance. We also provide an array of professional development opportunities.*
*All benefits subject to Institute changes
We’re hiring! Learn more about working in the Division of Philanthropy and view all open positions.
