Sr. Executive Director, Transformational Philanthropy- Solicitation/ Stewardship

City of Hope • Irwindale, CA

12d

About The Position

Join the transformative team at City of Hope, where we're changing lives and making a real difference in the fight against cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening illnesses. City of Hope’s growing national system includes its Los Angeles campus, a network of clinical care locations across Southern California, a new cancer center in Orange County, California, and treatment facilities in Atlanta, Chicago and Phoenix. Our dedicated and compassionate employees are driven by a common mission: To deliver the cures of tomorrow to the people who need them today.
At City of Hope, our mission is to turn hope into reality by advancing breakthrough research, delivering compassionate clinical care, and educating the next generation of scientific leaders. The Senior Executive Director, Transformational Philanthropy – Solicitation and Stewardship plays a pivotal leadership role within the Office of Philanthropy, driving the development, solicitation, and stewardship of $10M+ transformational gifts aligned with institutional priorities. Reporting to the AVP, Transformational Philanthropy, this leader serves as a subject matter expert and program activator, providing concierge-level strategic and operational support to Transformational Gift Officers (TGOs). This role liaises heavily with the Donor Experience and Philanthropy Communications teams and partners closely with executive leadership—including the Chief Philanthropy Officer (CPO) and CEO—to ensure alignment, execution excellence, and an elevated donor journey from solicitation through stewardship.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business, philanthropy, or a related field (or equivalent combination of education and additional experience).
• 7+ years of progressive experience in fundraising, development, or a related nonprofit environment, including supervisory or management experience.
• Demonstrated success in securing and supporting $10M+ commitments and managing complex donor portfolios through the full donor lifecycle, with particular expertise in solicitation and stewardship.
• Experience in philanthropy communications, donor relations, or frontline fundraising (Major Gifts, Principal Gifts, or Transformational Gifts).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a track record of developing compelling proposals, briefings, impact reports, and executive-level materials.
• Proven project management skills, with the ability to create and implement systems that track progress, ensure documentation, and drive measurable outcomes.
• Experience collaborating across complex healthcare, academic, or similarly matrixed organizations, engaging physicians, faculty, administrators, and executive leadership.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, discretion, and integrity while navigating sensitive donor and institutional matters.
• Advanced proficiency with CRM systems and standard business software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, project management platforms), along with flexibility to travel and work occasional irregular hours in support of donors and executive leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a comprehensive concierge support program for Transformational Gift Officers (TGOs), ensuring strategic alignment, accountability, and progress toward ambitious fundraising goals.
• Oversee and mentor managers who serve as TGO operations partners, establishing clear processes, performance standards, and documentation protocols.
• Serve as the lead operations partner to assigned TGOs, developing deep knowledge of donor portfolios and tracking strategic moves, touchpoints, and next steps.
• Facilitate documentation and review of cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies, ensuring clarity, consistency, and metrics-based performance outcomes.
• Partner closely with Donor Experience, Philanthropy Communications, Leadership Development (LD), Events, and Stewardship teams to coordinate briefings, proposals, impact reports, and engagement plans.
• Contribute to gift ideation, concept and proposal development, gift agreement coordination, and high-level writing support for donor communications and strategy materials.
• Manage processes to ensure alignment with Office of Philanthropy (OOP) and system leadership on transformational gift priorities, solicitation strategies, and funding concepts.
• Support the AVP in engaging the CEO and CPO in transformational fundraising by preparing strategy briefs, leading TG updates, and developing key executive moves for top prospects.
• Supervise Transformational Gift Strike Teams, coordinate cross-functional communications with faculty and administrators, and ensure stewardship and communications plans are executed with excellence and precision.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager