Meharry Medical College
Senior Associate Vice President, Advancement
( Tennessee | On-site )
About the Organization
Located in Nashville, Tennessee, Meharry Medical College is one of the nation’s oldest and largest historically black academic health science centers dedicated to educating physicians, dentists, researchers, and health policy experts.
Founded in 1876 as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee College, Meharry was the first medical school in the South for African Americans. It was chartered separately in 1915.
Today, Meharry includes a medical school, dental school, graduate school and applied computational sciences school; and is home to the Center for Health Policy at Meharry. The degrees include Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.), Master of Science in Public Health (M.S.P.H.), Master of Science (M.S.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees.
Meharry is a United Methodist Church-affiliated institution. A 2010 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine ranked Meharry as one of the nation’s top five producers of primary care physicians. Meharry is also a leading producer of African Americans with Ph.Ds. in biomedical sciences.
In addition to providing quality professional health care education, exemplary patient care, and compassionate community outreach, Meharry Medical College produces the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, a public health journal.
Mission Statement
Meharry Medical College is a global academic health sciences center advancing health equity through innovative research, transformative education, exceptional and compassionate health services and policy-influencing thought leadership. True to its legacy, Meharry empowers diverse populations to improve the well-being of humankind.
Job Description
Position reports to: Senior Vice President
Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Institutional Advancement, the Senior Associate Vice President (SAVP) is the second most senior development officer within Institutional Advancement. The SAVP is responsible for direct oversight of all fundraising programs, including principal, major and planned giving, annual giving, alumni relations, corporate and foundation relations, donor communications, stewardship, prospect research, and the operations that support fundraising activities. The SAVP will manage the Institutional Advancement team, with four direct reports, anticipated to grow to six in the next two years.
The SAVP will carry and cultivate a small portfolio of leadership giving prospects. The primary focus of the SAVP is to develop fundraising plans and through execution of those plans, establish a sound infrastructure for the Institutional Advancement team. They will also implement new metrics established by Meharry to evaluate the performance of individual gift officers and the entire Institutional Advancement team. Additionally, they will build on and expand Meharry’s culture of philanthropy and help maximize the internal capacity and fundraising results delivered by the Institutional Advancement team. With the Senior Vice President, the SAVP will advise on fundraising strategies for the College, including Campaign 150, the College’s $350 million capital campaign, which is scheduled to close in 2026, the 150th anniversary of Meharry.
Within the first 12 to 18 months, the SAVP will work to build a robust Institutional Advancement team that includes frontline officers as well as advancement operations and other supporting functions. This will include evaluating the team’s current capacity and making the necessary adjustments that will help to ensure high performance. Additionally, the SAVP will optimize Institutional Advancement’s organizational structure and establish aspirational yet attainable goals for each team member.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Senior Associate Vice President, Institutional Advancement will have the following primary responsibilities:
•Provide guidance and strategic direction for Institutional Advancement, including structure, staffing, goals, and professional development.
•Oversee the planning and implementation of all programs and activities designed to enhance philanthropic support of the College, including the Campaign 150, by helping to establish goals for all units, and by directing the strategic implementation and assessment of fundraising and engagement strategies to achieve those goals.
•Manage the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of a small portfolio of leadership gift prospects through personal visits and other forms of communication.
•Plan and support all fundraising and constituent activities of the Associate Deans. Where necessary, the Senior Associate Vice President will serve as a proxy for the Senior Vice President.
•Work with the Chair of the Board of Trustees and other leaders on the Board to ensure coordination and continued progress of all fundraising and constituent engagement activities.
•Directly manage four to six professional staff members who have responsibility for annual giving, principal, major and planned giving, alumni relations, corporate and foundation relations, donor communications, stewardship, prospect research, and advancement operations.
•Represent the College at events, to volunteer groups, and in the community with the goal of increasing the visibility of Meharry’s advancement priorities and needs.
QUALIFICATIONS
The ideal Senior Associate Vice President, Institutional Advancement will bring most of the following qualifications and skill sets:
•Ten or more years of progressive advancement leadership.
•Demonstrated experience as a successful fundraiser in a complex and dynamic environment such as a higher education institution, healthcare and hospital system, or voluntary health association.
•Previous capital campaign experience, ideally in a higher education institution.
•The ability to help determine the fundraising priorities of Meharry Medical College.
•A collaborative and inspiring approach that is supported by data-centered rigor and a strong emphasis on accountability.
•Creative and entrepreneurial thinking.
•Leadership presence that is effective with a variety of constituencies, including trustees, faculty, senior administration, and high-level volunteers.
•Authentic appreciation for the role that Meharry Medical College plays as a premier medical college and a Historically Black College and University institution.
•The ability to travel 30%, independently and with advancement team members.
•A Bachelor’s degree is required. A Master’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience would be an advantage.
Contact email for applicants jhenderson@mmc.edu