Executive Director of Development, WVU Medicine

Job Summary

West Virginia University Foundation is seeking a strategic, dynamic, and results-driven leader to serve as the Executive Director of Development (EDOD), WVU Medicine with focus on clinical programs and departments. This position is responsible for planning, implementing, and overseeing comprehensive fundraising programs to support the university’s mission, priorities, and long-term strategic goals. The EDOD will lead and manage development efforts for several key clinical WVU Medicine programs, providing direct supervision to fundraising teams.

This EDOD role seeks an accomplished fundraising professional with proven experience in managing complex, multi-unit development programs, building strong donor relationships, and fostering collaborative partnerships across WVU Medicine.

Duties and Responsibilities

Essential Functions and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Provide day-to-day management of the development operations for:
  • The WVU Eye Institute
  • The WVU Heart & Vascular Institute
• Lead, mentor, and supervise a team of development professionals assigned to these units, establishing performance goals and supporting professional development.
• Develop and execute individualized fundraising strategies for each unit, in alignment with university-wide campaign initiatives and funding priorities.
• Collaborate closely with assigned unit leaders in the management of unit fundraisers
• Foster close collaboration between unit fundraisers and their assigned unit leaders, faculty, and university administrators to identify funding needs, articulate compelling cases for support, and support donor engagement activities
• Ensure effective donor qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies across the assigned units and other areas of support identified
• Track and report on fundraising progress, donor pipeline development, and team performance using CRM and data analytics tools
• Lead prospect relationship-building efforts and solicitation of private philanthropic support for WVU Medicine clinical areas, with a focus on major ($50K+) and principal gift ($1M+) donors. Create and manage a personal portfolio of prospects and donors (including individuals, foundations, and corporations) for solicitation on behalf of the faculty and leadership across WVU Medicine clinical departments
• In addition to management areas of unit fundraisers as outlined above, other purview areas of this position include:
  • The Rosenbaum Family House
  • J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital/Campus Grateful Patient Program
  • Other departments with promising grateful patient prospect pipelines such as but not limited to orthopedics, urology, and family medicine.
• Manage a personal portfolio of high-capacity donors and prospects with the capacity to make major gifts, with a focus on donors within these other purview areas for support
• Collaborate closely with unit leaders, faculty, and university administrators to identify funding needs, articulate compelling cases for support, and support donor engagement activities
• Work closely with central partners in the WVU Foundation to capitalize on resources in annual giving, planned giving, foundation/corporation relations, alumni relations, donor relations, communications and marketing to support the priorities of the RNI
• Responsible for meeting personal annual metrics/key performance indicators for fundraising based on qualification, solicitation, and total philanthropic support received
• Expand the base of support by continued implementation of a grateful patient program, including training cohorts of faculty and clinical partners, in collaboration with the VP of Development for WVU Medicine & Health Sciences