Foundation Director - Annual Giving

At Houston Methodist, the Foundation Director Annual Giving position is responsible for the development, implementation and management of a comprehensive annual giving program. Utilizing industry best practices, will design creative fundraising strategies across digital and print channels to grow donor participation, strengthen the giving pipeline, and maintain consistent, brand-aligned messaging. This position will design and implement analytical tools to measure and ensure program effectiveness. Will work collaboratively and effectively with Foundation leadership, internal key stakeholders, and vendors to manage the annual appeal calendar and deliver timely and compelling solicitations. This position will work closely with other development professionals to develop and implement effective pipeline strategies that move donors through the continuum to major and principal gift levels.

The Foundation Director Annual Giving position responsibilities include managing the daily work activities of the work unit/department staff, ensuring quality, productivity, functional excellence and efficiency while assisting management in accomplishing strategic and operational objectives. In addition, this position provides guidance to staff and is responsible for staffing, budget compliance, contributing to staffing decisions such as hiring and terminating employment, coaching and counseling employees on work-related performance, and assisting in the development and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure a safe and effective work environment. This position also implements training, monitoring and operations initiatives that secure compliance with ethical and legal business practices and accreditation/regulatory/government regulations.

Note: The ideal candidate is a strategic, data-driven fundraising leader with experience in operating and collaborating in a complex philanthropic environment. Selected candidate should be able to build and scale annual giving programs, use analytics to drive results, manage operations effectively, and introduce innovative fundraising practices while modeling Houston Methodist's ICARE values.

FLSA STATUS
Exempt

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Bachelor's degree

EXPERIENCE

• Eight years of experience in fundraising, with a focus on annual giving, marketing or related field, of which one year must have been in a people management role in healthcare. For internal employees, seven years of experience in relevant field with HM performance that demonstrates leadership responsibility

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through ongoing skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
• Ability to effectively communicate through a variety of channels with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles; engages the recipient(s) and helps them understand and retain the message
• Demonstrates the ability to interact with others in a way that gives them confidence in one’s intentions and those of the organization
• Ability to use appropriate interpersonal styles and techniques to gain acceptance of ideas or plans; modifying one’s own behavior to accommodate tasks, situations and individuals involved
• Demonstrates leadership qualities and critical thinking through self-direction initiative and effective interpersonal skills and oral/written communication skills
• Ability to identify and understand issues, problems and opportunities, comparing data from different sources to draw conclusions; using effective approaches for choosing a course of action or developing appropriate solutions; taking action that is consistent with available facts, constraints and probable consequences
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment
• Demonstrates flexibility and adaptability in the workplace
• Experience working with donor management software and other systems to gather, assess, and report on data and metrics.
• Proficiency with donor management software and CRM systems
• Knowledge of current fundraising trends and best practices

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Performs management responsibilities of selection, scheduling, supervision, retention, and evaluation of employees in the department. Provides development and mentoring of staff. Meets or exceeds threshold goal for department turnover. Develops direct reports to perform these same functions.
• Provides fair and consistent leadership and communication to maintain a competent and engaged employee group by conducting regular department meetings to review policies and procedures and operational matters, rounding on all employees, completing performance appraisals, conducting new hire feedback sessions, coaching/corrective counseling, and providing recognition/commendations to achieve desired outcomes. Provides timely guidance and feedback to help others strengthen specific knowledge/skill areas needed to accomplish a task or solve a problem.
• Facilitates and promotes effective team dynamics and teambuilding strategies within and between departments; participates and/or leads and facilitates department process improvements as needed.
• Meets or exceeds threshold goal for department and/or system metrics on employee engagement indicators.
• Maintains positive relationships and outcomes with marketing vendors/contacts (printers, designers, promotional, writers, etc.) and collaborates with Foundation staff, hospital leadership and faculty, and other stakeholders to develop and implement annual giving appeals and collateral produced in a variety of media.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Plans and organizes day-to-day department operations, schedule and activities. Sets priorities and functional standards, giving direction to staff as necessary to ensure the best possible delivery of service and high customer/patient satisfaction.
• Drives department service standards and activities to impact department and/or system score for patient/customer-based satisfaction, through role modeling and fostering accountability. Serves and actively participates on various entity committees as a voice for the department.
• Works effectively with Foundation leadership and team to implement strategies for increased levels of participation in annual giving to include new donor acquisition, donor retention, gift growth rate and donor lifetime value.
• Develops coordinated matrix of communication and solicitation strategies involving email, direct mail, and phone/mail, all focused on shaping a tradition of increasing annual support.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Ensures a safe and effective working environment; monitors and/or revises the department safety plan and/or any specific accreditation/regulatory required safety guidelines, including infection control principles. Monitors and confirms staff maintain their required credentials that demonstrate competency per accrediting agency or department guidelines as applicable.
• Uses and optimizes information systems to enhance operations; supports entity-specific performance improvement and data management/analysis functions.
• Employs a proactive approach in the optimization of safe outcomes by monitoring and improving the department workflow, using peer-to-peer accountability, reporting accidents, near misses, and/or adverse events immediately per department protocol and identifying solutions via collaboration. Adopts lean principles in driving process improvements. Role models situational awareness, using teachable moments to improve safety.
• Monitors self and employee compliance with policies, procedures, and System HR Standards of Practice and performs associated actions upon non-compliance (i.e., focal point review requirements, disaster plan, in-services, influenza immunization, wage and hour, standard hours, timely termination submission, timely timecard approval, etc.).
• Leads and manages Foundation annual giving strategy. Ensures all communication efforts are in alignment with system brand, communication and digital strategies through ongoing communication and engagement with Foundation leadership, corporate marketing and PR. Identifies and coordinates opportunities to enhance the donor experience through content and materials produced by team.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Assists in the development of department budget and ensures that the department operates in a cost-effective manner. Manages/audits department expenses within approved budget parameters, ensuring that the department meets the budgeted/flex revenue and/or expense targets on a monthly and annual basis. Develops staffing plans and schedules to meet department/patient needs that reflect understanding of the importance of cost-effectiveness.
• Implements department strategies to achieve financial target and staffing needs, developing others to do the same, through optimizing productivity, supply/resource efficiency, minimizing incidental overtime and overtime percentage, and other areas according to department specifications.
• Manages Foundation annual giving program expenses within budget and provides recommendations for improvement. Proactively seeks opportunities to optimize spending and results for hospital, service lines and Foundation.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Identifies and implements innovative solutions for practice or workflow changes to improve department operations or other department-specific measures by leading unit projects and/or other department/system directed/shared governance activities. Supports change initiatives, maintaining effectiveness when experiencing major changes in work responsibilities or environment; adjusts effectively to work within new work structures, processes, requirements or cultures.
• Proactively evaluates processes; recommends and implements action plan(s) for change; follows through to ensure effective, sustainable change. Participates in the development and implementation of new procedures and the review and revision of existing procedures.
• Identifies opportunities and takes action to build strategic relationships between one’s area and other areas, teams, departments, and units to achieve business goals.
• Seeks opportunities to identify developmental needs of self and staff and takes appropriate action. Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Completes and updates My Development Plan (MDP) on an ongoing basis. Conducts conversations with staff on their development.
• Serves as a thought leader by recommending to Foundation leadership annual giving strategies in support of Foundations goals.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform: No
• Scrubs: No
• Business professional: Yes
• Other (department approved): No

ON-CALL*
*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. Disaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.

• On Call* No

TRAVEL**
**Travel specifications may vary by department**

• May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area Yes
• May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area Yes

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Bachelor's degree

EXPERIENCE

• Eight years of experience in fundraising, with a focus on annual giving, marketing or related field, of which one year must have been in a people management role in healthcare. For internal employees, seven years of experience in relevant field with HM performance that demonstrates leadership responsibility