Vice Chancellor for Advancement

Overview

GENERAL SUMMARY OF POSITION: 

Reporting directly to the Chancellor and serving as a member of the Executive Management Council, the Vice Chancellor for Advancement provides strategic leadership for the University's comprehensive advancement program and serves as its chief philanthropic officer. The Vice Chancellor is responsible for developing and executing a bold vision for philanthropy that advances UMass Chan's mission, strategic priorities, and long-term aspirations.

Leading a talented advancement team, the Vice Chancellor will oversee all aspects of fundraising, alumni engagement, campaign strategy, donor relations, foundation and corporate engagement, advancement operations, and stewardship. They will drive the expansion of UMass Chan’s reach by identifying, cultivating, and pursuing new donor relationships while deepening engagement with existing supporters. Working collaboratively with University leadership, faculty, academic departments, the University of Massachusetts Foundation, and partners across UMass Memorial Health, the Vice Chancellor will strengthen a culture of philanthropy, foster meaningful institutional partnerships, and elevate UMass Chan's philanthropic profile among regional, national, and international audiences.

The Vice Chancellor will leverage UMass Chan's extraordinary scientific, educational, and clinical accomplishments by connecting donors to the full continuum of discovery, education, clinical innovation, and community impact. This leader will help position philanthropy as a strategic driver of institutional priorities, not simply a means of funding them. Success will be measured not only by philanthropic results, but by the ability to build organizational capacity, inspire institutional confidence, and position Advancement as one of the University's most trusted strategic partners.

This leader will be instrumental in strengthening alignment with leaders across UMass Memorial Health to explore shared philanthropic opportunities and create a seamless donor experience.

The ideal candidate will bring a minimum of eight years of fundraising leadership experience, preferably in a global and/or healthcare organization, as well as the proven ability to diversify and expand philanthropic pipelines at a national scale. A motivated self-starter, this leader will thrive in entrepreneurial environments poised for tremendous growth.

Responsibilities

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute a comprehensive advancement strategy aligned with the University's mission, vision, and strategic priorities.
• Serve as the University's chief advancement strategist and trusted advisor to the Chancellor on philanthropic opportunities and donor engagement.
• Foster a culture of philanthropy that engages faculty, academic leadership, trustees, volunteers, alumni, grateful patients, corporations, foundations, and community partners.

Fundraising & Donor Engagement

• Lead all aspects of comprehensive fundraising, including annual giving, major gifts, principal gifts, planned giving, corporate and foundation relations, grateful patient philanthropy, and future campaign planning.
• Personally lead the identification, cultivation, pursuit, solicitation, and stewardship of a portfolio of the University's most significant philanthropic relationships, demonstrating initiative in identifying, engaging, and securing new donors whose interests align with UMass Chan's aspirations.
• Proactively identify, qualify, and engage new individual, corporate, and foundation prospects to grow UMass Chan's philanthropic pipeline and position the institution within new networks of philanthropic influence.

Organizational Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing advancement organization built upon collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Strengthen advancement infrastructure, technology, reporting, and analytics to support strategic decision-making and organizational effectiveness.
• Establish clear goals, performance expectations, and measurable outcomes across the advancement enterprise.

Partnership & Institutional Engagement

• Establish trusted partnerships with faculty, researchers, clinicians, academic leadership, and the University of Massachusetts System to identify philanthropic priorities and strengthen donor engagement.
• Engage and support faculty to heighten their unique roles as ambassadors and partners in philanthropy.
• Collaborate with leadership across UMass Memorial Health to advance donor-centered strategies that support shared institutional priorities while respecting each organization's unique mission and governance.
• Partner with Marketing and Communications to elevate UMass Chan's visibility and celebrate the impact of philanthropy on research, education, and patient care.

Qualifications

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in advancement as both a senior level manager and frontline gift officer, with a record of accomplishment leading an advancement team in higher education.
• A distinguished record of advancement leadership, including demonstrated success personally cultivating, soliciting, and securing philanthropic investments while leading high-performing fundraising organizations.
• A proactive, entrepreneurial approach to fundraising, characterized by curiosity, initiative, and persistence. The successful candidate will be energized by identifying untapped opportunities, opening new doors, building relationships from the ground up, and actively pursuing philanthropic partnerships rather than waiting for opportunities to emerge.
• Demonstrated success identifying and expanding philanthropic opportunity through thoughtful donor engagement, foundation and corporate partnerships, alumni relations, volunteer leadership, and emerging donor strategies that broaden and diversify institutional support.
• A proven ability to build, lead, and strengthen advancement organizations by aligning people, systems, resources, and strategy with ambitious institutional goals. Experience leading organizations through growth, transformation, or organizational redesign is highly valued.
• Exceptional strategic leadership skills, with the ability to develop and execute a long-term vision for advancement, establish meaningful performance metrics, evaluate organizational effectiveness, and foster a culture of accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Outstanding communication skills and executive presence, with the ability to translate complex scientific, educational, and clinical initiatives into compelling philanthropic opportunities. An exceptional storyteller who can articulate UMass Chan's distinctive strengths, elevate the institution's profile, and inspire confidence among donors, alumni, volunteers, faculty, corporate partners, foundations, and community leaders.
• Demonstrated success establishing trusted relationships across highly matrixed organizations. The successful candidate will possess exceptional political acumen, emotional intelligence, and a collaborative leadership style that enables them to work effectively with faculty, clinicians, researchers, senior leaders, trustees, volunteers, and external partners while navigating complex organizational dynamics with diplomacy and credibility.
• An appreciation for the role philanthropy plays in accelerating scientific discovery, advancing education, expanding clinical innovation, and improving the health of communities. Experience working within academic medicine, research-intensive universities, healthcare organizations, or similarly complex environments is strongly preferred.
• Intellectual curiosity and the ability to quickly understand emerging research, scientific innovation, and clinical priorities, translating those opportunities into meaningful philanthropic investments and strategic partnerships.
• Strong operational and financial management skills, including experience leveraging data, technology, and analytics to strengthen advancement operations, inform strategic decision-making, and maximize organizational effectiveness.
• An authentic, accessible leadership style characterized by humility, optimism, integrity, resilience, and a genuine commitment to developing high-performing teams. The successful candidate will be energized by building relationships, empowering others, celebrating success, and creating an environment in which people feel valued, engaged, and inspired to contribute.
• Ability to carry out the essential functions of this position, with reasonable accommodation if disabled.
• Ability to travel frequently to meet donors and prospects both domestically and internationally.
• A Bachelor’s degree.

Additional Information

Lindauer, a global search and talent firm, has been retained to conduct this search on behalf of UMass Chan Medical School. Consideration of candidates will continue until the position is filled.

If you are interested in applying for this position, please submit a resume through the Lindauer website.