Headquartered in Evanston, Illinois, NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) is a comprehensive, fully integrated, healthcare delivery system that serves the Chicago region. The system includes four hospitals in Evanston, Glenview, Highland Park and Skokie. NorthShore employs approximately 10,000 staff and has 2,400 affiliated physicians, including a 900 physician, multispecialty group practice with some 100 office locations. Further, NorthShore supports teaching and research as the principal teaching affiliate for the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.
 
The NorthShore Research Institute focuses on clinical and translational research, including leadership in clinical trials, medical informatics and genomics. The NorthShore Foundation is the organization’s primary philanthropic entity. The Foundation raises charitable contributions and engages volunteer friends in support of NorthShore’s ongoing mission to preserve and improve human life.
 
NorthShore has significant capabilities in a wide spectrum of clinical programs and is a Magnet recognized organization, the first in Illinois designated as a system to receive this prestigious honor that demonstrates excellence in nursing. NorthShore is a national recognized leader in the implementation of innovative technologies, including electronic medical records (EMR).
 
Philanthropy helped to establish NorthShore in 1891 and is as vital to the organization’s successful fulfillment of its mission today as it was 125 years ago.
The Opportunity: Senior Director, Fund Development
As a key member of the Foundation’s management team, reporting to the Executive Director, the Senior Director will be responsible for leading and managing a team of accomplished fundraising professionals in the areas of Planned Giving, Major/Principal Giving and Annual Fund. The successful candidate will also have oversight of all Foundation communications, both written and digital, from strategic planning to quality control. Leading others by example as a strong role model and coach, the Senior Director will build trust through authenticity, personal competence and transparency.
 
The Senior Director will demonstrate commitment to engage and develop others through:
 
Effective Information Sharing – Provides the information people need to know to do their jobs and feel good about being a member of the team, unit and/or organization, provides individuals information so that they can make accurate decisions, and is timely with information.
 
Building Effective Teams – Blends people into teams when needed, creates strong morale and spirit in his/her team, shares wins and successes, fosters open dialogue, lets people finish and be responsible for their work, defines success in terms of the whole team, and creates a feeling of belonging to the team.
 
Compassion – Genuinely cares about people (patients and co-workers/direct reports), is available and ready to help, is sympathetic to the plight of others not as fortunate, and demonstrates real empathy with the joys and pains of others.
 
Self Knowledge – Knows personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and limits, seeks feedback, gains insights from mistakes, is open to criticism, isn’t defensive, is receptive to talking about shortcomings, and looks forward to balanced performance reviews and career discussions.
 
The Senior Director, Fund Development will collaborate and build vital relationships with NorthShore’s physician and administrative leadership, other colleagues, community leaders, and individuals, as well as networks which could be instrumental in funding strategic objectives and enhancing the mission and impact of the organization. The Senior Director will work closely with the Foundation’s Executive Director to build the Foundation’s visibility, thereby enhancing fundraising capacity. The Senior Director will have strategic oversight for emerging, established and expanding fundraising programs such as Next Medicine Now: The Campaign to Personalize Medicine, Physician Philanthropy Champions, and the all-patient prospecting program.
 
This position will be filled by an experienced, energetic and dynamic leader.  S/he will bring a strong track record of successful fundraising through various revenue streams, including individual, corporate, and foundation giving for a complex organization with multiple sites and programs. The Senior Director will have documented experience strengthening complex relationships with professional colleagues both within and outside the department, including physicians, healthcare administrators, donors, community partners and other stakeholders.
 
The successful candidate will have strong experience in managing a team of high-achieving and senior level fundraisers, analyzing and strengthening higher-level giving programs, and raising annual, individual, corporate and foundation funding specifically in support of a complex healthcare organization, academic medical center or related entity. S/he will also be knowledgeable in understanding the complexities of modern healthcare and communicating on a high level with physicians, executives, board leadership, colleagues, and highly educated and engaged donors.
 
The six direct reports to the Senior Director, Fund Development include three Directors of Philanthropy, a Director of Planned Giving, a Manager of the Annual Fund and a Fund Development Assistant. The Senior Director will also supervise the work of a contracted Communications professional. The Senior Director will play a key role in helping to optimize the department’s fundraising best practices and return on investment, with a creative outlook to maximize philanthropic growth and operational efficiencies in order to make a lasting impact on how NorthShore approaches philanthropy.
 
Performance Objectives
 
Leadership and Fundraising Management

• Work closely with the Executive Director and the Foundation team to create, prioritize, and implement strategies and departmental goals for the identification, solicitation and stewardship of an active portfolio of prospects and donors, including opportunities to grow the Personalized Medicine and Grateful Patient philanthropy opportunities.
• Track all philanthropic revenue progress toward goals and any variances, and take action and make recommendations to enhance progress towards goals.
• Track key metrics and progress against strategic and tactical goals in an ongoing progress plan, i.e. dollars raised, number of solicitations, pipeline etc.
• Motivate, develop and retain a team of senior fundraising professionals (currently six direct reports) to deliver on specific components of the development pipeline. This includes providing strategic direction for Foundation team members and supervision of assigned Foundation team members, and driving accountability for achieving all goals.
• Provide mentorship and guidance to actively promote the growth and development of the team supervised, including opportunities to learn new skills and advance both personally and professionally.
• Develop and maintain respectful, positive, collaborative and impactful relationships with physicians, other colleagues, volunteers, donors, prospects, the philanthropic community and other partners.
• Play an integral role in advancing the role and importance of philanthropy within the organization’s overall culture.
• Serve as a member of the Foundation’s management team with the Executive Director, Senior Director of Auxiliary & Events, Senior Director of Research & Stewardship, and Senior Manager of Data & Operations.

 
Fund Development Management and Implementation

• Work with the Executive Director to review prospect lists and portfolio assignments and continually work to offer new tools, motivation, and best practices to strengthen the work of the Fund Development team.
• Develop and manage a personal portfolio of individual, corporate and/or foundation donors and prospects as opportunities arise and circumstances dictate.
• Work with the Executive Director to support the organization’s Board and senior leadership team to enhance fundraising activities, strengthen an overall culture of philanthropy, and solicit and close gifts.
• Oversee and ensure integrity of regular reporting on goal achievement to demonstrate progress, identify areas of concern, and revise strategies as needed.
• Track industry trends, strategy and best practices, including educating others and evaluating opportunities for continuous improvement. Act as a resource for current practice and strategy, particularly around current published materials on current industry trends.

 
External & Community Relations

• Serve as an articulate, passionate and visible spokesperson for NorthShore, and as a prominent face of fundraising throughout the organization and in the community.
• Maintain active membership and a strong presence in professional organizations, community groups, and other spaces relevant to the work of NorthShore and its mission.

 
The Qualified Candidate
NorthShore University HealthSystem seeks a strategic, creative, collaborative leader with at least 8 years of experience in development, including progressive, demonstrated experience in managing a team of senior level fundraising professionals and raising funds for a complex healthcare organization, academic medical center or related entity.
 
S/he will have a demonstrated and credible track record of successfully closing personal solicitations of $1 million and above, and working successfully with Boards and Committees on peer to peer solicitation strategy and implementation. S/he will be a high-energy and relationship-focused leader who can drive engagement and get the best out of teams. Knowledge of the topics of medicine, healthcare and the donor climate of Chicago’s North Shore suburbs is strongly preferred.
 

• Demonstrated passion and commitment to the mission of NorthShore.
• Proven ability to identify and build strong internal and external relationships with a variety of volunteers, public leadership, physicians, partner organizations and other stakeholders.
• Track record of success in meeting and exceeding fundraising goals, including demonstrated experience with securing major, high-value gifts from individuals.
• Track record in developing and implementing targeted fundraising strategies to successfully increase revenue.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate internally and externally to facilitate leadership and support for major fundraising initiatives.
• Strong analytic and strategic-thinking skills, with demonstrated ability to create, implement and monitor complex plans and translate those plans into goals and concrete strategies.
• Demonstrated capacity to develop and nurture long-term relationships between organizations and donors culminating in success of philanthropic goals.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication and presentation skills, with the ability to serve as an advocate/spokesperson for the organization and successfully tailor communications to audiences.
• Strong collaboration skills, with the ability to accept feedback and provide coaching and support to others in order to ensure the fulfillment of NorthShore’s mission.
• A strong attention to detail, metrics and reporting.
• Ability to creatively solve problems and overcome obstacles to success.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Suite products; knowledge of Raiser’s Edge or similar donor constituent software is preferred.
• A Bachelor’s degree is required. Advanced degree in the sciences, or CFRE or other relevant advanced certification is preferred.

 
This position offers a competitive salary with highly competitive benefits. All inquiries will be held in strict confidence.
 

More about NorthShore University HealthSystem

In 2014 Advocate Health Care and NorthShore University HealthSystem announced and affiliation agreement, intending to combine to create Advocate NorthShore Health Partners (ANHP). When complete, ANHP will be the largest integrated health care delivery system in Illinois and the 11^th largest not-for-profit health care system in the United States, serving 3 million patients annually. The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals, including from the Federal Trade Commission, with regulatory work ongoing.  
Both organizations say that coming together will create a preeminent health care system, focused on a patient-centered, fully integrated population health delivery model.
The affiliation agreement outlines plans to consolidate balance sheets and a single Board of Directors, as well as a unified mission, vision and strategy. The ANHP Board of Directors will be made up of an equal number of members from Advocate and NorthShore. The Advocate and NorthShore names will continue to be used under the new structure.


To Apply
 
This search is being managed by the Alford Executive Search team of Laura Weinman, Senior Consultant and Heather A. Eddy, CFRE. Questions may be addressed to Ms. Weinman at lweinman@alfordexecutivesearch.com.
 
To apply, candidates must complete the online application by clicking the link at the bottom of the page and thereon submit their cover letter and resume.  To assure confidential tracking of all applicants, no applications will be accepted via email.
 
Alford Executive Search (www.alfordexecutivesearch.com), a division of KEES: Kistner Eddy Executive Services, is a retained search firm dedicated to providing recruitment services of exceptional quality and strengthening the not-for-profit community through professional staffing solutions.