Philanthropy Manager - San Foundation

Build meaningful philanthropic relationships and secure transformational gifts as part of the San Foundation’s major gifts program, supporting world-class healthcare and the North Shore community.

• Grow an established major gifts program, with significant opportunity to secure transformational gifts, diversify the portfolio and unlock new philanthropic income
• Build relationships through powerful patient stories, connecting donors with the people and healthcare outcomes their support makes possible
• Permanent - Wahroonga - 4 or 5 days or 9-day fortnight

Impact of the organisation

The San Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Sydney Adventist Hospital (the San), one of Australia’s leading private hospitals and the largest private hospital in NSW. With a strong connection to the North Shore community, the Foundation brings together donors, patients, families, clinicians and volunteers to help advance healthcare and improve patient outcomes.

Philanthropy plays a vital role in enabling the San to invest beyond traditional hospital funding, supporting medical technology, research, clinical innovation, education and patient care. Donor support has helped fund major initiatives across neuroscience, robotic surgery, cardiac care, cancer support and other areas that directly improve the patient experience and outcomes.

The Foundation also supports initiatives that provide whole-person care, from palliative care and cancer support to programs that bring comfort and connection to patients and their families.

With a team of eight across fundraising and a community of around 400 volunteers, the Foundation is a highly collaborative and relationship-focused environment, with a wealth of compelling stories, philanthropic opportunities and potential to connect supporters with tangible, life-changing impact.

The Impact you will have in this role

Reporting to the Managing Director, you will be a key driver of the San Foundation’s major gifts program, strengthening existing philanthropic relationships while identifying and converting new opportunities to grow sustainable philanthropic income.

This is a highly relationship-led role with genuine scope to make an impact. You’ll manage and grow an established, highly engaged portfolio of major donors, building on a program that is already growing from strength to strength, while identifying and cultivating new prospects to build a strong pipeline of future philanthropic support. You’ll take the time to understand each donor - their connection to the hospital, their interests and what motivates them to give - and translate these insights into meaningful opportunities for engagement and support.

Working closely with patients, families, clinicians and internal teams, you’ll uncover powerful stories and develop compelling cases for support that connect donors with the people, innovation and healthcare outcomes their philanthropy can make possible.

You’ll lead the full donor journey, from prospect identification and qualification through to cultivation, solicitation and stewardship, using personalised engagement, meetings, hospital tours and events to create experiences that bring the impact of philanthropy to life.

This is an opportunity for a thoughtful, emotionally intelligent fundraiser who genuinely enjoys people, is motivated by meaningful outcomes and wants to build something. You’ll have the opportunity to deepen an established major gifts program, open new philanthropic relationships and help shape the next stage of the San Foundation’s fundraising growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage, cultivate and grow an established portfolio of major donors, developing tailored cultivation, solicitation and stewardship strategies.
• Identify, qualify and develop new major donor prospects, including opportunities from the Foundation’s existing supporter and patient networks.
• Build trusted relationships with high-net-worth individuals, patients, families and other prospective supporters through personalised engagement, meetings, calls, tours and events.
• Work closely with hospital clinicians, healthcare professionals and internal stakeholders to identify compelling stories, funding priorities and opportunities for philanthropic investment.
• Develop compelling cases for support, proposals, presentations, impact reports and stewardship communications that clearly demonstrate the difference donor support can make.
• Lead donors through the full fundraising cycle, from prospecting and cultivation through to solicitation and long-term stewardship.
• Create meaningful donor experiences through hospital tours, events, patient stories and opportunities to see the impact of philanthropy firsthand.
• Work collaboratively across the fundraising team and wider Foundation to identify and maximise philanthropic opportunities.
• Use CRM data, prospect research and wealth screening to identify opportunities, manage relationships and inform portfolio strategy.
• Maintain accurate donor records and engagement plans, ensuring all activity and relationship intelligence is captured in the CRM.
• Monitor portfolio performance, pipeline development and revenue against agreed targets, providing regular reporting and insights to the Managing Director.

Skills and Experience

• Demonstrated experience in major gifts, philanthropy or relationship fundraising, with a proven track record of building and converting high-value donor relationships.
• Strong experience across the major donor lifecycle, including prospect identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.
• A genuine relationship fundraiser who enjoys getting to know people, understanding their motivations and building long-term trust.
• High emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage sensitively and authentically with patients, families, donors, clinicians and senior stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to turn complex healthcare stories and funding priorities into compelling cases for support.
• Demonstrated ability to identify philanthropic opportunities and develop tailored propositions that connect donor interests with organisational priorities.
• Prospect development skills, with experience using research, wealth screening, CRM data and other insights to identify and qualify new opportunities.
• Confidence engaging with senior stakeholders and working collaboratively with clinicians, healthcare professionals and organisational leaders.
• Organisational skills with the ability to manage a portfolio, multiple relationships and competing priorities.
• Good CRM capability and an understanding of how data and relationship intelligence can be used to strengthen fundraising performance.
• A collaborative and proactive approach, with the ability to work independently while contributing positively to a close-knit fundraising team.
• A genuine belief in the power of philanthropy to transform healthcare and improve the experience and outcomes of patients and their families, with the empathy and sensitivity to work respectfully with their stories.

Applications

Please apply by uploading your resume. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, with conversations progressing with suitable candidates throughout the recruitment process. Interviews may commence prior to the closing date, so we encourage early applications.

Please direct all enquiries to Nadia Pachon at Impact Advising on nadia@impactadvising.com.au using the subject line: Philanthropy Manager - San Foundation enquiry via EthicalJobs.

Impact Advising is committed to creating diverse and inclusive work environments that reflect the rich tapestry of our communities. We believe that diversity enriches organisations and fosters innovation. We are dedicated to building workforces that are representative of the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of our society. We strongly encourage applications from people from diverse backgrounds, including people with lived or living experience of refugee backgrounds. We value a range of experiences, perspectives and career pathways. We actively seek to foster inclusive workplaces where all employees can bring their whole selves to work, feel respected and valued, and have equal opportunities for growth and advancement. We are committed to providing a fair and unbiased recruitment process, and we strive to eliminate any barriers that may impede the inclusion and participation of underrepresented groups in the workforce.