Director, Development

Position Summary

Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) seeks to recruit a talented and experienced fundraising professional for the position of Director of Development to make significant contributions to the advancement of health equity in pursuit of health justice. The successful candidate will be a passionate, creative, and mission‑driven professional to join our growing team of Resource Development Professionals. This team supports current activities and has just completed MSM’s historic $500M Comprehensive Campaign through the major expansion of campus infrastructure, addition of new degree programs, and the development of regional medical campuses and research collaborations across the U.S. and the world.

This is a public‑facing role, a key relationship builder who works closely with institutional funders, with an emphasis on foundations and leaders on behalf of MSM. As such, this individual must model our core organizational values of being bold, collaborative, and adaptive to change. The ideal candidate will have a firm understanding of established fundraising principles and techniques, strong project and time‑management skills, and a track record of superb interpersonal, written, and professional communication and relationship‑management skills.

• Drive foundation‑focused fundraising efforts to advance health equity, biomedical research, interdisciplinary education, and community engagement.
• Collaborate with the VP of Philanthropy and AVP Philanthropy to design and execute a comprehensive engagement program for foundation prospects.
• Manage a portfolio of 80–120 foundation prospects, executing strategies for programmatic, capital, and endowment building campaigns.
• Translate complex program ideas into compelling proposals and collateral materials for investment.
• Represent the Advancement Office at cultivation and fundraising events.
• Ensure adherence to MSM Advancement protocols for gift processing, acknowledgment, prospecting, soliciting, and stewarding.
• Create written reports for individuals and foundations, faculty updates, acknowledgment letters, and respond to requests from faculty, donors, and colleagues.
• Partner with faculty and advancement colleagues to build the prospect base through identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of new donors.
• Initiate development events for donors and prospective donors to showcase unique opportunities for support.
• Track progress and results in the CRM system.

• Fundraising Expertise:
  Strong understanding of fundraising principles and techniques, with experience in managing foundation relations and philanthropic portfolios.
• Relationship Management:
  Exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to build and maintain relationships with individual donors, foundation leaders, faculty, and community influencers.
• Communication:
  Superior written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate MSM programs and initiatives for fundraising purposes.
• Project Management:
  Proven ability to manage multiple priorities, projects, and deadlines in a fast‑paced environment.
• Leadership:
  Demonstrated leadership and consensus‑building skills.
• Strategic Thinking:
  Entrepreneurial thinker with strong problem‑solving skills and the ability to execute strategic moves.
• Integrity and Discretion:
  High level of professionalism, integrity, and discretion in handling confidential information.
• Creative Problem Solving:
  Agile thinking to build out a viable corporate engagement plan for short‑term and long‑term support.

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university.
• 5–7 years of experience in major campaigns, fundraising, and foundation relations with a progressively growing philanthropic portfolio.
• Experience in program design, evaluation, and community engagement efforts.
• Excellent proposal writing skills with the ability to articulate program designs and evaluation plans for foundation‑based funding proposals.
• Strong time management, organizational skills, and detail orientation.
• Proven analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Experience in a dynamic environment with a commitment to meeting deadlines.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and fundraising‑related software (e.g., Blackbaud Raiser's Edge, Salesforce, etc.).

• Advanced degree or CFRE.
• Experience in higher education fundraising, particularly in academic medicine.
• Extensive network of foundation contacts and a successful track record in foundation philanthropy.
• Experience in a high‑growth organization, scaling teams and departments.
• Commitment to MSM’s mission, vision, and core values.

Morehouse School of Medicine offers reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.