Major Gift Officer

Chordoma Foundation; United States; Remote; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and dental insurance

401K with company matching

Paid holidays + PTO

Sabbaticals and professional dev

Job summary

Chordoma Foundation, based in the United States, is seeking a Major Gift Officer to lead donor development from a fully remote team. You will build relationships with donors, qualify prospects, and manage a personal portfolio to accelerate fundraising for chordoma research.

This role reports to the Head of Philanthropy, requires travel about 40%, and offers a comprehensive benefits package and the flexibility to work from anywhere in the US.

Qualifications

• Minimum five years managing a portfolio of mid-level or major gift donors.
• Proven track record meeting revenue targets and growing gifts year over year.
• Ability to translate science into donor-centered funding opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Build genuine, lasting donor relationships and qualify new major gift prospects.
• Develop and execute cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies that deepen engagement and increase giving over time.
• Use calls, texts, email, and in-person visits to engage donors where they are.
• Collaborate with Engagement to prepare donor communications, proposals, and impact reports.
• Keep Salesforce CRM current with interactions, strategies and outcomes.
• Travel ~40% for donor and prospect meetings and related events.

Skills

Portfolio management

Major gifts

Face-to-face meetings

Donor communications

CRM Salesforce

Tech-savvy

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Salesforce

Wealth screening tools

Job description

Chordoma is a rare bone cancer of the skull and spine. For 20 years, the Chordoma Foundation has been transforming what's possible for people affected by this disease, helping them navigate it while relentlessly pursuing better treatments.

Together with a global community of patients, families, doctors, researchers, and supporters, we've built resources and clinical networks that help patients access expert care, while driving science that is bringing new treatment options to patients at an unprecedented pace. Our investments in research, including through our own laboratory, have helped bring more than a dozen new therapies into clinical trials and are now accelerating the discovery of new drugs. Behind this progress is a community of donors united by a conviction that chordoma can be solved, and willing to put significant resources behind it.

Now, our most impactful work lies ahead as we take on a larger role in treatment development, streamline clinical trials, and drive toward the first drug approvals for chordoma. Realizing this future means taking on bigger challenges than ever before, and significantly growing our resources to match our ambition. That's where our Major Gift Officer comes in. You'll help lead this growth by building meaningful relationships with donors, showing them what's becoming possible, and inviting them to invest in the next wave of progress.

You’ll have the autonomy to shape your portfolio, the flexibility of a fully remote, fast-moving team, and the opportunity to build genuine relationships across our community of patients, family members, and other supporters, all working to make chordoma a manageable disease.

OVERVIEW

• New, full-time position
• Fully remote—we do not expect to return to an in-person office setting
• Reports to the Head of Philanthropy
• Frequent (~40%) travel for donor and prospect meetings, plus a few team and community events per year

RESPONSIBILITIES

Our ideal candidate thrives with considerable autonomy, embraces technology, is genuinely interested in how science can improve lives, and is eager to travel to spend meaningful time with the people who make our work possible.

This mission is personal to us, and ideally it already feels personal to you, too. We’re especially interested in candidates who have some connection to chordoma or another cancer or rare disease.

In this role, you’ll:

• Build genuine, lasting relationships with donors and prospects
• Identify, qualify, and engage new major gift prospects, continuously building and refreshing your own pipeline
• Develop and execute personalized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies that deepen engagement and increase giving over time
• Intentionally use the right channel at the right time (calls, texts, email, and in-person visits) to use resources efficiently and meet donors where they are
• Collaborate with Engagement staff to prepare warm, clear, persuasive donor communications, including proposals, impact reports, and stewardship materials; translate complex scientific and research initiatives into donor-centered funding opportunities people are excited to support
• Ensure donors receive timely, thoughtful recognition and see the impact of their generosity firsthand
• Facilitate giving through various vehicles (e.g., outright gifts, pledges, donor-advised funds, stock gifts, employer matching, planned giving, etc.), so donors can give in ways that suit them best
• Keep our CRM (Salesforce) useful and current by consistently recording interactions, strategies, and outcomes
• Leverage additional tech platforms such as task- and file-management, wealth screening, prospect research, and AI tools to drive revenue
• Work hand-in-hand with our Research and Patient Services staff, building the internal relationships that will help you surface the most compelling funding needs and connect with the patients and family members who wish to give back

QUALIFICATIONS

• At least five years personally managing a portfolio of individual mid-level or major-gift donors
• Excitement about, and demonstrated experience, maintaining a high volume of face-to-face donor and prospect visits
• A proven track record of beating revenue targets, with a clear pattern of year-over-year growth
• Ability to translate complex scientific and medical information into clear, compelling, donor-centered communications, preferably demonstrated through experience in healthcare, medical research, or grateful-patient fundraising
• Extraordinary relationship-building skills with the ability to build close, trusting bonds with donors, colleagues, and other stakeholders
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to leverage technology to work efficiently
• High levels of drive, intrinsic motivation, and self-sufficiency

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, including:

• 100% employer-sponsored health and dental insurance plans
• Life, vision, and disability insurance
• 401K account with company matching
• 11 company holidays plus 20 days of annual paid time off
• Eligibility for paid sabbaticals at 5 and 10 years of tenure
• Support for professional development, learning, and skills building
• A fully remote role with the ability to work from anywhere in the US
• A highly nimble, efficient, and tech-enabled work environment
• Personable, hard-working, and high-performing colleagues who are deeply committed to our day-to-day work, the people we serve, and each other
• Genuine connections with the patients and families whose lives your work will touch