Executive Director, Institutional and Philanthropic Events Strategy, Execution and Team Leadership

UT MD Anderson Cancer Center•Houston, TX

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Executive Director, Institutional and Philanthropic Events Strategy, Execution and Team Leadership leads a high-performing team responsible for the strategy, planning, and execution of institutional and philanthropic events that advance The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s mission to end cancer. This role oversees a comprehensive portfolio ranging from large-scale campaign launches, signature events, and major fundraisers to smaller, high-touch engagements such as donor-hosted events, institutional groundbreakings, and educational seminars in cities around the country. Serving as a key leader within External Affairs, this individual drives innovative, high-impact event experiences that inspire stakeholder engagement and support philanthropic efforts, including UT MD Anderson’s philanthropic campaigns, goals and objectives. The Executive Director provides strategic direction, operational oversight, and people leadership, fostering a culture of excellence, creativity and collaboration. This role is responsible for establishing structured processes, ensuring financial rigor, and advancing the integration of event and CRM technologies to optimize engagement, gift processing and stewardship. The position requires both near-term execution and long-term strategic planning, establishing a forward-looking roadmap of at least 18 months. The Executive Director builds and maintains strong, trusted relationships with institutional leadership, faculty, board members, donors, and cross-functional partners. As a senior advisor to the Vice President of External Affairs and a member of the External Affairs Leadership Team, this leader plays a critical role in shaping engagement strategies that elevate UT MD Anderson’s mission and impact. This leader also serves as an important collaborator with other leaders to advance strategic and coordinated event execution through the triad model (External Affairs Events, Philanthropic Engagement and Philanthropy).

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in business administration, hospitality management, marketing, communications, or a related field.
Ten years of progressive experience in strategic event planning and execution.
At least five years in a leadership role overseeing a team of event professionals, preferably within an academic medical center, complex healthcare institution, higher education advancement environment, or similar organization.
Demonstrated experience managing large-scale philanthropic and institutional events, including campaign launches and major fundraisers.
Proven track record of financial oversight, including budget development, forecasting, and post-event reconciliation.
History of building and sustaining trusted relationships with senior institutional leadership, faculty, board members, and donors.
Emotional intelligence to navigate complex, high-stakes stakeholder dynamics.
Ability to travel frequently to locations across the United States is required.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree.

Responsibilities

Oversee a broad event portfolio, including: Large-scale campaign launches, signature events, and major fundraising events; Smaller-scale engagements such as donor-hosted events, groundbreakings, and seminars.
Design and deliver creative, compelling event experiences that inspire participation and deepen engagement.
Align event strategies with institutional priorities and philanthropic goals.
When appropriate, lead external events agency engagement with focus on high-level execution with stewardship in mind.
Drive event strategy in support of UT MD Anderson’s philanthropic campaigns, goals and objectives.
Partner with leaders in Philanthropy, Philanthropic Engagement and Marketing to develop robust events strategy that accomplishes broader institutional goals.
Develop high-impact donor engagement events that advance giving priorities and strengthen relationships and deepen connection to our mission.
Create and maintain structured processes for event planning, execution, and evaluation.
Define team workflows, event standards, and expectations.
Ensure consistent application of best practices across all events.
Serve as the primary liaison with finance teams for all event-related budgeting activities.
Oversee budget development, forecasting, allocations, and post-event financial reconciliation.
Ensure financial literacy and accountability across the team.
Lead the adoption and integration of event management platforms (e.g., Cvent) and institutional CRM systems.
Partner with Marketing and Philanthropy teams to streamline systems and improve efficiency in engagement tracking and gift processing.
Balance immediate event execution with long-term planning, maintaining a forward-looking strategy of at least 18 months.
Anticipate future needs and opportunities to enhance engagement and impact.
Responsible for regular reporting of results, success metrics and lessons learned.
Build and sustain strong, high-trust relationships with: Institutional leadership and faculty; Board of Visitors and Advance Team members; Donors and external collaborators; Colleagues across External Affairs, Philanthropy, Institutional Affairs, President’s Office and beyond.
Demonstrate a high level of emotional intelligence in managing complex stakeholder dynamics.
Collaborate with other leaders to advance strategic and coordinated event execution through the triad model (External Affairs Events, Philanthropic Engagement and Philanthropy).
Serve as a senior advisor to the Vice President, External Affairs, and Chief Philanthropy Officer.
Contribute as an active member of the External Affairs Leadership Team.
Provide strategic input on engagement, events, and stakeholder strategy across the institution.
Frequent travel to locations across the U.S. is required to support event execution and stakeholder engagement.
Responsible for building strong relationships with local stakeholders, donors, and collaborators through in-person engagement.
Ensures consistency, quality, and excellence in onsite event execution across all locations.
Leverages onsite experience to inform long-term strategy, enhance event impact, and strengthen national program cohesion.
Leads, develops and provides direct oversight for a team of 10+ events professionals, including four direct reports responsible for successfully executing events portfolio.
Provide strong leadership, coaching, and professional development to foster an engaged, high-performing, collaborative team culture.
Establish clear roles, expectations, and performance goals.
Provide opportunities and encourage team members to participate in Leadership Institute programs and external professional development courses.