Senior Manager, Foundation Relations (Institutional Giving)

THE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

Breast cancer is a complex disease with no simple solution. Research is the key to stopping it in its tracks. Founded in 1993 by Evelyn H. Lauder, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation is the largest private funder of breast cancer research in the world. By investing in the best minds in science to examine every aspect of the disease from prevention to metastasis—and fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration—BCRF is accelerating the entire field and moves us closer to the answers we urgently need to be the end of breast cancer.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) is hiring a Senior Manager, Foundation Relations (Institutional Giving) to join the Development & Events Department. Reporting directly to the Director, Foundation Relations, this position will play a critical role in advancing BCRF's mission and will be a key partner in the growth of the Foundation Relations program with a unique opportunity to help build the program from the ground up.

BCRF is entering an exciting period of growth and momentum, fueled by an ambitious fundraising campaign and a bold vision for the future of breast cancer research. As we expand our portfolio of foundations and institutional philanthropic partners, we are seeking an exceptional individual to join the team as we expand our partnerships with leading private, family, and corporate foundations and grow our institutional philanthropy.

The Senior Manager, Foundation Relations (Institutional Giving) will be a key partner responsible for developing compelling proposals and reports, identifying and advancing new institutional prospects, and managing select foundation relationships.  Additionally, the Senior Manager will support the management of the foundations and institutional giving portfolio including maintaining reporting schedules and requirements for funders and ensuring accurate data and record hygiene in Raiser’s Edge for seamless portfolio management.

The Senior Manager will also collaborate with the Director, Foundation Relations, on developing and implementing cultivation and solicitation strategies for Foundation donors, and updating materials as needed. This is an ideal opportunity for an exceptional writer and emerging institutional fundraiser who wants to pair strong storytelling and project-management skills with relationship-based fundraising. 

This position is based in New York, New York.  BCRF currently requires staff to work onsite a minimum of three days per week.

Primary Responsibilities:

Foundation & Institutional Fundraising

• Partner with the Director, Foundation Relations to execute strategies for cultivating, soliciting and stewarding foundation and institutional donors and prospects.
• Research, identify, and qualify prospective private, family, corporate, and other institutional funders aligned with BCRF’s mission, scientific priorities and comprehensive campaign; recommend strategies and next steps for the strongest opportunities.
• Help manage and advance the institutional pipeline, tracking prospects through cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship and proactively identify opportunities to deepen or grow relationships.
• Prepare briefing materials and participate in selected funder meetings, scientific briefings, site visits and other cultivation opportunities.
• Monitor philanthropic trends and emerging funding opportunities in medical research, women’s health, and related fields to identify new funding opportunities for BCRF.

Proposal Development & Grants Management

• Write clear and persuasive letters of inquiry, grant proposals, including research updates, budget narratives, and other funder communications that translate BCRF’s scientific priorities and impact into compelling cases for support.
• Project manage proposal and reporting processes across BCRF’s Scientific Research team, Finance, Development, and other teams, ensuring accurate and timely submissions. Build and maintain a strong library of proposal language, research narratives, impact stories and evergreen institutional materials that support efficient, high-quality proposal development.
• Maintain a comprehensive grants calendar tracking proposals, reports, renewals, payments, deliverables and stewardship activity. 
• Collaborate with Director on developing and implementing cultivation and solicitation calendar for Foundations and Institutional Giving portfolio.

Portfolio & Program Management

• Maintain accurate and timely institutional donor, prospect and grant information in Raiser's Edge, ensuring strong data integrity and portfolio activity visibility.
• Partner with the Director to develop and maintain systems, processes, and reporting that support an efficient, scalable Foundations and Institutional Giving program.
• Track portfolio activity and key performance indicators, helping assess progress against proposal, pipeline and revenue goals and identify areas requiring attention.
• Coordinate with Finance and internal partners on proposal budgets, grant agreements, restrictions, payment schedules and reporting requirements.
• Assume increasing responsibility for an assigned portfolio of institutional donors and prospects as knowledge of BCRF’s programs and funding priorities develops.

ABOUT YOU 

You are an exceptional writer and thoughtful relationship builder who knows how to turn complex ideas into compelling narratives. You are intellectually curious and energized by the opportunity to learn about groundbreaking science—and equally excited about finding the funders who can help make that science possible.

You thrive in a growing program where you can both execute and help build. You are highly organized and comfortable managing multiple deadlines, but you also understand that successful institutional fundraising is ultimately about relationships, strategy and connecting a funder's priorities with an organization's most compelling opportunities.

Ideally, you will be proactive, able to work autonomously and understand the life span of a grant cycle and the ins and outs of stewardship of a high-touch foundations and institutional giving portfolio. You will be encouraged to be creative and help solve problems and elevate concerns as needed. You have a passion for the mission and work of BCRF.

In addition, you have the following qualifications and experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in grant writing and private foundation and/or institutional giving.
• Excellent written, editing, and proofreading skills. Strong attention to detail and organizational abilities.
• Experience working with CRM or donor database systems (e.g., Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge, Bloomerang, EveryAction, or similar)
• Ability to manage multiple proposals, reports, and deadlines simultaneously
• Skilled in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat Suite
• Familiarity with the full grant lifecycle, from prospect identification and proposal development through reporting, stewardship and renewal
• Strong research and analytical skills and the ability to synthesize information into actionable fundraising strategy
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build productive relationships with colleagues, funders and other external partners
• Strong project-management skills and the ability to move complex, cross-functional projects forward
• Intellectual curiosity and an ability to learn and communicate complex scientific information
• Excellent organizational skills, decision-making abilities, and attention to detail
• Other duties as may be assigned

Compensation and Benefits:

This is a full-time exempt role.  The salary range for this role is $85,000-95,000.  Our compensation packages include an exceptional benefits package focusing on employee physical, mental and financial wellness.  More specifically we offer:

• Medical, dental and vision coverage from the first day of employment; with the election of certain medical plans, BCRF helps significantly defray the cost of out-of-pocket expenses with contributions to a health reimbursement account or heath savings account.
• The opportunity to enroll in pre-tax Commuter Transit, Flexible Spending Account or Health Savings Account and Dependent Care Account from the first day of employment.
• 401K, with up to a 5% match each pay period; employee contributions and any match are immediately fully vested
• Paid parental leave offering 18 weeks 100% paid leave for a birthing parent and 12 weeks 100% paid leave for non-birthing parent
• Paid Time Off including
• • 15 days of annual vacation time in first year of employment, increasing with length of service
  • 7 days of annual paid sick time
  • Paid holidays along with BCRF wide half days and summer Fridays

To Apply:

Please submit a CV and cover letter expressing your intention to apply for the role. After uploading your CV, please select the "upload attachment" option on the next screen to provide your cover letter.

Only candidates short-listed for an initial interview will be contacted. Please, no phone calls.

Our Commitments

BCRF upholds an equal opportunity employment policy and employs personnel without regard to race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, age, physical or mental ability, veteran status, military obligations, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law. This policy applies to all applicants, employees, consultants, third-party workers.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full‑time basis without the need for employer support or sponsorship now or in the future.