Senior Director of Development, Cancer Programs

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) - a global leader in health sciences and medical innovation - is seeking a visionary, collaborative, and strategic Senior Director of Development, Cancer Programs. Reporting to the Executive Director of Development, Cancer Plus, within the Office of University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR), you will serve as the primary development partner for the Division of Hematology Oncology and work with Division Chief Dr. Krishna Komanduri. In this critical leadership role, you will shape and drive the division's overarching philanthropic strategy while directly supervising frontline fundraising professionals.

Operating with significant autonomy, you will bridge world-class scientific research and clinical excellence with high-capacity donor vision. You will lead frontline major and principal gift solicitations ($250 - $1M+), partner with faculty and clinical leaders across the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, and mentor team members to build transformative philanthropic partnerships that power discoveries and improve outcomes for cancer patients.

Why This Role Is Unique

• Lead Philanthropy for a Premier Division: Serve as the chief development strategist for UCSF's renowned Division of Hematology and Oncology, shaping philanthropic priorities alongside Division Chief Dr. Krishna Komanduri.
• Direct Access to World-Class Leadership: Build trusted partnerships with department heads, institute directors, clinical chairs, and pioneering researchers, translating complex biomedical initiatives into visionary donor opportunities.
• Team Leadership & Mentorship: Directly supervise and mentor frontline fundraising officers (Fundraiser 3 and Fundraiser 4 roles), setting strategic metrics, guiding moves management, and elevating team performance.
• Transformative Principal Gift Scope: Manage a dynamic portfolio of high-net-worth individual prospects, family offices, and grateful patient leads capable of making major and principal investments ($1M+).
• High-Impact Collaborative Culture: Join UDAR's Cancer Plus team in a flexible hybrid role based out of UCSF's 2001 The Embarcadero location, embedded in one of the nation's premier academic development organizations.

Desired Mindset & Competencies

• Strategic Leadership & Talent Mentorship: Proven capability to lead, motivate, and mentor frontline fundraisers while managing complex operational and revenue targets.
• Intellectual Curiosity & Scientific Acumen: Innate passion for cancer research, hematology, and medical innovation, paired with the ability to translate technical concepts into compelling donor cases.
• Navigating Complex Clinical Environments: Deep expertise navigating academic medical centers, developing clinician referral pipelines, and handling high-net-worth grateful patient relationships with discretion and political acumen.

At UCSF's Office of University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR), we're proud to be the kind of place where great ideas can come from anyone, and you can do the most impactful work of your career alongside fantastic colleagues. From our pioneering work in the AIDS crisis to the creation of a silicon brain, you will experience the world-class nature of our work and the difference it makes.

UDAR is a team of innovative professionals who partner with world-class scientists, healthcare providers, and philanthropists to advance breakthrough research and life-changing patient care. We're one of the nation's top fundraising organizations, home to smart, driven people who care deeply about UCSF's mission to advance science and transform health.

Our success comes from the combined talents of many roles: frontline fundraisers who build transformative partnerships with donors; alumni relations professionals who nurture lasting connections with the UCSF community; writers and designers who help tell the university’s story; researchers and analysts who provide critical insights; and operations and information systems experts who keep us running smoothly.

What makes UDAR special? A commitment to growing talent from within, celebrating collective wins, and creating an environment where our staff thrive. Our culture of team-based fundraising is distinctly collaborative and we're always eager to embrace fresh approaches.

Regardless of your role at UCSF you'll be part of a unified team operating at the very top of its game.

Read more about UCSF here

% of timeEssential Function (Yes/No)Key Responsibilities (To be completed by Supervisor)40%

YESManages a comprehensive fundraising program typically in a unit or department.Assignments typically require managing a fundraising staff comprised of both professionals and related administrative support.

Portfolio Management Core Objective: Directly manage and steward a dynamic portfolio of major and principal gift prospects (with capacity of $250k - $1M+), cultivating strategic donor relationships to advance transformative institutional priorities, academic programs, research, and clinical initiatives across assigned units.

• Major & Principal Gift Solicitations: Lead face-to-face and virtual solicitations for major and principal commitments, matching donor vision with high-impact institutional priorities - including strategic seed funding, endowed faculty chairs, capital projects, student scholarships, and specialized research or program funds.
• Complex Moves Management: Design and execute multi-stage cultivation and solicitation plans for high-net-worth individuals, corporate leaders, philanthropic advisors, and institutional partners, strategically moving prospects from initial engagement to multi-year investments in core institutional goals.
• High-Touch Donor & Faculty Stewardship: Deliver customized stewardship - including private briefings with faculty experts and executive leaders, custom impact updates, facility tours, and exclusive symposia - demonstrating how donor investments accelerate institutional impact.
• Portfolio Health & Velocity: Continuously evaluate portfolio performance based on contact quality, proposal conversion, and progress toward major gift revenue targets, actively prioritizing high-capacity prospects while maintaining strong pipeline momentum.

15%

YESSelects, trains, guides and directs staff, and as required, takes corrective action.

Leadership & Stakeholder AlignmentCore Objective: Engage executive leadership, department heads, and faculty partners to elevate high-stakes major gift opportunities, manage faculty advancement capacity, and foster a collaborative advancement culture.

• Team Leadership: Directly manages, mentors, and develops the team in annual performance goals, portfolio metrics, donor visit targets, and moves management pipelines for direct report. Oversees division-level fundraising metrics, ensuring progress toward individual, Division, and Cancer Plus team targets.

• Faculty Coaching, Briefing & Time Management: Prepare and coach faculty partners prior to donor interactions, providing concise briefing materials, clear messaging frameworks, and explicit roles for joint solicitations while respecting and optimizing faculty time constraints.
• Faculty Onboarding & Advancement Education: Orient new and existing faculty to advancement strategies, teaching them how to recognize potential supporters (such as grateful patients or community advocates) and seamlessly partner with development officers.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner seamlessly with central advancement, donor relations, and communications colleagues to ensure unified donor messaging and compliant gift execution.
• Cross-Unit & Multi-Disciplinary Alignment: Serve as a strategic liaison for interdisciplinary initiatives bridging multiple schools, departments, research centers, and campus-wide programs.
• Exclusive Donor & Faculty Engagements: Conceptualize and host intimate donor gatherings, salon dinners, and executive briefings featuring key faculty, institutional leaders, and philanthropic advisors to build community and advance principal gift relationships.

25%

YESImplements and manages fundraising programs and strategies to successfully meet predetermined goals and objectives, ensuring predetermined fundraising goals are met.

Pipeline Development (25%)Core Objective: Systematically identify, research, and qualify prospective major and principal gift donors by building strong, collaborative partnerships with deans, department chairs, institute directors, faculty partners, and professional advisors.

• Faculty Relationship Management & Trust Building: Proactively cultivate trusted, long-term relationships with faculty, researchers, and clinical leaders. Educate faculty on development processes, build alignment around institutional funding priorities, and establish routine touchpoints to uncover donor leads and referrals.
• Academic & Institutional Leadership Alignment: Partner closely with deans, department heads, center directors, and campus leaders to articulate key funding needs and translate emerging projects into viable philanthropic opportunities.
• Proactive Prospecting & Network Expansion: Identify and cultivate high-capacity prospects across executive, entrepreneurial, grateful beneficiaries, and philanthropic networks, actively engaging family offices, wealth managers, and philanthropic advisors who represent ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
• Advisory & Volunteer Board Engagement: Collaborate with volunteer leaders, advisory boards, philanthropic advisors, and institutional advocates to leverage their personal and professional networks for warm, high-level introductions to prospective major donors.
• Intelligence & CRM Discipline: Partner with the prospect research team to analyze wealth indicators, philanthropic trends, corporate transactions, and foundation giving patterns, maintaining meticulous CRM strategy tracking for all assigned prospects.

15%

YESParticipates in short- and long-range strategic planning.

Prospect Strategy & Proposal Writing Core Objective: Develop bespoke cultivation strategies and author sophisticated, highly tailored major gift proposals that translate complex academic, clinical, and research initiatives into inspiring philanthropic opportunities.

• Faculty Priority Translation: Work directly with faculty, researchers, and academic leadership to translate technical, complex work and vision into accessible, visionary, and actionable donor proposals.
• Bespoke Proposal & Case Writing: Author compelling, impact-driven major gift proposals, white papers, letters of intent, and pledge agreements that clearly articulate the transformative potential of strategic academic programs, multidisciplinary projects, and faculty or student support.
• Complex & Structured Giving: Collaborate with planned giving specialists, legal/financial advisors, philanthropic advisors, and family office representatives to structure complex gifts, including endowed chairs, capital naming opportunities, blended commitments, and deferred gifts.
• Individualized Strategy Roadmaps: Formulate multi-year engagement strategies for top-tier individual prospects and their philanthropic advisors, aligning donor passions with institutional strengths and campus-wide strategic goals.

5%

Other Duties as AssignedCore Objective: Maintain flexibility to support broader institutional advancement priorities, special projects, and team-wide campaigns.

• Special Campaigns & Institutional Initiatives: Support comprehensive capital campaigns, institutional milestones, or emergency funding initiatives as directed by advancement leadership.
• Departmental & Team Support: Participate in team planning, staff mentoring, and cross-departmental working groups to enhance advancement processes, templates, and collaborative workflows.

Knowledge, Skills and AbilitiesReq / PrefStrong knowledge of all aspects of fundraising, donor and public relations, including strategies for donor identification, cultivation and solicitation.ReqStrong knowledge of applicable laws, rules, regulations, policies, etc.ReqStrong knowledge of the campus, its achievements, vision, mission, goals, objectives, applicable policies, infrastructure, and current issues of concern.PrefStrong knowledge of management / leadership concepts, principles and best practices.ReqStrong leadership / management skills to select, train, mentor, evaluate and motivate staff.ReqStrong written, oral and interpersonal communications skills and political acumen to establish and maintain good working relationships within all organizational levels and with outside constituencies.ReqStrong skills to meet predetermined goals and objectives, including securing gifts and meeting fundraising goals.ReqStrong strategic planning skills and skills to conceive, design, implement, evaluate and manage fundraising programs and strategies.ReqStrong analytical, critical thinking, problem-solving skills.ReqStrong skills in persuasion / negotiation and strong marketing skills.ReqPrior experience working within a complex academic medical center, higher education environment, or healthcare non-profitPrefKnowledge of oncology, hematology, or complex biomedical research funding structures.PrefBachelor's degree in related area and 8+ years of related experience including

3+ years of supervisory, management experience; and / or equivalent experience / training.

ReqMaster's degree in healthcare administration, business, communications, or related discipline.Pref