Director of Foundation Relations

Position Summary

External Relations at the University of Virginia (UVA) is seeking a highly qualified candidate to fill the role of Director of Foundation Relations. The University of Virginia has a strong and reputable advancement community, boasting effective, results-oriented, and resourceful professionals. Our community is comprised of a robust central advancement organization, 12 University schools, and more than 25 University-related programs. We offer a wide variety of career opportunities, as well as an outstanding environment for professional growth and development.

The Director of Foundation Relations role is integral to the success of the Corporate and Foundation Relations Team (CFR). Reporting to the Senior Director of Foundation Relations, the Director will advance the university’s strategy for engaging private foundations to secure philanthropic support for institutional priorities. This role manages a portfolio of foundation prospects, develops compelling proposals, and fosters long‑term relationships to advance research, academic programs, and strategic initiatives.

The Director will lead efforts to secure major foundation support for academic units across Grounds, working closely with faculty, senior administrators, and advancement colleagues to identify and cultivate relationships with foundations that align with the university’s strategic priorities. The Director will develop a high‑level strategic approach to foundation fundraising, focusing on initiatives that require significant funding, including opportunities that yield grants of at least $150,000.

The Director will work effectively with faculty to prepare proposals, letters of inquiry, and grant reports, ensuring that the university’s research initiatives are well represented to potential funders. The Director will also manage a portfolio of foundations, aiming to generate substantial annual funding, and will oversee two direct reports who provide support to the entire CFR team.

Fundraising

• 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 video conference and in person. The successful candidate will be willing and able to travel up to 15%–20% of the year.

Strategic Planning

• 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.
• Collaborate with schools across Grounds to monitor needs, strategic initiatives, priorities, and special projects.

Management

• Manage two direct reports who support the CFR team; the Researcher and the…