Associate Chief Development Officer - Major Gifts

Company: Houston Methodist
Location: Houston
Posted on: June 2, 2025

Job Description:

At Houston Methodist, the Associate Chief Development Officer (ACDO) for Major Gifts position is responsible for directing the fundraising efforts of a newly created team of development professionals that is charged with qualifying new major gift donors, soliciting major gifts supporting all areas of HMH, and serving as liaisons to 20+ service lines across the Houston Methodist System. The ACDO cultivates relationships with major gift prospects and donors, volunteer leaders, physicians, and key hospital leaders and constituents and drives all activities in the assigned constituent areas relative to the Campaign.The ACDO position responsibilities include overseeing the activities of the department staff, ensuring quality, productivity, functional excellence and efficiency to accomplish strategic and operational objectives. In addition, this position is accountable for employee engagement, adequate staffing levels, budget development and compliance, staffing decisions such as hiring and terminating employment, coaching and counseling employees on work related performance, and developing and implementing policies and procedures to ensure a safe and effective work environment. This position also ensures training, monitoring and operations initiatives are implemented which secure compliance with ethical and legal business practices and accreditation/regulatory/government regulations.
PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Directs, develops and implements strategic and operational/high level projects and processes either through independent/highly autonomous work or through the facilitation of work teams to enable the effective and efficient completion of objectives.
  • Oversees management of and ensures development for staff to meet overall objectives in terms of quality, service and cost effectiveness. Provides timely guidance and feedback to help others strengthen specific knowledge/skill areas needed to accomplish a task or solve a problem. Directs management responsibilities of selection, scheduling, supervision, retention, and evaluation of employees.
    • Meets or exceeds threshold goal for department turnover and/or system metrics on employee engagement indicators.
      • Provides leadership and communication to maintain a competent and engaged employee group by conducting regular department meetings to review policies and procedures and operational matters, rounding on all employees, completing performance appraisals, conducting new hire feedback sessions, coaching/corrective counseling, and providing recognition/commendations to achieve desired outcomes.
        • Identifies opportunities and takes action to build strategic relationships between one's area and other areas, teams, departments, and units to achieve business goals. Drives the promotion of teamwork within and between departments; participates and/or leads and facilitates department process improvements as needed.
          • Maintains a portfolio of high-level prospective donors to HM.
            • Identifies, qualifies cultivates, solicits and stewards prospective major gift donors.
              • Leads and coordinates with the Volunteer Relations and Special Events departments to support strategic enlistment and use of councils, volunteers and events for HM and assists with events that support key volunteer and donor pipeline development as appropriate.
                SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
                • Oversees department operations, designated projects, schedules and activities as needed to ensure that goals or objectives are accomplished within the prescribed time frame. Sets priorities and functional standards, giving direction to staff as necessary to ensure the best possible delivery of service and high customer/patient satisfaction.
                  • Drives department service standards and activities to impact department and/or system score for patient/customer-based satisfaction, through role modeling and fostering accountability. Serves and actively participates on various entity committees as a voice for the department.
                    QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
                    • Ensures a safe and effective working environment; monitors and/or revises the department safety plan and/or any specific accreditation/regulatory required safety guidelines. Responsible for staff maintenance of credentials and competencies, per accrediting/ licensing agency and/or department guidelines as applicable.
                      • Employs a proactive approach in the optimization of safe outcomes and information systems by monitoring and improving the department workflow and enhancing operations, using peer-to-peer accountability and identifying solutions via collaboration. Implements process improvements utilizing tools such as lean principles. Role models situational awareness, using teachable moments to improve safety.
                        • Responsible for employee compliance to policies and procedures and performs associated actions upon non-compliance (i.e., licensure/certification compliance, focal point review requirements, disaster plan, in-services, influenza immunization, wage and hour, standard hours, timely termination submission, timely timecard approval, etc.).
                          FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
                          • Develops and manages department operational and capital budgets, approvals, and ongoing maintenance of the department(s), ensuring operation in a cost-effective manner. Proactively identifies and plans for capital needs related to current equipment and future department projects. Ensures staffing plans and schedules meet department needs that reflect understanding of the importance of cost-effectiveness.
                            • Creates department strategies to achieve financial target and staffing needs, through optimizing productivity, supply/resource efficiency, minimizing incidental overtime and overtime percentage, and other areas according to department specifications.
                              • Achieves minimum agreed upon personal annual fundraising targets including oversight of targets for assigned team. Drives timelines for solicitation and reporting for self and team.
                                • Helps determine assigned teams' annual fundraising targets in alignment with the Foundations overall fundraising targets.
                                  GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
                                  • Identifies and implements innovative solutions for practice or workflow changes to improve department, entity or system operations by leading unit projects and/or other department/ system-directed activities. Proactively leads task forces and committees. May represent HM at assigned community or professional organization meetings.
                                    • Drives change initiatives, maintaining effectiveness when experiencing major changes in work responsibilities or environment; adjusts effectively to work within new work structures, processes, requirements or cultures. Partners effectively with stakeholders as appropriate.
                                      • Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Completes and updates My Development Plan (MDP) on an on-going basis. Conducts conversations with staff on their development and MDP.
                                        • Develops and maintains relationships inside and outside of the organization that enhance the organization's ability to integrate donors and potential donors into the community.
                                          • Develops and executes high level innovative strategies for obtaining major/principal/transformational gift donations and donor recognition and stewardship through the identification and strengthening of philanthropic pipelines. Leads assigned team in strategy development.
                                            • Collaborates with physicians and Development Communication and Donor Marketing staff in crafting effective communications and proposals to support major gifts and campaign fundraising as appropriate.
                                              This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive; the employee will also perform other reasonably related business/job duties as assigned. Houston Methodist reserves the right to revise job duties and responsibilities as the need arises.
                                              EDUCATION
                                              • Bachelor's degree required
                                                • Master's degree preferred
                                                  WORK EXPERIENCE
                                                  • Seven years of fundraising experience to include three years in a people management role
                                                    • Academic medical center and/or large university experience preferred
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Keywords: Houston Methodist, Houston , Associate Chief Development Officer - Major Gifts, Executive , Houston, Texas