System Director, Enterprise Stewardship & Philanthropic Engagement

Tufts Medicine • Boston, MA

8d • Onsite

About The Position

This role focuses on raising critical philanthropic funds for Tufts Medicine from individuals, corporations, and foundations. This includes critical functions such as development operations (reporting, gift and fund management, database administration, prospect development), corporate & foundation engagement, development communications, engagement with clinicians, patients, and individual donors, case development, and activities that support these functions. In addition, this role focuses on performing one or more of the following Development Leadership duties: Identifies donors and motivates donors to make gifts to the organization. Cultivates relationships with donors, maintains donor database, develops donor communication, participates in special events, and acknowledges gifts. May be responsible for developing and managing planned giving programs. A management role that supervises employees focusing on tactical, operational activities within a specified area, with the majority of time spent overseeing area of responsibility, planning, prioritizing and/or directing the responsibilities of employees. Goal achievement is typically accomplished through performance of direct and/or indirect reports. A role that directs a department or small unit that includes multiple teams led by managers and/or team Leaders. Responsibilities typically include: ownership of short to mid-term (1-3 years) execution of functional strategy and the operational direction of the Department, problems faced are often complex and require extensive investigation and analysis, and requires ability to influence others to accept practices and approaches, and ability to communicate and influence executive leadership. Job Overview This position provides strategic leadership for institution-wide stewardship and donor experience initiatives, with a primary focus on principal gift fulfillment for complex, service line–specific philanthropic campaigns. This position ensures transformational gifts are stewarded with clarity, accountability, and measurable impact aligned to donor intent and enterprise priorities. In addition, this position oversees the Annual Fund, Community Fundraising, and Special Occasion Giving programs, ensuring a cohesive, data-informed donor journey from entry-level giving through principal gift engagement. This position collaborates closely with frontline development officers, clinical and academic leaders, marketing and communications, and advancement operations to deliver best-in-class stewardship and sustained philanthropic growth.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management, communications, business administration, or a related field.
• Eight (8) years of progressive experience in development, donor relations, stewardship, and community fundraising.
• Supporting principal and seven-figure gifts, including fulfillment, reporting, and donor engagement.
• Proven success leading enterprise-wide stewardship or donor engagement programs.
• Working with CRM systems and data-driven fundraising strategies.
• Strategic Stewardship Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead comprehensive stewardship strategies that strengthen donor engagement, reinforce trust, and ensure meaningful recognition and impact reporting aligned with institutional priorities.
• Principal Gift Fulfillment and Accountability: Expertise in overseeing the fulfillment of principal and transformational gifts, ensuring donor intent is honored and funds are deployed in alignment with institutional priorities while tracking outcomes and communicating impact.
• Service Line–Specific Philanthropic Strategy: Ability to collaborate with clinical and organizational leadership to develop targeted philanthropic strategies that align donor interests with priority programs and service lines.
• Data-Informed Decision-Making: Strong analytical skills with the ability to use fundraising and donor engagement data to guide strategic decisions, evaluate program effectiveness, and identify opportunities for growth.
• Executive Presence and Relationship Management: Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to build credibility and manage relationships with senior leadership, donors, board members, and key stakeholders.
• Team Leadership and Program Development: Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing teams while building scalable programs that support organizational goals and advance philanthropic impact.
• Strong project management, communication, and cross-functional leadership skills.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in nonprofit management, public administration, business administration, or a related field.
• Ten (10) years of progressive experience in development, donor relations, stewardship, and community fundraising.
• Experience in academic medicine, healthcare, higher education, or complex nonprofit organizations.

Responsibilities

• Leads enterprise-wide strategy for principal gift stewardship and fulfillment, ensuring complex and multi-year gifts are executed in alignment with donor intent and campaign commitments.
• Develops and oversees service line–specific stewardship frameworks for high-impact philanthropic priorities.
• Partners with clinical, academic, and operational leaders to translate philanthropic investments into clear outcomes, milestones, and donor-facing impact reporting.
• Establishes and tracks measurable benchmarks for principal gift fulfillment, including timelines, reporting cadence, engagement touchpoints, and impact deliverables.
• Serves as a strategic advisor to gift officers on stewardship strategy for top-tier donors and prospects.
• Designs and implements a comprehensive enterprise stewardship strategy integrating donor recognition, reporting, engagement, and communications across all giving levels.
• Ensures consistent stewardship standards, messaging, and compliance across service lines and fundraising units.
• Oversees personalized stewardship plans for major and principal gift donors, including impact reports, leadership acknowledgments, and engagement opportunities.
• Leverages CRM and analytics to monitor stewardship activity, donor engagement, and fulfillment progress.
• Provides strategic oversight for the Annual Fund, ensuring alignment with enterprise priorities and integration with major and principal gift pipelines.
• Leads community fundraising and third-party giving programs, establishing frameworks for donor experience, compliance, branding, and stewardship.
• Oversees special occasion giving programs (e.g., grateful patient, tribute, memorial, and milestone giving) to ensure timely acknowledgment, impact communication, and donor retention.
• Analyzes performance metrics to drive growth, optimize donor segmentation, and inform strategy across all programs.
• Leads, mentors, and develops staff responsible for stewardship, annual giving, community fundraising, and donor engagement.
• Collaborates closely with frontline fundraisers, marketing/communications, advancement operations, and executive leadership.
• Contributes to campaign planning and proposal development to ensure stewardship and fulfillment expectations are embedded from the outset.
• Supports policy development related to gift acceptance, stewardship standards, donor recognition, and engagement practices.
• Establishes and tracks key performance indicators related to stewardship effectiveness, donor retention, fulfillment timelines, engagement outcomes, and pipeline progression.
• Produces regular reports and dashboards for senior leadership highlighting performance, risks, and opportunities.
• Continuously evaluates and enhances stewardship practices using data, donor feedback, and peer benchmarking.

Benefits

• The base pay ranges reflect the minimum qualifications for the role. Individual offers are determined using a comprehensive approach that considers relevant experience, certifications, education, skills, and internal equity to ensure compensation is fair, consistent, and aligned with our business goals.
• Beyond base pay, Tufts Medicine provides a comprehensive Total Rewards package that supports your health, financial security, and career growth—one of the many ways we invest in you so you can thrive both at work and outside of it.

What This Job Offers

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