["Director, Major Gifts (Relocation Assistance Available!)","Director, Major Gifts (Relocation Assistance Available!)"]

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    Skills

    • Biomedical Researchunmatched
    • Campaignsunmatched
    • Career Developmentunmatched
    • Coachingunmatched
    • Communication Skillsunmatched
    • Cross-Functionalunmatched
    • Customer Relationship Management (CRM)unmatched
    • Data Qualityunmatched
    • Donor Developmentunmatched
    • Forecastingunmatched
    • Fundingunmatched
    • Fundraisingunmatched
    • Gift Managementunmatched
    • Higher Educationunmatched
    • Interpersonal Skillsunmatched
    • Investment Managementunmatched
    • Leadershipunmatched
    • Metricsunmatched
    • Nonprofitunmatched
    • Operational Auditunmatched
    • Operational Communicationsunmatched
    • Operational Supportunmatched
    • Organizational Skillsunmatched
    • People Managementunmatched
    • Performance Analysisunmatched
    • Performance Managementunmatched
    • Project/Program Managementunmatched
    • Public/Media/Press/Analyst Relationsunmatched
    • Revenue Forecastingunmatched
    • Revenue Managementunmatched
    • Revenue Planningunmatched
    • Stewardshipunmatched
    • Strategic Planningunmatched
    • Team Lead/Managerunmatched
    • Team Playerunmatched

    Description

    Individual Giving Program Manager

    Overall Responsibilities

    Execute Whitehead Institute's individual giving program, including major gifts and annual/mid-level giving, with responsibility for managing direct reports, overseeing performance management, and developing a high-performing fundraising team. Focuses on revenue strategy, managing gift officer performance, maintaining disciplined portfolios, and driving measurable growth in individual philanthropy. Maintain a personal portfolio of major gift prospects and ensure consistent cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship practices across the team. Partner closely with Advancement leadership to ensure coordinated, data-informed fundraising aligned with institutional priorities. In partnership with the Vice President, External Relations, and Advancement leadership, contribute to the development of integrated, institution-wide individual giving strategies. Strategy development is collaborative across the Advancement team; help shape and lead implementation of individual giving priorities aligned with institutional goals.

    Characteristic Duties

    Major Gift Program Management

    • Manage a personal portfolio of major gift prospects.
    • Oversee full lifecycle (qualification through stewardship) strategies across portfolio.
    • Manage execution of portfolio size, contact frequency, and pipeline movement.
    • Conduct/participate in regular portfolio reviews and support moves management discipline.
    • Support gift officers in donor strategy development, preparation, and execution aligned with institutional priorities.

    Annual & Mid-Level Giving Strategy

    • Oversee implementation of annual and mid-level giving revenue strategy, including, retention and upgrade efforts, reactivation campaigns, and segmentation priorities.
    • Set annual revenue targets and track performance against goals.
    • Partner with Advancement leadership on appeal strategy, messaging, segmentation, deployment, and reporting, ensuring alignment with institutional goals.

    Revenue Planning & Performance Management

    • Track monthly and quarterly revenue performance.
    • Maintain accurate forecasting.
    • Develop annual revenue projections for individual giving.
    • Work with Operations to monitor and report on pipeline health, closed gifts, and retention and upgrade rates.
    • Ensure data accuracy and forecasting discipline in partnership with Operations & Analytics.

    Team Leadership & Development

    • Provide strategic leadership to staff supporting major gift, annual, and mid-level giving programs, including oversight of direct reports.
    • Drive a high-performance culture through clear goal-setting, metrics, and accountability standards.
    • Lead, coach, and develop staff in donor strategy, portfolio management, and long-term professional growth.
    • Oversee performance management, including conducting evaluations, delivering actionable feedback, and supporting career development.
    • Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and results-oriented team environment aligned with organizational priorities.

    Cross-Functional Collaboration

    • Partner with Institutional Narrative and Foundation Relations to ensure aligned messaging and funding priorities.
    • Coordinate with Constituent Engagement and Advancement Operations to support cultivation and stewardship efforts, and ensure accurate portfolios and reporting.
    • Contribute to advancement-wide planning and reinforce a coordinated, non-siloed approach across teams.

    Other duties, as assigned.

    Required Qualifications

    • Bachelor's degree required.
    • 10+ years of progressive fundraising experience.
    • Demonstrated success in securing significant (six-figure+) gifts.
    • Strong organizational and execution skills.
    • Clear communicator with strong interpersonal skills.
    • Ability to collaborate effectively across communications, operations, and leadership teams.

    Preferred Qualifications

    • Experience in annual and mid-level giving programs
    • Experience managing fundraising staff.
    • Experience in higher education, biomedical research, or similarly complex nonprofit environments.
    • Experience working within CRM-driven portfolio management systems.

    Whitehead provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the Institute reasonably expects to pay for a position at the time of posting. The pay offered to a selected candidate during hiring will be based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate's work experience and education/training, and internal peer equity. This pay range represents base pay only and does not include any other benefits or compensation.

    • Pay Range Minimum: 120,000
    • Pay Range Maximum: 150,000

    Numbers & Facts

    LocationCambridge

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