Director of Foundation Relations

Reporting to the Executive Director of LINK | Center for Advancing Partnerships, this role serves as the senior leader for Virginia Tech’s foundation relations program and chief architect of its institutional engagement strategy with major national foundations and select corporate foundations.

About the role

The Director provides strategic and operational leadership for a comprehensive foundation relations function aligned with university and campaign priorities. A key member of the LINK leadership team, the Director is responsible for creating and executing a long-range strategic plan to elevate Virginia Tech’s visibility and expand partnerships with major national philanthropic organizations. They will partner closely with colleagues from the Office of Research and Innovation and Advancement, including Principal Gifts and corporate fundraising teams, to drive integrated fundraising strategies across the institution.

The Director leads efforts to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward foundation prospects and donors in collaboration with colleges, centers, programs, and faculty. They build and sustain high-level relationships with institutional leaders, board members, donors, and program officers, including C-suite executives, ensuring alignment between philanthropic interests and university priorities. The role is responsible for initiating and managing foundation relationships and securing philanthropic investment that advances institutional priorities.

Responsibilities

• Create and execute a long-range strategic plan to elevate Virginia Tech’s visibility and expand partnerships with major national philanthropic organizations.
• Partner with colleagues from the Office of Research and Innovation and Advancement, including Principal Gifts and corporate fundraising teams, to drive integrated fundraising strategies.
• Lead efforts to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward foundation prospects and donors in collaboration with colleges, centers, programs, and faculty.
• Build and sustain high-level relationships with institutional leaders, board members, donors, and program officers, including C-suite executives.
• Initiate and manage foundation relationships and secure philanthropic investment that advances institutional priorities.
• Develop and execute long-range strategic plans that advance institutional priorities and expand engagement with high-value philanthropic partners.
• Translate complex academic, scientific, and research priorities into compelling philanthropic cases for support and donor-ready narratives.
• Use data, portfolio insights, and CRM systems to inform strategy, prioritize prospects, and manage complex fundraising pipelines.
• Shape messaging for external audiences and support faculty or institutional spokesperson engagement.
• Set goals, measure outcomes, and adjust strategy to meet institutional priorities in a dynamic environment.
• Travel domestically for field research, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, which may include overnights and weekends.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• Experience managing or coordinating across cross-functional advancement teams, including collaboration with principal gifts and related fundraising functions.
• Demonstrated experience working with senior institutional leaders and external stakeholders, including foundation program officers, executive leadership (including C-suite equivalents), and board members.
• Demonstrated success in securing and stewarding significant foundation investments, including six- and seven-figure gifts, with a strong record of cultivating relationships with major national foundations.
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically.

Preferred Qualifications

• Significant progressively responsible experience in foundation relations, major gifts, or related advancement leadership roles within a complex higher education or similarly matrixed nonprofit environment.
• Experience leading or contributing to comprehensive campaign initiatives, including strategy development, execution, and alignment of fundraising priorities across multiple institutional stakeholders.
• Proven ability to develop and execute long-range strategic plans that advance institutional priorities and expand engagement with high-value philanthropic partners.
• Strong ability to translate complex academic, scientific, and research priorities into compelling philanthropic cases for support and donor-ready narratives.
• Demonstrated ability to use data, portfolio insights, and CRM systems to inform strategy, prioritize prospects, and manage complex fundraising pipelines.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, including the ability to shape messaging for external audiences and support faculty or institutional spokesperson engagement.
• Experience in stewardship strategy and donor engagement practices that sustain and deepen long-term foundation relationships.
• Demonstrated ability to set goals, measure outcomes, and adjust strategy to meet institutional priorities in a dynamic environment.

Pay

$135,000 - $170,000

Schedule

• 40+ hours per week
• Overtime Status: Exempt (not eligible for overtime)
• Appointment Type: Regular
• Regional and national travel required, including overnights and weekends.

Additional Information

• Must have a safe driving record.
• Must have the ability and willingness to travel utilizing standard, commercial, and/or personal modes of transportation.
• Physical requirements: Lifting < 20 lbs, sitting, standing, reaching, repetitive motion.
• The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.
• This position may be based in either the Blacksburg or Washington, D.C. area.
• Review Date: September 1st, 2026

About Virginia Tech

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including Blacksburg, the greater Washington, D.C. area, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, sites in Newport News and Richmond, and numerous Extension offices and research institutes. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $650 million in research annually.