Assistant Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations

Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) supports Johns Hopkins’ focus on research, teaching and patient care, and its role as a national and global leader in higher education. We create and foster enduring relationships that result in advocacy and philanthropic support for Johns Hopkins University & Medicine; strengthening the institution through partnerships with donors, alumni, volunteer leaders, faculty, students, staff, and patients.

 

Johns Hopkins University supports a flexible work model which includes four different work modalities. This role has a hybrid work arrangement with an onsite presence of three days per week. The manager will confirm the team’s core onsite days where the majority/all team members will work in the office. Employees who travel on university business can count those days towards their onsite days.

 

The Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) Office of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) helps the school’s mission of transforming society through engineering education, research, and translation by communicating the successes and priorities of Johns Hopkins University and Medicine. We foster enduring relationships with the WSE community and beyond that result in advocacy and philanthropic support for the school and its goals to address the world’s challenges with trusted and ethical engineering solutions. Through our internal and external partnerships, our office seeks to create an environment of equitable collaboration, inclusivity, and creative thinking that drives those goals forward.

 

The Assistant Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations will discover, secure and steward funding from private foundations and corporations for the benefit of the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) and its centers/institutes, departments, faculty, and initiatives related to WSE and will report to the Whiting School’s Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations (Foundation Relations Officer).

 

The Assistant Director will manage a portfolio of foundations and corporations relevant to the work/research performed under the vision and scope of the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering. This position requires keeping up-to-date about the missions and priorities of those external organizations, and ensuring that any opportunities for funding consideration are discovered, evaluated, and potentially pursued.

 

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

 

• Participate in the development of strategies and innovations to advance the work of the Corporate and Foundation Relations unit in WSE and to enhance its value to stakeholders in the school, as well as external partners.
• Lead effort to discover funding opportunities by utilizing various philanthropic and foundation-centered databases, industry publications, peer research, and other resources to build an ongoing schedule/calendar, as well as outreach log, for foundation and corporate grant application deadlines and WSE submissions.
• In conjunction with the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, the Assistant Director will serve as WSE Development’s liaison to the School’s centers and institutes keeping MGOs updated on current projects and funding priorities.
• Research opportunities for and prepare a monthly Funding Digest that details funding opportunities from external sources; Digest format is produced in coordination with the Marketing and Communications Department.
• Monitor and promote JHU’s Limited Submission opportunities to Whiting School faculty and researchers, and aid in their submissions.
• Work in partnership with the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations to maximize revenues from foundations and corporations. This includes
• Identifying, soliciting, and securing funding from foundations and corporations, through both existing relationships and new opportunities/programs
• Assisting faculty directly in discovering funding opportunities, and drafting submissions (e.g., LOIs, concept or white papers, proposals, etc.)
• Working closely with WSE centers and institutes, while collaborating with Hopkins partners in Central Foundation Relations and other entities across the institution
• Maintain unit workflow in JHU’s Development CRM, JHAS, including linking funded activity
• Aiding external partners seeking to collaborate with WSE by connecting them with appropriate faculty working in a specific space; showcasing WSE capabilities in focus areas in an effort to garner funding for research or programming; helping create greater access points for talent pipeline development, connecting with subject matter experts, providing guidance for collaborating on third-party opportunities, etc.
• Coordinating calendars for Director and Assistant Director relevant to internal and external meetings
• Collaborate with WSE leadership to pair foundation focus areas and industry needs with respective WSE areas of research/specific faculty.
• Participate in meetings with WSE faculty and researchers, as well as representatives from industry and foundations.
• Under the leadership of the Director, act as the primary contact with the Center for Education Outreach (CEO) and its individual program managers, as well Engineering Innovation (EI) in WSE’s Pre-College program; this includes researching and identifying (sometime submitting) funding opportunities for CEO and EI programming; drafting letters of inquiry and proposals with area leadership; providing fundraising guidance to the teams; and other items as required.
• Manage a portfolio of prospects and maximize opportunities to match their interests with institutional needs.
• Conduct intermittent travel as necessary to meet with development colleagues or foundation staff/leadership, conference participation, etc.
• Manage special projects for the Associate Dean and Senior Director of Development as assigned.
• Other duties as assigned.

 

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Two years related experience requires, preferably in fundraising and/or academically oriented writing.
• Additional education may substitute for required experience, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.

Preferred Qualifications

• Three years related experience; academic experience preferred.
• Exceptional writing skills (writing samples will be required of finalists for this position).
• Research, proposal development and/or grant writing experience.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated ability to interact with individuals at all organizational levels.
• Excellent attention to detail and demonstrated ability to meet deadlines.
• Ability to work independently and to take appropriate initiative in advancing the goals of the office.
• Intellectual curiosity, commitment to excellence, and dependable professional judgment.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks and changing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

 

All applicants are expected to uphold the university’s core values which includes diversity and inclusion. All staff treat people with dignity and respect by being fair and consistent. We demonstrate an open-minded approach to understanding people regardless of their race, gender, age, national origin, religion, ethnicity, disability status or other characteristics. We show respect for the beliefs and traditions of others; encourage and promote practices that support cultural diversity; and discourage behaviors or practices that may be perceived as unfair, biased, or critical toward people with certain backgrounds.