Senior Director, Philanthropy Technical Services

About the role

The Senior Director, Technical Services provides strategic and operational leadership for the technical platforms, infrastructure, integrations, development practices, and technical operations that support Philanthropy Information Services. Reporting to the Vice President for Philanthropy Information Services, this position oversees programmers, technical analysts, servers, hardware coordination, integrations, application infrastructure, disaster recovery planning, technical architecture, data movement, technical standards, and related services that enable reliable and secure philanthropy systems.

The Sr Director partners with the Sr Director for Application Services, central Information Services, Digital Marketing, Annual Giving, Gift Processing, Events, Jimmy Fund, Research, Analytics, Operations, and other divisional colleagues to ensure that CRM, online giving, Blackbaud Luminate, TeamRaiser, reporting, email, web services, and supporting applications perform effectively and scale to meet Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Jimmy Fund fundraising priorities.

Located in Boston and the surrounding communities, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a leader in life changing breakthroughs in cancer research and patient care. The institute is united in its mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS, and related diseases, and strives to create an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment providing compassionate and comprehensive care to patients of all backgrounds, with programs promoting public health particularly among high-risk and underserved populations.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Technical Services function for Philanthropy Information Services, providing strategic and operational leadership for programmers, integrations, servers, hardware coordination, infrastructure, technical operations, web services, release management, disaster recovery, and technical standards that support philanthropy systems.
• Ensure reliable, secure, and scalable technical operations for CRM, online giving, Blackbaud Luminate, TeamRaiser, reporting platforms, email services, web services, custom applications, data movement, and other systems used across the Division of Philanthropy.
• Oversee technical design, development, and integration work, including APIs, data interfaces, custom applications, automation, database work, application upgrades, server migrations, technical documentation, testing coordination, and production support.
• Partner with Application Services and divisional stakeholders to translate business needs into technically sound solutions, clarify technical options and constraints, estimate effort, identify risks, guide implementation planning, and ensure a smooth transition from project delivery to operational support.
• Collaborate with central Information Services and institutional technology partners on infrastructure, security, hardware, access, disaster recovery, enterprise standards, procurement, vendor management, and compliance requirements affecting philanthropy systems.
• Supervise staff: hire, develop, and manage staff to achieve organizational goals; set clear expectations, deliver feedback, and monitor performance for quality, efficiency, and compliance with policies and procedures; mentor staff, foster career growth, and cultivate a positive and productive work environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Data/Information Science, Business Administration, or related field required.
• Master's Degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Business Administration, Health Informatics, Cybersecurity, Data/Information Science, or related field preferred.
• 10 years of progressively responsible experience leading technical services, software development, enterprise applications, infrastructure, integrations, data platforms, web services, or related information technology functions in a complex organization required.
• Experience in technical team leadership, vendor and consultant oversight, system reliability, security coordination, release management, disaster recovery, budget awareness, and executive communication required.
• Experience supporting philanthropy, fundraising, nonprofit advancement, healthcare, academic medicine, CRM, Blackbaud Luminate, TeamRaiser, online giving, Oracle or database environments, web services, APIs, reporting platforms, email systems, and enterprise integrations preferred.

Skills

• Strategic technical leadership, including the ability to set direction for complex technical services, align technical roadmaps with divisional priorities, and balance operational reliability with innovation.
• Strong technical expertise across application infrastructure and integrations, including servers, databases, APIs, web services, custom development, release management, disaster recovery, security coordination, data movement, and platform support.
• Excellent operational management skills, including intake, prioritization, technical planning, resource allocation, vendor coordination, testing, deployment, risk management, documentation, and post-implementation support.
• Strong communication and partnership skills, including the ability to explain technical issues to non-technical stakeholders, advise senior leaders, collaborate with application teams, and manage expectations during complex technical work.
• Service-oriented people leadership, including the ability to develop technical staff, strengthen accountability, promote knowledge sharing, support continuous improvement, and model sound judgment, discretion, and professionalism in support of Dana-Farber's mission.

Certifications

• None required.
• Preferred: PMP, PgMP, PMI-ACP, Certified ScrumMaster, ITIL, cloud/platform certifications, cybersecurity training, database administration training, software development certification, Blackbaud/Luminate-related training, Salesforce technical certification, or related technical certification.

Supervisory responsibilities

Supervises 7–9 full-time Technical Services staff and may oversee programmers, developers, systems analysts, technical analysts, integration specialists, database or reporting technical resources, consultants, and vendor resources supporting Philanthropy Information Services technical operations.

Patient contact

None.

Pay

Hiring range: $227,800.00 – $249,000.00 (based on market pay structures; individual salaries determined by business needs, market conditions, internal equity, and the candidate's relevant experience, skills, and qualifications).