Senior Director, Recognition & Stewardship

The Senior Director, Recognition & Stewardship, Donor Experience and Engagement, leads the strategy, oversight, and delivery of Dana‑Farber’s donor recognition and stewardship ecosystem for a VIP donor base (Trustees, individuals, foundations, corporations, and legacy supporters). This leader builds and continuously improves the policies, processes, and quality controls that underpin donor‑facing commitments—ensuring work is accurate, timely, consistent, and scalable amid increasing volume and complexity.

Responsible for assisting the entire Division with reaching financial goals. A central focus of this role is enabling Dana‑Farber’s comprehensive campaign, including the Future Cancer Hospital project, by ensuring recognition and stewardship offerings and commitments (especially complex naming opportunities, gift agreements, fund reporting, and executive communications) are clear, compelling, executable, and delivered with excellence—strengthening donor confidence and accelerating philanthropic momentum.

The role reports to and partners closely with the Assistant Vice President, Donor Experience & Engagement, and supports senior Dana‑Farber leadership by demonstrating strong judgment, executing crisp executive communications, and delivering confident cross‑functional leadership. This position’s work location is fully remote with occasional time on‑campus in Brookline, MA. The selected candidate may only work remotely from a New England state (ME, VT, NH, MA, CT, RI).

Located in Boston and the surrounding communities, Dana‑Farber Cancer Institute is a leader in life‑changing breakthroughs in cancer research and patient care. We are united in our mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS, and related diseases. We strive to create an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment where we provide compassionate and comprehensive care to patients of all backgrounds, and design programs to promote public health particularly among high‑risk and underserved populations.

We conduct groundbreaking research that advances treatment, we educate tomorrow's physician/researchers, and we work with amazing partners, including other Harvard Medical School‑affiliated hospitals.

• Lead and oversee recognition and stewardship strategy and framework for campaign priorities (especially the Future Cancer Hospital), including major naming opportunities, milestone communications, and long‑term stewardship plans; benchmark peer practices and recommend enhancements to build donor trust and sustain momentum.
• Partner with frontline fundraisers and campaign leadership to translate donor motivations into clear, compelling recognition and stewardship plans that align with donor preferences, institutional policies, and operational realities.

• Own and evolve Division‑wide recognition/stewardship policies and governance, including documenting standards and exceptions, and recommending updates to support campaign priorities and increasing volume.
• Build an integrated stewardship “system” across touchpoints (agreements, naming, acknowledgements, fund reporting, announcements, executive communications), ensuring policies and processes interlock cleanly and reduce rework.

• Oversee the gift agreement process and draft complex gift agreements independently using approved templates, tailoring terms to donor intent while ensuring clarity, feasibility, and alignment with policy.
• Coordinate reviews efficiently; maintain version control and documentation standards; and continuously improve templates and intake tools in partnership with key stakeholders including Fiscal and Regulatory Management and Office of General Counsel.

• Manage donor naming and giving opportunities, including those tied to the Future Cancer Hospital and other campaign priorities: named space, signage and recognition displays, named programs/centers, named faculty positions, endowed and restricted funds, and additional strategic initiatives.
• Coordinate cross‑functionally (e.g., Facilities/Operations, Faculty Engagement, Communications, Finance) to ensure naming commitments…