Job Posting Title:
Senior Director of Foundation Relations, Healthcare and STEM
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Hiring Department:
University Development Office
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Position Open To:
All Applicants
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Weekly Scheduled Hours:
40
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FLSA Status:
Exempt
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Earliest Start Date:
Mar 21, 2025
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Position Duration:
Expected to Continue
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Location:
AUSTIN, TX
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Job Details:
General Notes
About UT Austin
The University of Texas at Austin, founded in 1883, ranks among the 40 best universities in the world with top national programs across 18 colleges and schools. The university is an enduring symbol of the spirit of Texas, driving economic and social progress while serving the city, state, nation and world as a leading center of knowledge and creativity. Our work is inspired by the bold spirit of Texas and our commitment to its people.
Learn more about UT Austin’smission and values,leadershipandstrategic plan.
Why Join Texas Development?
What starts here changes the world. What starts here starts with you. The University of Texas at Austin is on the front lines of the future: sparking the imagination, driving discovery and transforming lives. And it’s only possible because generous supporters believe in the power and promise of our state’s flagship university to change the world. We strive to reach the highest levels of achievement and success in all that we do by creating meaningful and powerful experiences for our donors.
Together, through one of the largest fundraising efforts in our state’s history, we will unlock student potential, recruit world-class faculty, transform health and care, and create a vibrant future for Texas and beyond. With more than $4 billion raised in the past five years, Texas Development is quickly becoming one of the best fundraising programs in higher education.
Texas Development is a dynamic and growing community of approximately 500 team members across the Forty Acres.
Join us andchange the world.
Purpose
The University Development Office seeks a Senior Director of Foundations Relations to focus on priority health care and STEM initiatives at UT Austin. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of a team building a $2.5B integrated academic health system including a complex care hospital that is at the heart of an international research powerhouse campus. It is the chance to create the hospital of the future built on UT’s strengths in AI and supercomputing. This position reports to the Executive Director of Foundation Relations. In partnership with senior leaders, faculty and staff at The University of Texas at Austin, the Senior Director will establish, secure and cultivate philanthropic investments from local, national and international foundation partners. They will identify, qualify, solicit and steward professional and family foundations for funding to support, but not limited to top-ranked Dell Medical School, Cockrell School of Engineering, College of Natural Sciences, College of Pharmacy, School of Nursing, Steve Hicks School of Social Work and others.
Responsibilities
Responsible for a $5-10 million annual fundraising goal from foundations partners withing 12-24 months of being in the role.
Develop strong relationships with foundation leaders and program officers, develop a deep understanding of the landscape of foundation giving. Report these findings back to UT Austin internal partners.
Partner with Executive Director, Foundation Relations to develop multi-million-dollar grants that fund both single and interdisciplinary opportunities across the UT Austin enterprise.
Develop persuasive and compelling solicitations and ensure proposals align with the strategic priorities and goals of UT Austin.
Cultivate and manage a portfolio of 35+ foundations. Attend partnership and content relevant events to enhance UT Austin’s position such as conferences, scientific talks, lectures, etc.
Visit with the foundation boards, leaders and/or program staff; organize campus site visits, and participating in meetings, calls, and events that advance these vital relationships.
Develop funding strategic plans for grand challenges and other interdisciplinary projects that impact priority initiatives. Work closely with faculty to understand the concept, how his/her research/project stands on a national basis, what the research/scientific contribution will be and how the funding can help move the initiative forward.
Ensure the timely development, submission, and management of grant and sponsorship proposals including event sponsorships for signature programs, and applying best practices for tracking, acknowledging, stewarding, and reporting to our institutional partners.
Work closely with faculty, university leaders, and foundation representatives to coordinate all grant and foundation management activities to include RFP reviews and submissions, proposal development, deadline management, reporting requirements and communication plan.
Work with internal partners including other gift officers and teams within Texas Development to develop proposals and reports that accurately reflect programmatic priorities, needs, results, and lessons learned.
Create cases for support for both existing programs and programs of promise and institutional priority.
Provide top-quality stewardship to the institutional donors who invest in The University of Texas at Austin each year. Related responsibilities include providing personalized outreach and invitations to relevant events and experiences, coordinating sponsor recognition efforts with the communications team, and ensuring timely and accurate processing of all grant-related paperwork.
Adhere to internal donor management policies and utilize tools (VIP) for donor and volunteer management, data tracking and historical analysis of institutional donor relationships.
Other related functions as assigned.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's degree and five years of direct fundraising and fundraising management experience.
Demonstrated track record of high performance in a fast-paced environment.
Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
Demonstrated ability to develop compelling proposals and reports with a focus on areas such as policy, science, health, and medicine.
Experience in establishing strategies to identify and qualify private foundations and corporate foundation partners.
Success in creating and executing a strategic development plan for soliciting, securing and stewarding gifts from external partners.
Experience in establishing a pipeline of supporters and managing a portfolio of donors.
Demonstrated success in portfolio management, prospect qualification, analytics, and research.
Proven project management skills.
Demonstrated ability to think strategically and creatively, work well under pressure, and manage details of several concurrent projects.
Experience using reporting tools, design software, and donor management software.
Proficient in MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.
Preferred Qualifications
Passion for healthcare.
Seven to ten years of high-level fundraising experience on both the national stage and Texas stage.
Experience in six-figure-plus donor proposal or grant-writing.
Three to five years of grant management, institutional fundraising and corporate partnership experience.
Internship and substantive volunteer experiences focused on grant writing and grant management are a plus.
Experience with fundraising database and knowledge of prospecting tools and reports within fundraising systems or other prospective donor relations systems, e.g. Raiser's Edge, Sales Force, etc.
Proven self-starter capable of making sound, ethical, independent judgments.
Success working on teams to develop high-level proposals with funding opportunities across disciplines.
Personal and professional confidence, accompanied by a sense of humor and empathy toward others.
UT Austin is especially interested in qualified candidates who can contribute to excellence within an integrated health care system.
Salary Range
OPEN
Working Conditions
This is an in-office leadership role and candidates must be able to travel for donor meetings, including occasional nights and weekends.
Required Materials
Resume/CV
- 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
- Letter of interest
Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.
Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.
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Employment Eligibility:
Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.
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Retirement Plan Eligibility:
The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length. This position has the option to elect the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) instead of TRS, subject to the position being 40 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.
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Background Checks:
A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.
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Equal Opportunity Employer:
The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.
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Pay Transparency:
The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.
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Employment Eligibility Verification:
If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.
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E-Verify:
The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:
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Compliance:
Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.
The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.
