Senior Director of Institutional Giving

Position Title:

Senior Director of Institutional Giving

Position Type:

Regular

Hiring Range:

$129,000- $161,265 per year, compensation will be based on education, experience, skills relevant to the role, and internal equity.

Pay Frequency:

Annual

POSITION PURPOSE

The Senior Director of Institutional Giving will be a senior contributing member of the Institutional Giving team, supporting the faculty, staff, and leadership of Santa Clara University to create lasting and mutually beneficial relationships and funded partnerships with major foundations, corporations, and philanthropic organizations. Institutional Giving works closely with academic schools and colleges, interdisciplinary centers, academic leadership, and select non-academic divisions to secure philanthropic gifts, grants, and sponsorships for projects and programs identified as University priorities. Supporting the growth of the University’s research portfolio, this role will lead the design, creation, and implementation of formal processes to increase institutional gifts and grants for faculty research and academic programs, maturing the grant-seeking culture across all campus units. The Senior Director will identify and disseminate high-potential requests for proposals (RFPs), offer discipline- and career-stage-appropriate mentoring and grantsmanship workshops for faculty and program leaders, collaborate with research-active faculty and faculty teams to develop compelling concepts and proposals. This role will manage an independent solicitation portfolio, emphasizing the development of complex proposals for submission to major private and corporate foundations, often with multiple internal stakeholders and external partners.

The successful candidate will be a professional with excellent verbal and written communication, a strategic thinker, and a problem solver capable of helping teams hone and communicate structured project plans, compelling impact propositions, and competitive measurement and evaluation strategies. A successful candidate must possess strong relationship management skills, intellectual curiosity and creativity, and a demonstrated capacity to organize high-level proposal submissions on behalf of the Institutional Giving team. Familiarity working with subject-matter experts, sponsored research and legal personnel, corporate and foundation executives, and community leaders is desired. Applicants should be accustomed to and comfortable with receiving and applying feedback and advice to improve performance. Additionally, applicants should demonstrate a history of success in their prior field/position and an ability to lead and project manage interdisciplinary project teams and workflows to successfully achieve goals. The primary focus is on funding proposals above $100,000.

This position is eligible for a remote work schedule in the following states: California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and Illinois

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
 

Specifically, the Senior Director will:

• Consistently achieve fundraising performance metrics in support of priority initiatives set forth by university leadership and high-potential faculty-driven initiatives.

• Design, implement, and manage structured and informal processes to review, evaluate, and track a comprehensive portfolio of requests for proposals (RFPs), funding announcements, research-active faculty, and information on limited submission opportunities.

• Mentor and accompany faculty and program leads in crafting distinctive concepts, build high-impact partnerships, and generate compelling proposals that are competitive for funding. This includes advising on alignment and strategic positioning with funder priorities, reviewing and revising proposals to maximize appeal, and providing documentation for applications and agreements.

• Develop and implement grantsmanship workshops that are aligned to the career stages and disciplinary scholarship of faculty and/or program leads.

• Coordinate stewardship and reporting requirements for all managed prospects, collaborating with the Assistant Director of Institutional Gifts and Stewardship. 

• Work closely with university administrators, faculty, and other development personnel to build awareness and expand positive fund-raising relationships with foundations.

• Partner with the Sponsored Projects Office to support effective collaboration and provide resources to faculty on common work, promoting a culture of grant seeking at SCU and strengthening the capacity of the faculty to compete favorably for regional, national, and international research gra