University of Kentucky · 4 weeks ago
Philanthropy Executive Director
Greater Lexington Area
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
$108K/yr - $184K/yr
9+ years expThe University of Kentucky is seeking a Philanthropy Executive Director for the Departments, Centers, and Institutes Team. This senior leadership role involves providing strategic direction for philanthropy activities within various clinical departments and managing relationships with major donors to support UK HealthCare's mission.
AgricultureEducation
Responsibilities
Provide strategic leadership for philanthropy across assigned clinical departments and programs
Build and manage a robust portfolio of high-capacity donors and prospects, leading efforts to cultivate, solicit, and close major and principal gifts
Translate medical, clinical, and research priorities into compelling philanthropic opportunities
Maintain a visible presence across UK HealthCare’s hospitals and clinics, fostering strong relationships with physicians, administrators, and academic leaders
Serve on the UK Philanthropy–Health senior leadership team, providing counsel on fundraising strategy and institutional priorities
Lead and mentor a team of five development professionals, including four major gift officers, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and excellence
Partner with campus and hospital leadership to advance key initiatives that strengthen grateful patient engagement and academic medicine fundraising
Qualification
Required
BA
9 yrs of related experience
None required for license/registration/certification
A strong record of success in major and principal gift fundraising, preferably within health care or academic medicine
Exceptional interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills
The ability to inspire confidence, navigate complex organizations, and engage effectively with donors, faculty, and clinical leaders
A strategic mindset, coupled with a collaborative and team-oriented leadership approach
A passion for advancing UK HealthCare's mission and improving the health of communities across Kentucky
Preferred
The ideal candidate will be a strong, collaborative leader with a proven record of success in building and sustaining relationships that foster major gift giving
This position requires an individual who understands person-to-person relationships and has the ability to convincingly articulate the vision and priorities of the University and match them to the interests of prospective donors
Familiarity with planned giving, charitable gift arrangements as well as demonstrated experience in marketing, philanthropic messaging and persuasive writing is also desirable
This person will have experience managing and developing a fundraising team in the environment in which accountability-based metrics are used as benchmarks for performance
Company
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky is a public, research-extensive, land grant university dedicated to improving people's lives through excellence in teaching, research, health care, cultural enrichment, and economic development for over 150 years.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
University of Kentucky has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (164)
2024 (136)
2023 (113)
2022 (112)
2021 (120)
2020 (113)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$12.55MKey Investors
U.S. Department of AgricultureNational Institute of Food and AgricultureNational Science Foundation
2024-09-16Grant· $0.91M
2024-07-22Grant· $0.77M
2024-02-22Grant· $0.87M
Leadership Team
Angela Martin
VP Financial Planning and Chief Budget Officer
Gary Johnson
Chief Innovation Officer & Vice President of Pharmacy Services
Recent News
Lane Report | Kentucky Business & Economic News
2025-09-24
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