Director of Foundation Relations jobs in United States
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University of Virginia · 17 hours ago

Director of Foundation Relations

The University of Virginia is seeking a highly qualified candidate for the Director of Foundation Relations position, which is integral to the success of the Corporate and Foundation Relations Team. This role involves advancing the university’s strategy for engaging private foundations to secure philanthropic support, managing a portfolio of foundation prospects, and developing proposals to support institutional priorities.

Higher Education
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Responsibilities

Responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and managing a portfolio of foundation prospects to yield funds with significant impact on an annual basis
Work with senior administration, deans, faculty, and staff to develop and write proposals for specific research, programmatic, and capital funding needs and to manage overall foundation solicitation and stewardship efforts for assigned areas
Work collaboratively, as needed, with Development Officers across units to identify and cultivate foundation funders and submit proposals
Liaise with the Office of Sponsored Programs to understand process, timing, and compliance in order to facilitate grant proposals and grants management
Collaborate with the Director of CFR Agreement Administration on new foundation funding to ensure agreements are routed in a timely manner and funder stewardship plans are set
Leverage UVA’s database of record to track strategies, solicitations, documentation, and other portfolio updates
Work with the Office of the Vice President for Research, the Office of the Provost, and other internal stakeholders to build effective collaborative partnerships to pursue and manage foundation funds
Regularly coordinate and staff meetings with foundation program officers and attend conferences where foundation presence is expected, both via videoconference and in person. The successful candidate will be willing and able to travel up to 15%-20% of the year
Lead the development of a high-level strategic and creative approach to foundation fundraising that aligns with UVA’s priorities
In consultation with leadership, develop and implement goals, objectives and metrics for measuring performance
Keep current on the private fundraising landscape to understand funding trends, leadership changes, and legal and compliance updates
Work with the Senior Director to establish strategic plans for priority foundations and
Collaborate with schools across Grounds to monitor needs, strategic initiatives, priorities, and special projects
Manage two direct reports who support the CFR team; the Researcher and the Grant Writer and Communications Strategist, and others, as needed
Ensure these roles are meeting volume, evolve tasks as needed, and manage processes to meet the team’s needs
Germane to these roles, maintain a strong working knowledge of Prospect Research methods, the relevant databases and tools needed and how they work, identify grant writing best practices, and maintain a firm communications acumen
Mentor and provide guidance to direct reports and other staff to establish best practices
Contribute to the team’s ongoing educational programming, designed to expand CFR knowledge and engagement across to UVA’s advancement community. Help develop quarterly workshop topics and present content
Regularly present, as needed, to internal stakeholder groups (faculty, research administration colleagues, and others) to increase a collective understanding of foundation funding, processes, and team support
Contribute to the development, adaptation, and maintenance of presentations, reports, and marketing materials in partnership with team members, as needs arise

Qualification

Foundation fundraising strategyProposal developmentRelationship managementHigher education developmentCollaboration skillsCommunicationInterpersonal abilitiesMentoring

Required

Education: bachelor's degree
Experience: At least five years of previous fundraising experience

Preferred

At least eight years of relevant experience
Experience in higher-education development with a proven ability to meet fundraising goals and a strong track record in securing gifts and grants
Experience navigating a complex institution to make the best match between university needs and funder priorities
Ability to take information from many sources and distill it into core messages that are communicated to different audiences
Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities
Demonstrated history of strong collaboration

Benefits

Benefited position
Flexible and hybrid workplace

Company

University of Virginia

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The University of Virginia was founded in 1819 as the model for modern universities that has since been emulated all over the world.

Funding

Current Stage
Late Stage

Leadership Team

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Greg Fairchild
Dean and CEO, UVA|Northern Virginia
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Luis Alvarez
President and CEO
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