Executive Director, Foundation & Corporate Partnerships

CASE; Denton (TX); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of North Texas System is seeking an Executive Director to lead a foundation-forward advancement strategy, focusing on major national and regional private foundations. You will cultivate, solicit, and steward foundation gifts and grants while aligning corporate engagement with UNT priorities.

You will supervise a CFR team, report to the Associate Vice President for Development, and partner with UNT Foundation and other units to advance institutional priorities and research

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related field and eight years of increasingly responsible leadership and/or management experience or any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.

Responsibilities

• Fundraising Management: Works with advancement and development colleagues, faculty, deans, unit directors, volunteers, administration, and staff to identify, cultivate, and solicit major private foundations as the primary focus of the role, while also pursuing select corporate and corporate foundation opportunities aligned with UNT's strategic priorities.
• Fundraising Management: Manages a portfolio of high-capacity foundation prospects and partners, cultivates relationships with foundation decision-makers, guides solicitation strategy, and advances complex proposals for transformational gifts and grants.
• Fundraising Management: Works closely with the UNT Foundation, Advancement Services, development colleagues, the Division of Research and Innovation, and the Office of Grants and Contracts to prepare competitive foundation proposals and align philanthropic opportunities with institutional and research priorities.
• Fundraising Management: Sets and pursues ambitious goals for increased foundation support, including growth in foundation funding, pipeline development, proposal/submission volume, and long-term partnership activity over a multi-year period.
• Research and Proposal Development: Conducts prospect research and maintains in-depth knowledge of UNT priorities, faculty strengths, research initiatives, and foundation funding interests to identify high-value alignment opportunities.
• Research and Proposal Development: Participates in structured strategy sessions with colleagues, faculty, deans, research leadership, and unit partners to coordinate foundation prospect identification, engagement strategy, proposal development, solicitation, and follow-up for national and regional foundations.
• Research and Proposal Development: Monitors, analyzes, and shares foundation giving trends, emerging funding initiatives, and national philanthropic priorities to inform proactive outreach, proposal strategy, and pipeline development.
• Research and Proposal Development: Guides faculty and academic partners in translating complex research, academic programs, and institutional priorities into compelling foundation concepts, letters of inquiry, proposals, and stewardship narratives.
• Management of Stewardship and Donor Relationships: Provides comprehensive, foundation-specific stewardship, including tailored impact reports, grant deliverable tracking, and other measures of accountability that demonstrate outcomes and build long-term trust with foundation partners.
• Management of Stewardship and Donor Relationships: Oversees foundation gift and grant documentation, invoicing, expenditure tracking, scholarship and fellowship award coordination, and other post-award activities to ensure funds are used and reported appropriately.
• Management of Stewardship and Donor Relationships: Monitors and enters all foundation and corporate activity in the database system in an accurate and timely manner, and works with CFR staff to steward donors through reports, engagement opportunities, events, and publicity.
• Collaboration and Communication: Works closely with internal and external partners to advance foundation-first fundraising strategies and pursue select corporate opportunities where there is clear alignment with UNT priorities.
• Collaboration and Communication: Works collaboratively with the Division of Research and Innovation, Office of Grants and Contracts, the President’s Chief Corporate Relations and Government Affairs Officer, deans, faculty, and colleges/units to align philanthropic foundation engagement with institutional research, academic, and public impact priorities.
• Collaboration and Communication: Provides guidance, training, and consultation to faculty, development colleagues, and campus partners on best practices in foundation grant seeking, proposal positioning, and strategic foundation engagement.
• Collaboration and Communication: Must be collaborative and demonstrate exceptional oral and written communication skills.

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Job description

The University of North Texas System is seeking an Executive Director to lead a foundation-forward advancement strategy, focusing on major national and regional private foundations. You will cultivate, solicit, and steward foundation gifts and grants while aligning corporate engagement with UNT priorities.

You will supervise a CFR team, report to the Associate Vice President for Development, and partner with UNT Foundation and other units to advance institutional priorities and research