Assistant Vice President, Foundation Relations

ABOUT US

The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (TLI) is Los Angeles County's preeminent independent, not-for-profit biomedical research hub, excelling in transforming scientific breakthroughs into practical therapies. With a $90 million annual budget, TLI is home to over 150 investigators and 500 staff, advancing 600 projects in areas such as Infection and Immunity, Cancer, and Women's Health. Founded in 1952, the Institute continues to train physician-scientists and manage healthcare programs for 60,000 underserved families throughout South Los Angeles.

Position Summary

The Lundquist Institute seeks an accomplished and entrepreneurial fundraising professional to serve as Senior Director, Strategic Foundation Relations. Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, this individual will lead the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of private foundation partners whose philanthropic priorities align with The Lundquist Institute's mission to advance scientific discovery and improve human health.

The Senior Director will serve as the Institute's lead strategist for foundation philanthropy, proactively building a robust pipeline of foundation prospects, developing compelling funding opportunities, and securing significant philanthropic investment in support of biomedical research, clinical innovation, health equity initiatives, workforce development, and community programs.

This is a highly collaborative role requiring the ability to work effectively with investigators, research leaders, program directors, executive leadership, and development colleagues to translate complex scientific and community-based work into compelling funding opportunities that resonate with institutional funders. When and where appropriate, the individual shall refer leads to other departments to pursue impact investing and other parallel opportunities.

The ideal candidate is an experienced foundation relations professional with a demonstrated record of securing grants exceeding six and seven-figures, philanthropic investments, preferably within healthcare, academic medicine, biomedical research, or related nonprofit environments.

Responsibilities

Foundation Strategy and Portfolio Development

- Develop and implement a comprehensive foundation fundraising strategy aligned with institutional priorities and revenue goals.

- Build and manage a portfolio of foundation prospects and funders capable of making significant philanthropic investments.

- Proactively identify, research, and qualify local, regional, and national foundation opportunities.

- Assess strategic alignment between foundation priorities and Institute research, clinical, education, and community programs.

- Create long-term cultivation and solicitation strategies designed to increase foundation funding and deepen institutional partnerships.

- Maintain a robust pipeline of foundation opportunities and provide regular forecasting and revenue projections.

Proposal Development and Fundable Opportunity Creation

- Partner with investigators, program leaders, and executive leadership to develop fundable concepts and philanthropic initiatives.

- Lead the development of competitive letters of inquiry, proposals, concept papers, and presentations.

- Translate complex scientific and programmatic information into compelling, donor-centered cases for support.

- Coordinate multidisciplinary proposal teams and manage proposal development timelines.

- Ensure proposals reflect both funder priorities and institutional strategic objectives.

Relationship Strategy, Engagement Planning, and Foundation Stewardship

- Develop and execute comprehensive engagement strategies for foundation prospects and institutional funders, ensuring that relationships are advanced through thoughtful and coordinated cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities.

- Serve as the primary coordinator and project manager for foundation relationships, tracking interactions, identifying next steps, maintaining momentum, and ensuring timely follow-through across multiple stakeholders.

- Strategically engage the Chief Development Officer, President and CEO, investigators, program leaders, board members, and volunteers at key points in the cultivation and solicitation process, preparing them for successful interactions with funders.

- Coordinate foundation site visits, briefings, presentations, proposal meetings, stewardship activities, and other funder-facing engagements.

- Prepare cultivation plans, meeting strategies, briefing materials, talking points, and follow-up actions that maximize the effectiveness of leadership and faculty engagement with foundation partners.

- Develop and maintain relationship maps that identify and leverage connections among board members, institutional leaders, investigators, community partners, and foundation decision-makers.

- With the Development Team, represent The Lundquist Institute within philanthropic and foundation communities to identify opportunities, gather intelligence, and strengthen institutional visibility.

- Ensure a high level of ongoing engagement that strengthens partnerships, encourages renewal funding, and positions the Institute for increased philanthropic investment over time.

Institutional Collaboration

- Serve as a strategic advisor regarding foundation funding trends, opportunities, and funder interests.

- Convene investigators and program leaders around emerging funding opportunities.

- Collaborate with Research Administrations colleagues to ensure seamless proposal submission, reporting, and compliance processes.

Stewardship and Reporting

- Ensure exceptional stewardship of foundation partners through timely reporting, impact communications, and ongoing engagement.

- Develop customized stewardship strategies designed to strengthen relationships and encourage renewal and increased giving.

- Maintain accurate records and fundraising activity within the donor database.

Qualifications

Required

- Bachelor's degree required.

- Minimum of 8-10 years of progressively responsible experience in foundation relations, grant writing, or institutional giving.

- Demonstrated success securing significant foundation funding, including six- and seven-figure grants or philanthropic investments.

- Experience developing complex proposals involving multiple stakeholders.

- Exceptional written communication, storytelling, and proposal development skills.

- Strong strategic planning, project management, and relationship-building abilities.

- Ability to understand and communicate complex scientific, medical, and programmatic concepts.

- Proven ability to work effectively with senior executives, researchers, physicians, volunteers, and donors.

Preferred

- Experience in biomedical research, healthcare, academic medicine, public health, or higher education.

- Knowledge of Southern California's philanthropic landscape.

- Experience fundraising for research, healthcare innovation, health equity, community-based programs, or scientific discovery initiatives.

- Familiarity with foundation databases, prospect research platforms, and donor CRM systems.

​​​​ Please ensure your application is complete and signed; incomplete submissions will not be considered .

Position requires a background check and health clearance

Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action/Drug-Free Workplace