Sr Executive Director, Transformational Philanthropy- Portfolio and Operations Management

Join the transformative team at City of Hope , where we're changing lives and making a real difference in the fight against cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening illnesses. City of Hope's growing national system includes its Los Angeles campus, a network of clinical care locations across Southern California, a new cancer center in Orange County, California, and treatment facilities in Atlanta, Chicago and Phoenix. Our dedicated and compassionate employees are driven by a common mission: To deliver the cures of tomorrow to the people who need them today.


At City of Hope , our mission is to turn hope into reality by advancing groundbreaking research, delivering compassionate clinical care, and educating future scientific leaders. The Senior Executive Director, Transformational Philanthropy - Portfolio and Operations Management is a strategic leader within the Office of Philanthropy, responsible for driving operational excellence, portfolio strategy, and early-stage donor cycle management for the Transformational Gifts (TG) program. This role partners closely with Prospect Research and Intelligence (PRIM), Development Operations, and Business/Finance/Data teams to ensure a high-performing, analytics-driven fundraising infrastructure. The ideal candidate brings deep experience in prospect research and development, philanthropy operations, or frontline fundraising (Major, Principal, or Transformational Gifts), along with strong capabilities in data analysis, project management, and people leadership.

As a successful candidate, you will:


Serve as lead operations partner to one or more frontline Transformational Gift Officers (TGOs), providing strategic portfolio insight, moves management oversight, and operational guidance.

• Oversee and facilitate overall department operations in partnership with the AVP, ensuring staff deployment and resources are aligned to program priorities.
• Lead day-to-day team operations, including running weekly team huddles and establishing clear workflows and accountability measures.
• Oversee scheduling and coordination for Chief Philanthropy Officer (CPO), CEO, Market Managers (MM), Clinical Program (CP) leaders, and other key team meetings.
• Support preparation for and execution of Transformational Gifts retreats and leadership convenings.
• Manage project administrators, executive assistants (EAs), and coordinators, providing direction, coaching, and performance oversight.
• Manage departmental budget, oversee the Asana platform for TG project tracking, and ensure proper allocation of operational resources.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of the TG resource library, process documentation, prospect strategy worksheets, and presentation materials.
• Direct onboarding and training initiatives for TG team members to ensure consistent adoption of processes and systems.
• Manage the overall TG portfolio, serving as the primary liaison with PRIM on pipeline development and portfolio management strategy.
• Participate in all TGO portfolio review meetings, support portfolio optimization, and lead Moves Management meetings.
• Develop and monitor program KPIs and analytics, coordinating with Finance on TG forecasting and partnering with Principal Gifts operations on alignment.
• Lead processes related to early stages of the donor cycle, including prospect assessment, qualification, and cultivation strategy development.
• Build and execute a robust prospect qualification process, including comprehensive research assembly and relationship mapping.
• Partner with PRIM to recommend prospect assignments and facilitate new prospect intake and strategy alignment meetings with TGOs and prospect team members.

Your qualifications should include:

• Bachelor's degree in business, philanthropy, data analytics, or a related field (or equivalent combination of education and additional experience).
• 7+ years of progressive experience in prospect research, philanthropy operations, development, or related nonprofit fundraising environments, including supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex fundraising portfolios and supporting frontline fundraising teams (Major, Principal, or Transformational Gifts).
• Strong analytical skills with experience developing and monitoring KPIs, forecasting revenue, and leveraging CRM and data systems to inform strategy.
• Proven project management expertise, including experience managing cross-functional initiatives and operational platforms such as Asana or similar tools.
• Experience partnering with finance and business teams to support budget oversight and revenue forecasting.
• Exceptional organizational and people management skills, with experience supervising administrators, coordinators, or operations staff.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to facilitate strategy meetings and executive-level discussions.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial, and metrics-driven environment within a complex healthcare or academic institution

City of Hope employees pay is based on the following criteria: work experience, qualifications, and work location.

City of Hope is an equal opportunity employer.

To learn more about our Comprehensive Benefits, please CLICK HERE