Project ECHO is unique and innovative center based within a vibrant academic community at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. Our mission is to democratize implementation of best practices with a goal of helping 1 billion people lead better lives by 2025.

We currently have an amazing opportunity for a Chief Advancement Officer focused on high-net-worth individual fundraising to join our leadership team and help our organization, poised for growth, expand exponentially to meet our ambitious goals. This position will work very collaboratively with ECHO’s leadership team, the UNM Foundation, and UNMHSC to build and execute strategy to meet Project ECHO’s fundraising goal of $100 million over the next three years. There is an opportunity to consider additional compensation over time.

The successful candidate will have an achievement-oriented mindset, be able to work well in a fast-paced collaborative environment, and bring a high energy focused presence to their work. He or she will have experience developing and executing large, complex multi-year fundraising campaigns. He or she will be able to inspire donors to understand and be part of ECHO’s unique vision to democratize implementation of best practices in healthcare, education and beyond around the world. To do this, the successful candidate will need to have extremely strong interpersonal skills and an excellent understanding of marketing and communications for fundraising, especially fundraising for systems change organizations.

As the Chief Advancement Officer focused on high net worth fundraising, your responsibilities will include:

• Developing and maintaining a strong three-year, $100 million fundraising plan for high net-worth individuals and family foundations that are in alignment with Project ECHO’s mission and values and meets Project ECHO’s funding needs for key initiatives and recurring funding.
• Identifying, cultivating, and soliciting major gifts (developing as appropriate tailored events to promote the organization’s mission, individual conversations, and other creative tools).
  Building a plan for donor stewardship and advancement
  Working collaboratively with the UNM Foundation to follow giving procedures such as confidentiality of donor records and compliance guidelines, ensuring that appropriate updates are submitted into the Foundation’s Advance software, and solicitations are coordinated with Foundation representatives. Collaborating with UNM Foundation staff to process gifts and acknowledgement of gifts in a timely and professional manner and directly managing individual gift officers.
• Ensuring accurate data systems are in place within Salesforce and Advance, tracking gift lifecycle interactions, and tracking interactions with potential donors.
  Benchmarking key milestones for growth and development towards fundraising goals and providing regular updates and reports on success, challenges, and plans to shift strategy as needed.
• Maintaining key reports in coordination with the Foundation and Project ECHO’s Finance Team, and sharing reports regularly with key internal leadership and stakeholders.
• Working directly with the Director of ECHO Institute and ECHO leadership to support cultivation of donors to ensure that the ECHO Institute Director and key representatives are supported for fundraising activities and asks.
• As appropriate, overseeing the consultants and subcontractors working to support fundraising. Managing key stakeholder relationships with subcontractors and vendors to support fundraising and prospecting relationships.
• As appropriate, hiring and managing a skilled team focused on achieving the campaign’s goal for high net-worth individual giving, including: striving to build a team of diverse backgrounds with a broad understanding of cultural differences, evaluating performance and making recommendations for personnel actions, ensuring the team is up to date on ECHO procedures.
• Working with the ECHO Institute’s Communications and Marketing team to recommend and advise on the development of fundraising collateral and marketing tools. Overseeing and managing fundraising events as needed to reach fundraising goals.
• Ensuring standards of equity and inclusion in all relationships both internally and externally.

Project ECHO is committed to democratizing implementation of best practices in healthcare, education and other areas where first mile professionals need support. We do this by training universities, nonprofits, and dedicated individuals on facilitation skills and how to set up robust virtual communities of practice to be able to scale their own expertise and missions to the benefit of their local communities. Over the past 20 years, Project ECHO and our partners have trained more than 1,000 organizations who make up our global network of Universities, ministries of health, and NGOs around the world. Examples of programs we and others run include infectious disease control (COVID-19, hepatitis C, HIV), mental health and addiction treatment, literacy, math, climate mitigation and many more.

Project ECHO is funded in part by philanthropic grants and gifts from organizations such as the GE Foundation, the Helmsley Charitable Trust, the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, the Merck Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the US Government. Additionally, for programming benefitting New Mexico we receive support from the NM Legislature, the New Mexico Human Services Department and the New Mexico Department of Health.

Project ECHO prides itself on being a values-based organization and inclusive place to work. Our seven values include: Service to the Underserved, Democratization of Knowledge, Mutual Trust and Respect, Teamwork, Excellence and Accountability, Innovation and Learning and Joy of Work. We strive to find individuals who can embrace and exemplify these values. In addition, Project ECHO was named one of Albuquerque’s Top Three Best Places to Work in 2023. This award recognizes organizations of all sizes with exceptional climates, team atmospheres, benefits, and employee engagement.

Because we work with partners all over the world and work hours outside of normal business hours may be required. We estimate that this position will require about 25% time dedicated to travel to meet with potential donors and donor cultivation. Our preference would be to find a candidate who can commit to spending a significant part of their time in Albuquerque when they are not travelling in order to build teamwork, collaboration and trust within the fundraising group. For the right experienced candidate, we would be open to considering a virtual engagement.