Assistant Director, Discovery Program

Assistant Director, Discovery Program

The Discovery Program utilizes an innovative approach leveraging data, donor engagement, direct marketing and fundraising workflows to engage and grow the pipeline of individual giving donors. This program, a component of Philanthropy's leadership giving strategy, works closely with several internal stakeholders including direct marketing, prospect development and gift officers throughout Philanthropy's Individual Giving team. The primary purpose of the Assistant Director, Discovery Program is to support MD Anderson's mission and help achieve Philanthropy's fundraising and engagement goals by providing a premium philanthropic experience for donors. This position leverages digital and virtual engagement to transition annual giving donors to a personalized, meaningful relationship with the institution, while passionately representing MD Anderson's core values to advance philanthropic support for institutional priority programs, research and patient programming. This position reports to the Executive Director of Leadership Giving. This position will manage a cohort of 1,000+ annual giving donors to facilitate the progressive transition of donors through the donor continuum from the direct marketing program to individual giving. The Discovery Program will actively identify and frequently pre-qualify this segment of donors with a goal to develop donors' lifelong relationships with MD Anderson, ensuring interested donors are involved at a level, and in opportunities, where they are joyfully engaged and best able to support the institution. The ideal candidate is adept in professional and sophisticated communications, an empathetic listener who handles interpersonal relationships maturely, thoughtfully (especially in sensitive situations), is urgent in their approach and can work with individuals from different backgrounds while responsibly handling confidential information. Additionally, the candidate must be organized, driven, apply creative and entrepreneurial thinking, possess a high degree of self-motivation and integrity, technologically savvy while skilled at navigating and using databases, familiar with CRM systems and entering contact reports. The Assistant Director must provide excellent customer service, articulate a strong and compelling case for support and exercises analytical thinking skills with a spirit of collaboration.

Job Specific Competencies :

• Stakeholder Engagement (60%) : Display the ability to serve and cultivate relationships with annual giving / leadership giving donors in an effort of donor-centric service and prequalification. Display social awareness, professional etiquette, and the ability to interact and build rapport with donors, faculty and other institutional stakeholders. Engage with varied constituencies with social fluency and garner their trust as to influence donor behavior. Appropriately align donors to giving opportunities and orchestrate and facilitate meaningful engagements.
• Collaboration and Teaming (30%) : Actively partner with donors, peers, faculty, and divisional stakeholders on the investigation, transition and flow of donors for proper engagement and other projects. The Assistant Director will develop networks and participate in cross-functional activities to deliver on stakeholder engagement. The Assistant Director will be able to work cooperatively with all stakeholders, contribute to the success of collaborative work teams and support completion of initiative or project to achieve stated goals.
• Perception and Attentiveness (10%) : Accurately assess interests of prospective donors; organize and present information in thoughtful and engaging ways, constantly shift between multiple activities and sources of information, maintain situational awareness, institutional awareness and adeptly navigate cross functional prospect teams in support of donor engagement and stewardship plans.

Education : Required : Bachelor's Degree

Work Experience : Required : Two years direct fund-raising experience (does not have to include solicitation experience or portfolio management experience). Preferred : Experience in customer service / service recovery, inside sales or solutions sales experience. Must be comfortable initiating and managing multiple outbound communications daily, including calls, emails and follow-ups to engage and connect with donors. Ability to maintain a high level of consistent productivity. High degree of diplomacy, emotional intelligence, ethical sensitivity, cultural sensitivity and commitment to confidentiality. Demonstrated track record of using tact and diplomacy in communications with a wide variety of personalities.

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, paid time off, retirement, tuition benefits, educational opportunities, and individual and team recognition.