About the position

The Fundraising and Philanthropy Department (F&P) contributes to the financial sustainability of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) by attracting revenue from non-government sources, including philanthropic individuals, trusts and foundations, community-based fundraising organisations and bequests. Philanthropic funding helps the Institute to remain at the forefront of research and technology, to recruit and retain the best scientific staff, and creates a buffer against changes in government funding programs.

Under the leadership of the Head of Philanthropy, the F&P Department is comprised of five teams; Trusts and Foundations, Major Gifts and Bequests, Annual Giving, Philanthropy Services, and Donor Relations.

The role of the Donor Relations Senior Officer is focused on providing an excellent donor experience for all donors to WEHI, in collaboration with the frontline fundraisers, to strengthen relationships with donors through appropriate levels of thanking, acknowledgement and recognition, and demonstrating how their gifts are having 'real world' impact on improving and saving lives.

The Donor Relations Senior Officer ensures relationships with donors are respected and nurtured through high quality donor relations and stewardship initiatives, delivered both at-scale and bespoke, commensurate with levels of giving and donor wishes. By supporting the development and strengthening of meaningful relationships with all donors, including individual philanthropists, community groups, trusts and foundations and bequestors, the Donor Relations Senior Officer will contribute to building a community of passionate and engaged supporters who continue to give to the Institute and increase their giving over time.

The successful candidate will contribute to developing, implementing, and regularly reviewing the donor stewardship matrix and calendar, including the coordination of high-quality donor engagement activities and communications which serve to appropriately and frequently thank, recognise, and acknowledge donor contributions. Donor relations activities will include the coordination of online and in-person events, multi-channel and multi-stakeholder communications, social and digital communications and direct donor engagement. The Donor Relations Senior Officer will make a strong contribution to the strategic and integrated stewardship activities of the Fundraising and Philanthropy Team.

Selection Criteria

Personal qualities

• A high level of initiative and self-motivation.
• Action-oriented and target-driven with a competitive edge.
• An innovative problem-solver with a creative approach.
• Efficiency and focus, with strong attention to detail.
• Persistence and resilience.
• An agile and flexible approach, with the ability to respond and adapt to pressure and change quickly and positively.
• Highly developed interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate respectfully and sensitively with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Customer service focus with a 'how can I be of service' attitude.

Knowledge and skills

• Excellent understanding of how an effective donor relations program strengthens relationships with donors.
• Excellent listening and communication skills including influencing, negotiating, persuasion, facilitation and networking skills.
• Highly organised, detail-oriented and creative with the ability to manage priorities under tight deadlines.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively and develop meaningful relationships across the team.
• Personal empathy with disease focused causes, including cancers, infectious diseases, auto-immune diseases and diseases related to ageing and childhood development, and an understanding of the importance of medical research with the capability and integrity to communicate this effectively to inspire trust with WEHI's donors.
• Collaborative team player with a strong commitment to achieving the most positive outcomes for the whole Fundraising and Philanthropy team.
• Highly developed planning and organisational skills with the ability to prioritise projects, work within time frames and meet deadlines.
• Advanced written and digital communication skills, including the ability to express material with clarity, validity and precision, with persuasion, and in a manner that appeals to the audience.
• Ability to interpret, dissect and analyse complex written material such as scientific and health information.

Essential

• Proven track record in a donor relations, or similar, role within a complex organisation.
• Demonstrated event management experience.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills, including the ability to communicate highly complex scientific information to a non-scientific donor audience in a compelling and engaging manner, across multiple platforms.
• Strong organisational and time-management skills to meet deadlines and manage multiple competing priorities.
• Highly developed interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate respectfully and sensitively with a broad range of stakeholders, including major donors and senior staff.
• Strong team player - highly collaborative, responsible, flexible, approachable with a donor-centric focus.
• Self-motivated, entrepreneurial, creative, and excellent attention to detail.
• Proficient database skills, preferably with Raiser's Edge/RE NXT, and competent with the Microsoft Office suite, especially Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• A commitment to the values and behaviours of WEHI

Terms of appointment

This position is available in a full time, continuing capacity. Salary is Professional Services Employee (PSE) Level 6 ($85,395 - $92,435). Up to 17% superannuation and very attractive salary packaging options are available.

General enquiries can be directed to Christine Diamond - [email protected] using the subject line: Donor Relations Senior Officer enquiry via EthicalJobs.

A position description is available here.

How to Apply

Please apply by uploading your CV, cover letter and a document addressing the key selection criteria in pdf format.

WEHI - Brighter together

WEHI is where the world's brightest minds collaborate and innovate to make discoveries that will help us to live healthier for longer. Our medical researchers have been serving the community for more than 100 years. We bring together people with different skills and experience who are committed to long-term discovery. Our teams of researchers are committed to solving the most complex health problems, making transformative discoveries for cancer, infectious and immune diseases, developmental disorders and healthy ageing.

WEHI is a place where people are able to shine. People who are inquisitive, who are committed, who are passionate. People who want to make a difference. And we are committed to ensuring they have the tools to flourish, personally and professionally. We are a community of researchers, students and professional service staff who work towards achieving discoveries that improve human health. We are driven by collaboration, curiosity and creativity. We are committed to making a positive difference to the lives of people in Australia and around the world. We are WEHI. We are brighter together.

WEHI's commitment to diversity and inclusion

At WEHI we strive to foster a flexible working environment that encourages individual differences and promotes collaboration and creativity. We recognise that talent does not sit within a single identifiable group in our society and that WEHI's ability to shape contemporary scientific thinking and deliver leading professional services relies on a diversity of thought within our organisation. Our action to promote gender equality has been recognised with an Athena SWAN Bronze Award from Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) and we offer a range of support for women researchers.

Our commitment to celebrating diversity and addressing inequities is further demonstrated through our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, Gender Action Plan, Reconciliation Action Plan and our WE-Pride network for LGBTQIA+ staff and students. We actively encourage applications from, people with a disability, culturally, religiously and linguistically diverse people and people with diverse genders and sexualities. Should you require support during the recruitment process due to special needs or consideration, please contact the People and Culture team via [email protected] using the subject line: Donor Relations Senior Officer enquiry via EthicalJobs.

WEHI's commitment to Indigenous employment

WEHI is working to create a future where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples will be engaged at the scientific frontier, making exciting discoveries and decisions about the future of health in this country, and part of a leading professional services workforce supporting the realisation of these discoveries. We are committed to creating a culturally safe workplace and offering career development and leadership opportunities to First Nations staff and students. We strongly encourage any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to apply.