The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) seeks a strategic, collaborative, and experienced fundraising leader to serve as the inaugural Executive Director of Foundation Relations, UI Health (ED) to build and lead a high-performing foundations relations program. This position oversees foundation relations across the UI College of Medicine, UI Cancer Center, UI Hospital and Clinics, and Mile Square Health Center.
The $2.5 billion UI Health system is comprised of seven health science colleges, a major teaching hospital, a substantial community-based healthcare network, a wide variety of top-ranked primary and specialty clinics, and a cancer center. UI Health has an unswerving commitment to ensuring access to both education and health care in Chicago and beyond, serving as an incubator for life-saving research, a major healthcare provider to underserved communities, and educator of more physicians, nurses, dentists, and pharmacists for Illinois than any other school.
Reporting to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement, Health Affairs, the ED will be a hands-on strategic partner for Advancement within UI Health, bringing entrepreneurial drive and ambition to establish a best-in-class foundation fundraising operation that supports the clinical, educational, and research ambitions of UI Health and UIC more broadly. Ultimately, the ED will inspire a culture of philanthropy and collaboration across UI Health to grow its philanthropic revenue and generate transformational gifts that elevate the entire enterprise.
UIC has committed to a substantial investment in the expansion of Advancement, with the goal of adding approximately 30 new Advancement positions in UI Health over the next two years. This position will help lead this transformational change, tapping into the opportunity to become the preferred national partner for health equity philanthropy. UI Health is truly singular in its breadth of activity and innovation—from groundbreaking research and medical education led by world-class faculty, to cutting-edge surgical training, to innovative healthcare design and delivery, to renowned drug discovery, and more—and in its dedication to health equity across these areas. There is ample opportunity to highlight our uniqueness, create compelling cases of support, and have transformational national impact on health equity.
Working within a highly collaborative and intersectional environment, the ED will help cultivate and secure major and principal gifts across multiple units, including the UI College of Medicine, UI Hospital and Clinics, Mile Square Health Center, and the UI Cancer Center. In a particularly exciting milestone, the Cancer Center has been invited to apply for NCI designation—a significant step in our growth—and the ED will work with the director of the Cancer Center to help achieve the fundraising goals associated with this application. The UI Cancer Center would be the first NCI-designated center dedicated to health equity.
This is a rare opportunity for a fundraising leader passionate about health equity to achieve unprecedented impact not only within the University of Illinois system and the patients, families, and communities it serves, but also more broadly across the United States.
Job Summary
This position is expected to think “big picture” to build a robust, synergistic foundation fundraising program in pursuit of aggressive growth targets for UI Health (College of Medicine, Cancer Center, Hospital and clinics, and Mile Square) and associated priorities. A key responsibility of this position is to align programmatic opportunities across UI Health units, connect the dots between unit-specific activities, and partner with faculty and leadership to develop compelling funding opportunities with well-articulated impact on patients, students, and communities.
The Executive Director of Foundation Relations, UI Health (ED) serves as the chief strategist for foundation donors and prospects; the candidate will build and manage a portfolio of institutional donors (national and regional), develop new prospects, and direct the identification, strategic cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of institutional donors. The ED also develops innovative proposals, cultivates strategic partnerships, and prepares timely donor reports. As the inaugural ED, the candidate will also be expected to build, motivate and lead a dynamic, high-performing team while fostering a culture of collaboration.
This role will work closely with faculty, UI Health leadership, and university leadership to identify and support funding needs as well as proactively identify new institutional prospects for UI Health. This role will also partner closely with the corporate and foundation relations team in the central Office for the Vice Chancellor for Advancement to ensure collaboration, consistent communication, and adherence to university processes. Demonstrating adaptability, flexibility, and a can-do mindset, the successful candidate will be comfortable working within ambiguity, establish order within complexity, and encourage collective progress toward fundraising goals.
This individual will sit on the leadership team for the Associate Vice Chancellor, Health Affairs, Advancement and will be relied upon by faculty and administrative leadership as a specialist in foundation relations and national/international institutional funders.
Minimum Qualifications
· Bachelor’s degree required.
· Minimum of ten years of progressive, nonprofit experience, with experience in foundation relations preferably within a national or international nonprofit or an academic medical center.
· Proven management and leadership skills, that builds and motivates successful teams.
· Proven success in securing major grants and gifts and working within a complex organization to build an institutional giving program.
· Deep understanding of national and international institutional funders.
Preferred Qualifications
· The successful candidate should be an innovative and collaborative advancement leader with a growth mindset, entrepreneurial spirit, and distinctive record of achievement, including expertise in designing, implementing, and leading an institutional fundraising program.
· Demonstrated success increasing the effectiveness of an advancement program through established objectives and performance standards, resulting in a transformative increase in philanthropic revenue for an organization.
· Demonstrated skill in achieving alignment, providing active support and close collaboration amongst a broad range of stakeholders in relation to strategic plans, proposal development, and execution.
· Excellent communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills: ability to interact effectively with a wide variety of professionals in writing, on the phone, and in person.
· Excellent leadership, strategic, and management skills with the presence to work with C-suite individuals, major donors, foundation thought-leaders, and political leaders.
· Ability to build coalitions and networks of committed supporters.
· Knowledgeable in matters pertaining to Healthcare, research, and educational programs.
· Comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of successful development practices.
· Strong grant strategist who exhibits leadership in working cross functionally with other departments to create funding projects.
· Excellent writing and editing skills: ability to produce high quality professional documents, including detailed proposals and reports. Ability to translate complex medical information into laymen’s terms.
· Stature, credibility, and capacity to build and sustain effective relationships with colleagues at all levels of the Advancement organization and with partners elsewhere at the University; to influence senior colleagues, often without authority.
· Collaborative leadership skills and experience working with cross-functional teams. Proven management and leadership skills, that builds and motivates successful teams.
· Highly responsible, self-motivated, and exceptional attention to detail.
· Proactive, adaptable, and flexible. Comfortable with ambiguity and able to create order and systemization.
· Extensive knowledge and expertise in MS Word, Excel, and other Microsoft applications.
· Experience with constituent relationship management databases.
· Local and regional travel required, including evenings, overnights, and occasional weekends.
TO APPLY, PLEASE GO DIRECTLY TO THE UIC JOB BOARD https://uic.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/1/home/requisition/6195?c=uic. FOR FULLEST CONSIDERATION, PLEASE APPLY BY August 20, 2023. RESUME AND COVER LETTER REQUIRED. Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience. UIC also offers a comprehensive benefits package.
As an EOE/AA employer, the University of Illinois encourages applications from individuals regardless of an applicant’s race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, and Veteran or disability status.
The University of Illinois may conduct background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer. Background checks will be performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The University of Illinois System requires candidates selected for hire to disclose any documented finding of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment and to authorize inquiries to current and former employers regarding findings of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment. For more information, visit https://www.hr.uillinois.edu/cms/One.aspx?portalId=4292&pageId=1411899.
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