Philanthropy Specialist - Principal Gifts (Board of Visitors)

The Principal Gifts & Strategic Initiatives team engages with MD Anderson’s most passionate donors who have capacity to make a transformative impact on its mission. Working directly with MD Anderson’s Chief Philanthropy Officer, MD Anderson’s President and Executive Leadership Team (ELT), the team fosters relationships with new and established top-tier, high net-worth benefactors, as well as oversees coordinated engagement strategies of benefactors to secure eight and nine-figure Principal Gifts in support of MD Anderson’s highest signature priorities. The team also supports strategic and thoughtful engagement of MD Anderson’s most powerful advocates serving on its Board of Visitors and working committees.  
 

Reporting to the Sr. Director of Board Engagement, Principal Gifts and Strategic Initiatives, the Philanthropy Specialist is a vital team member supporting the engagement of MD Anderson’s most influential volunteers serving on MD Anderson’s Board of Visitors. This role will support coordination and the seamless execution of the Board of Visitors working committees, which may be executed in virtual and in-person meeting formats. This team member regularly communicates with internal executives (MD Anderson’s ELT and the ELT liaisons) and external volunteers who staff and lead each committee as appropriate. The Philanthropy Specialist assists with meeting rehearsals, the creation of briefing materials for every meeting and meeting logistics, including running slides during the meeting.  

This position requires regular communication with the Principal Gifts & Strategic Initiatives team members and Office of the Chief Philanthropy Officer members to ensure an optimal and professional experience is provided to our volunteers and Executive Leadership Team members.  Seamless divisional communication enhances our opportunity for volunteer engagement; therefore, the Philanthropy Specialist will assist with maintenance of  
MD Anderson’s internal BOV SharePoint site with regular updates about BOV Committee meetings, activities, participation, and engagement. This position requires a significant level of professionalism, diplomatic communication skills, ethical sensitivity, and discretion. The successful candidate must be committed to maintaining confidentiality at all times and possess a high degree of poise when handling sensitive information. 

KEY FUNCTIONS
 

Programmatic Project Execution (60%) 

Consistently deliver skillful execution of team-specific work with an eye toward continuous improvement, while being aware of the impact of the team’s work on and in partnership with others. 

·       Assists with engagement of MD Anderson’s network of committed Board of Visitors in collaboration with peers, major gifts and planned giving officers, donors, grateful patients and volunteers to engage individuals in gifts of significance for the institution’s initiatives.  

·       Updates and tracks data in the CRM database of attendance and communication. Maintain and update SharePoint with each committee’s roster, charge attendance, meeting summaries, etc. 

·       Maintains and uploads meeting materials to Diligent Boards. 

Collaboration and Teaming (20%) 

Actively partner with donors, peers, faculty and divisional leadership on strategy development, strategy execution and other projects. Develop networks, engage in cross-functional activities to deliver stakeholder engagement. Work co-operatively with all stakeholders, contribute to the success of collaborative work teams and support completion of initiative or project to achieve stated goals. 

·       Shares important information with BOV members’ assigned gift officer as to keep them aware of any important data or news around assigned BOV member. 

·       Coordinates with the Sr. Director and Philanthropy Administrator - Principal Gifts and Strategic Engagement to implement activities and draft materials required to support engagement of MD Anderson's senior volunteer leaders.   

·       Utilizes a professional demeanor and courteous attitude while frequently interacting with institutional leadership. Responds promptly to requests in a professional manner and possesses the ability to solve problems that may arise within daily activities; utilizing strong communication, organization and multi-tasking skills. Communicates within and among team members.   

Stakeholder Engagement (20%) 

Display social awareness, professional etiquette, and the ability to interact and build rapport with internal and external stakeholders. Create an environment where yours and others’ ideas, experiences, perspectives, contributions, and well-being are valued.  Take personal responsibility for enabling an environment that supports fair and equal contributions. 

·       Participates in the BOV Committee meetings by listening and gaining knowledge around highly sensitive and confidential conversations with the BOV members and their interests and how we can help the BOV member to become more involved in their area of interest which could potentially lead to a transformational gift. 

·       Develops trust and fosters a deep understanding of the committee strategy and the specific needs of the ELT assigned to the committees. 

·       Collaborates closely with each ELT liaison to set meeting structure and preferred communication strategy. Send out approved communications to the board members pre/post meeting. 

·       Communicates with committee Chairs, Vice Chairs, ELT members and the meeting presenters to execute meeting agendas. Ensure activities of the BOV are communicated to appropriate divisional collaborators.