Senior Director, Fundraising Strategic Initiatives

Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy

San Francisco (CA)

On-site

USD 160,000 - 180,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

403(b) with company match

Job summary

Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) seeks a Senior Director, Fundraising Strategic Initiatives to elevate fundraising effectiveness, accountability, and growth. This cross-functional leadership role partners with the Chief Organizational Advancement Officer to align strategy, donor engagement, data, and moves management across the organization.

The role emphasizes Salesforce leadership, revenue goal ownership, and strategic program execution, with an emphasis on collaboration and

Qualifications

Project management experience supporting senior executives.
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Ability to turn data into clear insights for leadership.
Excellent written and verbal communication, confidentiality and discretion.
Experience working in fundraising, philanthropy, healthcare, or science is preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead fundraising strategy and initiatives with measurable outcomes.
Serve as Salesforce champion: governance, reporting, forecasting, moves management.
Partner with senior leadership to prepare donor meetings and strategic materials.
Develop dashboards and performance metrics for leadership on revenue and pipeline.
Coordinate cross-functional projects across Advancement, Finance, Marketing, Events and Executive Leadership.

Skills

Project management

Analytical thinking

Executive support

Communication skills

Data-driven decision making

Independent / remote work

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

About Us:

The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) is radically changing the way cancer research is done. Founded in 2016 through a $250 million gift from Silicon Valley entrepreneur and philanthropist Sean Parker, the San Francisco-based nonprofit is an unprecedented collaboration between the country's leading immunotherapy researchers and cancer centers, including Stanford Medicine, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, San Francisco, the University of Pennsylvania, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Gladstone Institutes. The institute also supports top researchers at other institutions, including City of Hope, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Institute for Systems Biology and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

By forging alliances with academic, industry and nonprofit partners, PICI makes big bets on bold research to fulfill its mission: to accelerate the development of breakthrough immune therapies to turn all cancers into curable diseases.

Help us create a world that doesn't fear cancer. Join us. www.parkerici.org

Overview of the Role:

The Senior Director, Fundraising Strategic Initiatives is a high-impact, cross-functional role designed to increase the effectiveness, accountability, and growth of PICI's fundraising program. Reporting to the Chief Organizational Advancement Officer, this position serves as a strategic partner and multiplier across the Advancement team, connecting fundraising strategy, executive priorities, donor engagement, data, moves management, and execution.

The Senior Director will function as a partner to the Chief Organizational Advancement Officer and team, providing high-level coordination, preparation, follow-through, project management, and strategic support, while also owning key fundraising initiatives and revenue goals. A central responsibility will be serving as the Advancement team's strategic point person for Salesforce, ensuring that the CRM is an accurate, actionable source of truth for fundraising activity, prospect pipelines, portfolios, goals, moves management, reporting, and performance.

Reporting Structure and Team

The Senior Director, Fundraising Strategic Initiatives reports to the Chief Organizational Advancement Officer.

Essential Job Functions:

Fundraising Strategy & Strategic Initiatives

Partner with the Chief Organizational Advancement Officer to translate PICI's fundraising priorities into clear work plans, timelines, and measurable outcomes
Participate in high-priority fundraising initiatives from concept through execution, ensuring accountability and momentum
Support development and tracking of quarterly and multi-year fundraising goals across individual giving, major gifts, sponsorships, transformational philanthropy, events, and other strategic priorities
Develop dashboards and reporting mechanisms to monitor progress against revenue, pipeline, prospect, and activity goals
Identify opportunities to improve fundraising effectiveness, eliminate barriers, and accelerate results
Coordinate cross-functional projects involving Advancement, Finance, Marketing, Communications, Events, Programs, and Executive Leadership
Serve as a project management resource for priority institutional fundraising initiatives

Salesforce & Fundraising Data Leadership

Serve as the primary Advancement point person and internal champion for Salesforce
Establish and maintain best practices for prospect management, moves management, portfolio assignments, contact reports, gift tracking, forecasting, and donor stewardship
Partner with Finance, Operations, and Salesforce/technology resources to ensure data integrity and accurate reporting
Develop and maintain fundraising dashboards, reports, and performance metrics for leadership
Ensure fundraising teams consistently use Salesforce to document activity, manage pipelines, and track progress toward goals
Identify opportunities to improve workflows, automate processes, and make Salesforce more useful as a strategic fundraising tool
Train, coach, and support Advancement staff in effective Salesforce utilization
Help translate Salesforce data into actionable intelligence for the Chief Advancement Officer and senior leadership

Executive Partnership

Serve as a trusted strategic partner to the Chief Advancement Officer, operating with a high degree of discretion, judgment, and independence
Manage and prioritize the CAO's strategic fundraising priorities and follow-up items
Prepare the CAO for donor meetings, leadership meetings, board engagements, staff meetings, and other high-priority interactions
Develop briefing materials, donor profiles, meeting agendas, talking points, presentations, and follow-up plans
Track commitments, decisions, deadlines, and next steps to ensure consistent execution
Coordinate complex meetings and communications involving senior executives, donors, board members, and external partners
Anticipate needs and proactively identify issues requiring leadership attention
Serve as a central connector between the CAO and Advancement team to ensure priorities are clearly communicated and executed
Maintain a high level of confidentiality regarding donor information, organizational strategy, personnel matters, and executive communications

Fundraising Performance & Accountability

Support the development and implementation of individual fundraising goals for Advancement team members
Monitor progress against annual revenue and activity targets
Create regular reporting for the CAO and senior leadership that clearly communicates progress, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions
Help establish a culture of accountability, urgency, and measurable performance across Advancement
Track major gift pipeline health, prospect movement, solicitation activity, and anticipated revenue
Identify gaps in the fundraising pipeline and work with fundraising leaders to develop strategies to address them

Special Initiatives & Events

Support strategic fundraising events and special campaigns, including donor strategy, prospect identification, cultivation, solicitation, and follow-up
Coordinate special initiatives tied to PICI's institutional priorities, anniversaries, campaigns, scientific milestones, and other opportunities
Ensure fundraising opportunities are connected across major gifts, events, corporate partnerships, communications, and leadership engagement
Develop post-event and post-campaign reporting to measure revenue, donor engagement, and pipeline outcomes

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

7–10+ years of progressive experience in fundraising, advancement operations, development strategy, nonprofit management, executive operations, or a related field
Demonstrated experience working with Salesforce or another sophisticated fundraising CRM; Salesforce expertise strongly preferred
Strong understanding of fundraising pipelines, moves management, prospect management, donor data, and fundraising performance metrics
Proven project management skills with the ability to manage multiple complex priorities simultaneously
Experience supporting a senior executive in a strategic capacity, preferably within fundraising, philanthropy, healthcare, science, or another mission-driven organization
Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
Ability to turn data into clear insights and actionable recommendations
High level of discretion, professionalism, and emotional intelligence
Ability to work independently and effectively in a remote environment
Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial organization where priorities can evolve quickly
Genuine interest in advancing PICI's mission and the future of cancer immunotherapy

Compensation & Benefits: