Vice President Academics & Wake Foundations

Overview

Major responsibilities include leading enterprise academic fundraising strategy, major and principal gift initiatives, and campaign alignment in partnership with the Chief Philanthropy Officer. The role represents the academic mission in enterprise fundraising settings and influences philanthropic investment, prioritization, and resource allocation. It also involves leading capital and comprehensive campaigns for key research and clinical needs and coordinating ongoing campaign efforts.

• Partner with the Chief Philanthropy Officer to lead enterprise academic fundraising strategy, major and principal gift initiatives, and campaign alignment.
• Represent the academic mission in enterprise fundraising, donor, board, and foundation settings.
• Influence enterprise decision-making related to philanthropic investment, prioritization, and resource allocation.
• Lead the creation of capital and comprehensive campaigns for key research and clinical needs and coordinate ongoing campaign efforts. Create plans and measure progress to goals.
• Responsible for all corporate, foundation and individual philanthropy, alumni relations and volunteer activities for Academics. Implement programs of standards, goals, and objectives aimed at satisfying philanthropic needs based on strategic plans, including the hospitals, schools and affiliates.
• Develop clinically based grateful patient acquisition strategies and implement new donor market analytics systems to evaluate market potential and strategy alignment.
• Serve as the lead in identifying, cultivating, soliciting and structuring principal and major gifts from individuals. Present written proposals and make effective oral presentations to raise gifts.
• Work closely with the leadership, department heads and volunteer boards to facilitate the fundraising process and shape fundraising priorities. Involve faculty on a participative level in identifying, cultivating and soliciting new prospects, as appropriate.
• Responsible for all fund-raising goals and activities of WFBMC, as well as long-term donor cultivation through grateful patients/families, faculty and alumni of the Wake Forest School of Medicine. Coordinate closely with the Office of Advancement at Wake Forest University.
• Strengthen Culture of Philanthropy across all enterprise Academics, inclusive of faculty, staff, and alumni.
• Follow established procedures for tracking and qualifying prospects and for recording and reporting gifts. Document solicitation activities with prospects. Track progress of proposals; strategize follow-up and intermediate moves between submission and decision.
• Stay abreast of giving trends and new development strategies, status of key prospect strategies, and performance of major gift officers, including goal achievement status. Utilize relationships with outside vendors as needed.
• Prepare semi-annual strategic plans, meet goals re: dollars raised, visits made, proposals presented.
• Develop effective relationships with both Medical Center personnel and representatives of the philanthropic community.
• Lead, motivate and inspire staff to support a multi-year capital campaign.
• Lead process of semi-annual and annual performance reviews and development plan implementation.
• Oversee all fundraising staff, including principal gifts, major gifts, planned giving, grateful family programs, alumni programs, multiple Former House Officer departmental programs, annual funds and events.
• Lead cross functionally to ensure that all external relations teams are involved with philanthropic programs in both design and implementation.

None Required.

Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred

10+ years of progressive fundraising leadership experience, preferably within academic medicine or health care. Demonstrated success in securing major and transformational gifts ($1M+) as well as proven team leadership and management experience.

• Proven executive leadership experience in a complex academic, academic health system, or research-intensive enterprise.
• Demonstrated success leading large-scale campaigns and securing transformational gifts.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to influence at board, president, and CEO levels.
• Deep understanding of academic missions, funding models, and philanthropic best practices.
• Experience leading through ambiguity and complexity in large, matrixed organizations.

DISCLAIMER All responsibilities and requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only responsibilities to be performed by an employee occupying this job or position. Employees must follow any other job-related instructions and perform any other job-related duties requested by their leaders.