Director of Community Relations and Foundation - Full Time - Days

Position Summary

This is a relationship-driven fundraising and development role that calls for a business-development mindset: the person in this seat builds and closes philanthropic partnerships that keep quality healthcare local. We're looking for someone genuinely passionate about that mission — not just a fundraiser, but a connector who thrives on winning new supporters, cultivating long-term relationships with donors and partners, and turning community goodwill into sustained charitable investment in the hospital.

The role is broad by design. Success depends on the ability to prioritize ruthlessly, focus personal time on the highest-value relationships and opportunities, and mobilize internal teams (marketing, finance, clinical leadership) and external partners (community organizations, volunteers, vendors, board members) to execute the surrounding work — rather than trying to do everything personally.

This is a high-autonomy role for a self-starter: someone who sets direction and takes initiative without needing day-to-day oversight. We're looking for a high-level strategist and problem solver — a builder who can stand up new programs and partnerships from scratch — and a solid leader who earns trust, influences without authority, and builds consensus across physicians, board members, donors, and staff.

Under the leadership of the President & CEO, the Director develops and leads the organization's philanthropic strategy, with Development and the Georgia HEART Program as the primary focus and measure of success. Community relations, public relations, events, and board support are important, connected functions that this role coordinates and executes as needed in service of that primary goal.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Public Relations, Communications, Marketing, Healthcare Administration, Nonprofit Management, or a related field. Master's degree preferred.
• Experience: 5–8 years of progressive leadership experience in business development, fundraising, healthcare foundation management, or nonprofit development, including 1–3 years in a director-level role with demonstrated ownership of major gift and campaign results. Healthcare or nonprofit experience strongly preferred.
• Licensure & Certifications: None required.

Core Skills

• Business development — a track record of identifying, pursuing, and closing new funding relationships and partnerships.
• Relationship building — skilled at earning trust with donors, physicians, board members, and community leaders, and sustaining those relationships over time.
• Prioritization & resourcefulness — able to triage a large, varied workload, focus on what drives the biggest impact, and know when to delegate, coordinate, or bring in the right internal or external resource.
• Mission alignment — genuine passion for the cause of keeping healthcare local and accessible.
• Self-direction & initiative — a proven self-starter who identifies what needs to happen and acts on it without needing oversight or direction.
• Strategic thinking & problem solving — operates at a high level, anticipates challenges, and builds practical solutions and new programs from the ground up.
• Leadership, influence & consensus building — a solid leader who earns credibility across physicians, executives, board members, and staff, and can influence and align stakeholders without formal authority over them.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Responsibilities are organized from the primary objective outward: Development and Georgia HEART come first and drive how time and resources are allocated. Community Relations and Special Events sit inside that same bucket — they are means to the Development and Georgia HEART goal, not separate priorities. Everything else below is a supporting function this role coordinates, delegates, or personally executes only as needed to advance that primary objective.

Development & Georgia HEART Program — Primary Focus

• Own the annual fundraising strategy and goals, aligning all giving programs — annual, major, capital, planned, and employee giving — to organizational priorities.
• Personally identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major gift donors and corporate partners.
• Drive participation in the Georgia HEART Hospital Program: build the annual campaign, cultivate and steward HEART donors, and lead promotional and educational outreach so Georgia taxpayers understand the benefit of redirecting state tax dollars to the hospital.
• Set and own annual fundraising and Georgia HEART performance metrics; report results and pipeline to executive leadership and the Foundation Board.
• Ensure donor recognition, stewardship, and gift-processing practices are accurate and timely, coordinating with Finance on gift accounting and compliance with donor restrictions and nonprofit accounting standards.
• Manage the Foundation operating budget and monitor fundraising revenue and expenses against goals.

Community Relations — as a channel to build the Development & Georgia HEART donor pipeline

• Build and maintain partnerships with civic organizations, schools, businesses, and nonprofits that create a pipeline of future donors and HEART participants.
• Represent the hospital at community and networking events, prioritizing those with the strongest development potential.
• Coordinate community benefit programs and outreach initiatives, delegating execution to staff or community partners where appropriate.

Special Events — as a fundraising tool for Development & Georgia HEART

• Oversee fundraising and donor-facing events — charity walks/runs, donor recognition events, community health events, and campaign kickoffs — prioritizing those with the clearest fundraising or HEART return.
• Manage event budgets and sponsorships directly; delegate logistics and volunteer coordination to staff, vendors, or volunteer leadership.

Public Relations & Communications — Directly Managed in Support of Development

• Directly supervise the Marketing Specialist, who oversees marketing for the hospital, setting priorities so their work supports donor, community, and Georgia HEART storytelling alongside broader hospital marketing needs.
• Direct the Marketing Specialist and Communications partners to tell donor stories and community-impact stories that support fundraising and Georgia HEART campaigns.
• Oversee (not necessarily author) donor communications, newsletters, and annual/impact reports, directing the Marketing Specialist, staff, or agency partners as needed.
• Support media relations on foundation and community initiatives in partnership with the Marketing Specialist and communications team.

Board Relations — Coordinated

• Serve as the primary liaison to the Foundation Board of Directors.
• Coordinate board and committee meetings, agendas, and reporting; support board engagement in fundraising, HEART participation, and community outreach.
• Support board recruitment and orientation.

Leadership & Internal Resourcing

• Supervise Foundation, Community Relations, and Marketing staff — including direct management of the Marketing Specialist — and set clear priorities so the team's time reflects the Development and Georgia HEART focus above.
• Build working relationships across departments (Finance, Clinical Leadership) to pull in the right internal resources rather than owning every task personally.
• Foster a culture of philanthropy throughout the organization and collaborate with executive leadership on strategic initiatives.