Associate Director Stewardship & Donor Relations

Department Summary

St. Michael's Hospital Foundation (SMPF) is the exclusive fundraising organization to generate and manage philanthropic funds for St. Michael’s Hospital and Providence Healthcare, within Unity Health Toronto. Through multiple lines of fundraising income generation and stewardship activity, SMHF, in conjunction with Unity Health, will define and promote the St. Michael’s and Providence brands to maximize philanthropic revenue to fuel their healthcare, research, teaching and health equity missions. We will inspire our communities, local, provincial, national and international, to invest in our organizations’ priorities to drive and implement innovation that will equitably support all members of our society to manage and overcome disease and health crises and live healthier lives to create a more inclusive and thriving society. Join us!

Position Summary

Reporting to the Director, Stewardship & Donor Relations, the Associate Director is the senior leader responsible for translating stewardship strategy into coordinated, high-quality execution. The role provides people leadership, oversees stewardship governance and gift agreement processes, leads the annual program of donor experiences, and ensures the team delivers on commitments through clear priorities, accountable project management and effective cross-functional partnerships. The Associate Director acts as a trusted second-in-command, independently resolving routine operational matters and escalating material donor, reputational, financial or policy risks.

Responsibilities & Activities

Operational leadership and team management

• Support the comprehensive stewardship and recognition program, translate annual priorities into workplans, assign accountabilities and monitor milestones, service standards, capacity and results.
• Directly manage and coach assigned staff, including performance management, professional development, workload allocation, quality assurance and succession coverage.
• Partner with the Director on annual planning, budget development, resource forecasting and strategic initiatives; serve as delegated operational lead when required .
  
  

Stewardship governance and gift agreements

• Own the quality, consistency and project management of gift agreement processes.
• Maintain stewardship policies, donor recognition standards, benefits matrices, templates and operational procedures in collaboration with relevant partners.
• Advise fundraising colleagues on stewardship commitments and donor experience implications before commitments are finalized; coordinate with Finance, Granting and hospital partners as appropriate.
• Exercise sound judgment on sensitive donor situations and ensure obligations are documented, assigned and monitored through completion.
• Collaborate with the Information Technology team on required stewardship and recognition data and analytics.
  
  

Donor Stewardship Strategy, Experiences And Communications

• Lead the annual stewardship events and donor experiences portfolio, establishing objectives, audiences, strategic approach, quality standards and measurable outcomes in partnership with Events and fundraising teams.
  
  

Knowledge & Skills

• A bachelor’s degree or higher, plus a minimum of five years of experience within stewardship and at least three years of which are at a management level;
• Understanding of best practices in stewardship and donor relations;
• Demonstrated experience leading people, projects and cross-functional initiatives;
• Strong judgement, interpersonal and communication skills;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to advise senior leaders, fundraisers and hospital partners on sensitive or complex matters;
• The ability to think at a high level about Hospital and Foundation priorities;
• The ability to work proactively, managing competing priorities;
• Proficient in the use of all corporate productivity tools including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and search engines, as well as Raiser's Edge NXT or equivalent donor database management system;
• Commit to ongoing professional development by participating in professional associations, attending professional meetings, and developing working relationships with professionals at other institutions;
• Promote a workplace environment that fosters collaboration, respect, and the pursuit of excellence;
• Act as an Ambassador throughout the Community, positively representing the Hospital and the Foundation;
• Abide by the policies and procedures of St. Michael’s and Providence Foundation;
• Perform other duties as assigned to meet the overall goals and objectives of the Foundation;
• Operate within the culture and core values of the organization; and,
• Willingness to work flexible hours, including some evenings and weekends.
  
  

Unity Health Toronto is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We strive to provide a recruitment process that is barrier-free and in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code. We understand that you may require an accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process. When you are contacted, please inform the Talent Acquisition Specialist and we will work with you to meet your accommodation needs. We want to emphasize that all accommodation requests are handled with the utmost confidentiality, respecting your privacy and dignity.