Associate Director, Foundation Relations and Strategic Partnerships

Duke Careers•Durham, NC

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Duke University School of Medicine, established in 1930 and ranked sixth nationally, is an inclusive community focused on interdisciplinary collaboration to advance scientific discoveries for human health. Duke Health Development & Alumni Affairs (DHDAA) supports a flexible work environment. This role is crucial for building partnerships that support research, education, and patient care. The Associate Director will advance Duke Health's mission by cultivating and supporting relationships with foundations and private grant-making organizations, aiming to increase philanthropic support for institutional priorities. This frontline fundraising role involves designing, coordinating, and implementing strategies to secure gift and grant funding from private foundations and other grant-making organizations at various levels. The position requires close collaboration with faculty to articulate the impact of their work, maintaining positive interactions with Duke Health leaders, faculty, physicians, and colleagues in development and research administration. Proactive identification of new prospects and autonomous navigation of the academic medical center environment are key. The position is full-time and located in Durham, NC, with a hybrid work arrangement.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree program completion.
Five (5) years of experience in alumni affairs, public relations, fund raising, sales and promotions, marketing, student activities or a related field in order to acquire skills necessary to administer, coordinate and/or participate in fund raising activities.
Proven writing ability, specifically to write or edit proposals and letters of inquiry fluidly and thoughtfully, either in cooperation with faculty, principal investigators, and development colleagues, or initiated independently.
Must be able to manage and prioritize requests coming from different offices and to balance a deadline- and goal-based environment.
Must be able to work with colleagues throughout Duke Health and Duke University on the development of funding opportunities for foundations and corporations who have multiple interests at Duke Health and Duke University.
Must have excellent verbal communication skills, as the Associate Director will be asked to represent the office to both faculty members and to foundation representatives.

Nice To Haves

An advanced degree is preferred.
Experience with science communications and research development.
Demonstrated track record of successful collaborations with faculty members and, in particular, experience developing grant proposals or administering grant funding from foundations.
Experience with science and/or medicine is strongly recommended.
Preference for experience writing or editing complex, science-based proposals to support research activities in an academic medical center environment.
Preference for experience in a complex, multi-tiered work environment.
Ideal background will include work in foundation relations, research development, science communication, program development, or complex project management in an academic medical center, in another academic setting, or in a healthcare environment.

Responsibilities

Serve as a frontline fundraiser toward a primary goal of increased philanthropic support for the identified institutional priorities of Duke Health.
Design, coordinate, and implement strategies to secure gift and grant funding from private foundations, as well as from other private grant-making organizations, at the local, regional, and national level.
Work closely with faculty members to articulate the current and potential impact of their work in alignment with mission and priorities of prospective funders.
Maintain positive, productive, and ongoing interaction with senior leaders of Duke Health, faculty, physicians, and colleagues in Development, Research Administration, and other partner offices across campus.
Proactively identify new prospects for Duke Health based on grant-making potential and fit with institutional priorities.
Exercise autonomy, diplomacy and persistence while navigating the complex academic medical center environment and representing the organization to foundation leaders of the highest level.
Cultivate, solicit and steward foundation prospects within assigned portfolio and primarily at the major gift level ($100K or more), traveling as necessary.
Research and write foundation proposals; review and edit proposals developed by others. Provide feedback to strengthen proposals and ensure alignment with foundation priorities.
Keep abreast of foundation priorities and funding trends to recommend highly coordinated and proactive cultivation and solicitation strategies to maximize funding success.
Guide faculty members in the preparation of concept papers, letters of inquiry, and proposals to compellingly articulate the alignment and relevance of their work to foundation funding priorities.
Help manage foundation opportunities through Duke’s Institutionally Limited Nomination (ILN) proposal process. Analyze funding priorities and trends to inform selection committee deliberations.
Proactively identify new foundation prospects for Duke Health priorities. Direct research requests and analyze information on foundation prospects to qualify interest, determine giving potential and contribute to the development of cultivation and solicitation strategies. Identify local/regional foundations for strategy development. Build relationships with program officers to cultivate them as advocates for Duke Health priorities.
Develop or edit reports, brochures and other materials; assist with publicity arrangements on important gifts, programs, accomplishments or events.
Build partnerships, and establish and maintain regular communication with faculty members to identify programmatic strengths and expertise that can be matched to foundation funding opportunities. Also, increase the number of faculty referrals of foundation contacts in order to develop institutionally coordinated strategies toward larger solicitations.
Meet with and present to faculty groups, providing tools and resources for identifying and pursuing funding from private foundations.
Interface with the Duke Office of Research and Innovation and other units engaged in ILN funding opportunities to help develop, refine, and manage the process.
Support major gift officers across Duke Health to navigate the complexities of foundation fundraising and grants administration processes, providing expertise and ensuring compliance with institutional research administration requirements.
Work with colleagues across the institution to collaborate on prospects with joint or multiple interests.
Monitor deadlines and ensure appropriate dissemination of funding opportunities.
Maintain knowledge of requirements in grants administration and apply within context of best practices in cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of non-governmental funders and prospects.
Follow procedures in coordination with the Office of Alumni and Development Records and the Office of Research Administration to ensure effective recording, accounting, acknowledgement and reporting follow-up on all gifts and grants resulting from solicitations.
Develop contact reports and record activities in moves management system and associated tracking systems maintained by the Foundation Relations & Strategic Partnerships team.