Assistant Vice President, Corporate and Foundation Relations

Reporting to the Vice President, Central Fundraising, the Assistant Vice President (AVP), Corporate and Foundation Relations, is responsible for leading Rutgers University’s strategy and execution in securing philanthropic support from corporations and foundations, while driving corporate engagement initiatives.

The AVP will cultivate and steward relationships with top corporate and foundation funders, aligning their philanthropic goals with the university’s priorities. In collaboration with senior leaders across Rutgers University and the Rutgers University Foundation (RUF), the AVP will develop university-wide strategies that maximize philanthropic partnerships and advance meaningful corporate engagement.

This role will leverage expertise and resources from colleagues across RUF, the Office for Research, the Office of the Executive Vice President and CFO, the Office for Information Technology, Procurement, and the Scarlet Assets Management Company (SAMCO), along with other university units, to create mutually beneficial partnerships that advance the university’s mission.

Essential Functions

• In collaboration with the VP for Central Fundraising, design, implement, and evolve comprehensive corporate fundraising and engagement strategies for Rutgers University, integrating corporate philanthropy efforts into the university’s broader advancement and strategic priorities.
• In consultation with the VP for Central Fundraising, provide strategic oversight to foundation relations activities university-wide, ensuring alignment with Rutgers’ philanthropic priorities and compliance with funder requirements.
• Supervise and support the Executive Director of Foundation Relations, providing guidance on strategy, goal setting, and cross-campus coordination.
• Supervise CFR staff in Chancellor-led units on foundation-related fundraising, in coordination with their unit leadership, to ensure consistent messaging, proposal quality, funder stewardship, and adherence to CFR and RUF systems, processes, and prospect management guidelines.
• Supervise central-based employees responsible for corporate partnerships and engagement, providing leadership, professional development, and strategic alignment with institutional goals.
• Maintain and grow a high-level portfolio of corporate partners and prospects, leading cultivation, solicitation, and engagement strategies with colleagues and the university.
• Serve as the central relationship manager for key corporate contacts while engaging university leadership, deans, faculty, and administrators in strategic partnership development.
• Serve as the liaison between RUF and the university's Office for Research and other relevant and identified University Corporate Stakeholders.
• Ensure consistent and strategic communication with current and prospective funders through customized proposals, stewardship reports, letters of inquiry, and related materials.
• Convene and lead cross-functional corporate fundraising meetings to identify synergies, surface new funding opportunities, and coordinate proposals and visits.
• Partner with senior advisors and corporate liaisons to develop and coordinate high-impact proposals and presentations at funder sites and campuses, showcasing novel programs and core capabilities that translate the impact of faculty research and academic programs.
• Establish best practices, tools, and training to strengthen foundation prospecting, proposal development, and grant management across units.
• Represent the university at high-level external engagements, C-suite briefings, and corporate board meetings to strengthen institutional partnerships and advance fundraising objectives.
• Other duties as assigned.

Leadership Attributes

This role requires a comprehensive understanding of the institution and its departments, with expertise that spans multiple functions. The incumbent will align donor intent with university priorities, demonstrating a strong grasp of University values and a commitment to advancing them. With excellent communication skills, they will simplify complexity for others while displaying high emotional intelligence and political awareness. Proactive and strategic, they will excel in prioritization and negotiation, providing constructive feedback to shape the organization's future. The incumbent will demonstrate critical thinking, challenge accepted norms, and consistently assert their voice. They will lead their teams with confidence, leveraging institutional experience to ask the right questions and foster a cross-functional, multiplier leadership approach. Their decisions will reflect organizational awareness, considering the broader impact across departments. A coaching leadership style will be evident in their interactions with staff, leaders, volunteers, and partners, as they serve as a confident and strategic partner to university leadership.

Competency Aptitudes

Leadership

• Manage a team effectively and execute comprehensive department/project/program strategy
• Serve as a member of the organization's management team
• Present and represent projects to university leadership
• Demonstrate ability to successfully manage and lead a team (and/or staff volunteers) in a way that maximizes potential of each team member
• Ability to lead, assess, reimagine, new initiatives

Autonomy

• Manage teams who are responsible for delivering resources and revenue from a major gift donor/prospect portfolio at or above an established level and meet a personal fundraising goal
• Bring new best practices and innovation to the organization
• Manage a team, volunteers, relationships or projects with minimal oversight
• Set goals and manage budgets and meet deadlines for themselves and the team
• Drives area forward to achieve goals within their job purview

Complexity

• Demonstrate specialized knowledge, experience, skill set
• Effectively collaborate with your supervisors and University partners across the enterprise
• Able to create, deploy and execute increasingly complex projects
• Set direction and approach in partnership with assigned RU leader's vision
• Able to adapt to changing situations and partner or leadership changes

Strategy

• Create, lead and execute university-wide fundraising related initiatives
• Develop strategy with input of cross-functional teams to negotiate and influence solutions
• Demonstrate an ability to set priorities and determine strategy for multiple units/departments, including staffing and budgets
• Design the employee experience for a department/program

Education And/or Experience

Bachelor's degree and/or 10+ years of professional experience in fundraising, alumni relations, non-profit organizations, event planning, higher education, or related fields.

Working Conditions

This position requires clarity of focus while juggling complex projects or deadlines with little physical effort. Will work evenings, weekends, or odd hours to meet resource-raising commitments. Typical working conditions with an absence of disagreeable elements. This position requires some early mornings and late evenings to accommodate meetings, travel, events, and external constituents’ schedules.

Workplace Arrangements

This is classified as an office-centric hybrid position. Colleagues working under an office-centric hybrid arrangement have a primary workstation in a university or foundation location and are in the office between one and five days a week. The frequency with which they are present in the office depends on their role and function and the interdependency of other functions.

Compensation And Benefits

The position is budgeted at a starting salary of $150,000/ year. Final offers are based on various factors such as the candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and other job-related reasons for the role. In addition to salary, Rutgers University Foundation offers:

• Office-centric hybrid work schedule
• Comprehensive medical
• Comprehensive no cost dental, and no cost vision insurance for employee and dependents
• 403(b) plan with matching employer contribution
• Accrual of three weeks of annual vacation time, in addition to five wellness days and fifteen sick days per year
• Nine holidays, as well as four floating holidays
• Significant tuition reductions
• Professional development is highly valued at the Rutgers University Foundation, where employees are encouraged to look across the organization to develop new skills and abilities for professional career progression.
• $40 monthly cell phone reimbursement

Equal Employment Opportunity

It is Foundation policy to provide equal employment opportunity to all its employees and applicants. The Foundation prohibits discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, national origin, ancestry, marital status, familial status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, genetic information, and any other characteristics protected by applicable state, federal and/or local laws. Equal employment opportunity applies to hiring, placement, transfer, promotion, demotion, recruitment, advertising or solicitation for employment, treatment during employment, rates of pay or other forms of compensation, selection for training, layoff, or termination.