About City of Hope

Focused on eliminating cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses, City of Hope has established itself as a world-class leader in transforming the future of health. Raising the philanthropic resources to fuel its leading-edge research, its exceptional and compassionate clinical care, and its advancement of biomedical education and training, is a vital component of City of Hope’s model of success.

Our Mission: City of Hope is transforming the future of health. Every day we turn science into practical benefit. We turn hope into reality. We accomplish this through exquisite care, innovative research and vital education focused on eliminating cancer and diabetes.

City of Hope’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

City of Hope’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategy aims to formulate a policy and systems-focused approach that addresses social determinants of health and responds to implicit bias and structural racism. Since its inception more than a century ago, City of Hope has been dedicated to providing equitable treatment to all the people we serve. This focus on inclusion is the cornerstone of our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) strategy and reflects our commitment to those founding principles. Our mission, “to infuse DEI into the DNA at City of Hope,” will serve as our north star and help ensure the tenets of diversity, equity and inclusion are an integral part of our day-to-day engagement with each other, our patients, their families and caregivers, and our broader community.

Office of Philanthropy Vision Statement

Philanthropy is at the heart of City of Hope’s mission in turning “hope into reality.” We offer an extraordinary donor and volunteer experience, one that invites, delights, and deepens relationships over time. City of Hope Philanthropy is one of a handful of premiere, exceptionally-regarded, and top-producing programs in the country.

Recruiting and developing exceptionally talented team members are hallmarks of the Office of Philanthropy. We demonstrate our commitment to our people through continuous learning and development opportunities and aim to foster an environment where each individual can thrive, personally and professionally. We increase the effectiveness of our team through transparency and accountability, building trust within teams; celebrating diversity and inclusion; enhancing team communications and removing roadblocks to maximize activation.

Position Summary

The Senior Executive Director for Transformative Philanthropy (SEDOD) is charged with leading innovative engagement and experience strategies for City of Hope’s most generous supporters. Reporting to the Associate Vice President of Donor Experience, and a key member of the Donor Experience and Philanthropy Marketing Communications program vertical, the SEDOD is a key member of a collaborative team, working closely with colleagues within the Office of Philanthropy as well as key stakeholders and partners across City of Hope.

The SEDOD, Transformative Philanthropy will be responsible for identifying, coordinating, and implementing transformative and principal giving donor focused strategies in partnership with OoP leadership and frontline gift officers. The SEDOD will be expected to have strong attention to detail, a strong collaborative spirit, and a high focus on innovation. The SEDOD is a critical player in moving key donors through the pipeline, educating OoP and campus partners about their role in impactful engagement/experience with a focus on donor growth strategies.

The SEDOD will be integral in supporting the AVP, Donor Experience to implement a highly collaborative, and constituent driven, donor centric relations and experience program. The SEDOD will play an instrumental role in building and strengthening relationships across City of Hope. In this role, the SEDOD will lead the strategy for growing the understanding (and role) of donor engagement/experience across the OoP.

The ideal candidate will have several years of experience managing innovative and forward-thinking stewardship plans for high-level donors, excellent project management skills and the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and internal and external business partners. They will be creative, strategic, and possess skills and experience in systems/process development to help structure and focus the work of a busy team. The SEDOD is collaborative, data-driven, organized, and strategic.

City of Hope is an ideal organization for professionals seeking to contribute to an ongoing transformation in the impact of the donor engagement and program building to support an initiative-based campaign. This position involves a high-level of interaction with a diverse group of individuals, including leadership, physicians, grateful patients and their families, volunteers, faculty, and staff. The position will require occasional work evenings and weekends.

Key Responsibilities include:

Collaborate with internal and external constituents, including gift officers and City of Hope leadership to develop, plan, and implement 1-1 (or small group/cohort) donor engagement opportunities and donor experiences that share gratitude and inspire philanthropy at all levels, leading to deeper relationships between donors and City of Hope.

• Working in partnership with the AVP, Donor Experience, develop innovative, strategic, and actionable stewardship plans for donor experience/engagement at various gift levels and types, with an emphasis on the TG/PG frameworks. The overarching goal is to deepen strategic engagement and investment across all levels of giving.
• Working in collaboration with AVP and gift officers, develop and manage dynamic, forward-thinking, stewardship plans for transformative gift donors. Participate as a member of the TG/Individual Giving Strategy team to provide input on donor experience elements for top strategies.
• Working closely with the SDOD, Transformative Philanthropy, the SDOD, Donor Experience, and SDODs, Impact Reporting, develop and manage a comprehensive and coordinated engagement platform for TG and PG donors that can, ultimately, be transformed and repurposed to serve Major and Planned Giving constituents en masse.

Lead the effort to continue the shift for City of Hope culture to move from a “transactional stewardship” mindset to one that is proactively donor experience centric.

• Work collaboratively with SDODs across Donor Experience to create synergy and align strategies for leadership deployment, donor experience, impact reporting, behavioral societies, and recognition.
• Utilize knowledge of industry best practices to independently make decisions and solve problems.
• Support activities to evaluate the efficacy of engagement and experience opportunities.
• Achieve operational objectives by contributing information and recommendations to strategic plans and reviews.
• Once donor persona programs are in place, work with the AVP, Donor Experience in incorporating donor persona strategies throughout areas of responsibility.
• Provide leadership and vision for SDOD, Transformative Philanthropy, SDOD, Donor Experience, and SDODs, Impact Reporting.

Collaborate with Office of Philanthropy colleagues to evolve donor philanthropy through deepened engagement.

• Serve as a strategic partner on individual/cohort engagement strategy elements with key team members including, but not limited to signature campaign events, transformative gift donor event(s); recognition society related events and programming; roundtable discussions; unique donor events related to new facilities or a significant moment for the City of Hope community.
• In partnership with Strategic Talent Management and with support from Donor Experience team members, develop training/learning modules and best practices that provide overviews of critical engagement programs for the onboarding of new staff and effective partnership of existing staff.
• Collaborate with colleagues on a shared Donor Experience and Philanthropy Marketing Communications calendar of donor relevant engagement opportunities, to be updated at regular intervals.
• Partner with SDOD, Donor Experience, OoP stakeholders, and key partners across the Enterprise to create formal systems for allocation and tracking restricted contributions.
• Develop cross-campus partnerships to improve donor engagement initiatives across City of Hope.
• In close partnership with the AVP, Donor Experience and the AVP, Philanthropy Marketing Communications, support an annual communications and engagement plan for donors.
• Partner with Campaign Strategic Initiatives colleagues in ensuring that “big ideas” and other key elements of the campaign framework and enterprise strategic plan are woven throughout the donor experience.
• Oversee the timing of scheduled individual/cohort stewardship (engagement) communications and activities, working closely with the Donor Experience team.

Donor Experience Tools and Technology, CRM and Digital Content

• Work in tandem with SDOD, Donor Experience, to develop strategy, implementation, and use of CRM donor experience module, as well as opportunities to leverage data to enhance and streamline workstreams.
• Create and implement an annual ThankView campaign strategy, serving as primary point of contact for questions and projects.
• Collaborate in creating online content that supplements or enhances donor experience or recognition efforts.

Serve as a role model for the Office of Philanthropy. Includes:

• Act as spokesperson for City of Hope activities as requested.
• Participate in search committees, task forces and other special projects.
• Demonstrate an ability to solve problems, overcome hurdles, and navigate sensitive issues with discretion, tact and strong communication skills.
• Develop and maintain productive relationships with City of Hope faculty and staff to support fundraising initiatives for COH priorities.
• Ensure activities are tracked in the Advancement database of record.
• Possess thorough knowledge of the key fund-raising priorities for COH

Basic education, experience and skills required for consideration:

• Bachelor’s Degree or Master’s in business, philanthropy or related field
• Minimum 7 years as a frontline fundraiser or donor engagement officer in a complex and rigorous advancement/philanthropy shop.
• 3 years supervisory experience
• Excellent computer skills.
• Demonstrated innovator in progressive frontline or donor relations roles.
• Utilizes knowledge of industry and best practices in donor engagement and strategy to independently make decisions and solve problems.
• Manages timelines and responsibilities for several different projects at once.
• Experience with ThankView or other digital engagement platforms. User of the CRM Stewardship module or similar.
• Led donor engagement/experience strategies in a comprehensive campaign
• Assess changing circumstances throughout the planning process and make recommendations as necessary.
• Collaborative work style with a high degree of attention to detail and follow through in all aspects of work.

Preferred education experience and skills:

• Advanced degree or subsequent experience .
• 10 years as a frontline fundraiser or donor engagement officer in a complex and rigorous advancement/philanthropy shop.

Additional Information:

• The estimated pay scale represents the typical [salary/hourly] range City of Hope reasonably expects to pay for this position, with offers determined based on several factors which may include, but not be limited to, the candidate’s experience, expertise, skills, education, job scope, training, internal equity, geography/market, etc. This pay scale is subject to change from time to time.
• As a condition of employment, City of Hope requires staff to comply with all state and federal vaccination mandates.

City of Hope is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability. #LI-RA