Senior Project Manager (Development, VIP)

About Us:
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) was founded in 2000 with one clear objective: accelerating meaningful therapeutic advances and, ultimately, a cure for Parkinson’s disease (PD). The Foundation applies extraordinary scientific, business and media assets to this singular focus—thus creating a unique and dynamic organization. Since inception, MJFF has quickly grown into the largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s disease research, having funded over $2 billion in research projects in both academic and industry labs worldwide.

Core to our philosophy is how we think of our capital and its risk profile relative to other stakeholders in the drug development pipeline. We work aggressively to de-risk various therapeutic strategies and tools in the hopes of building a robust pipeline of new treatments for patients. In order to achieve our mission of finding a cure for PD it is critical that we engage with, and bring together, members of the PD community including researchers, physicians, health professionals and most important, people with Parkinson's and their families.

We believe that to find a cure for PD as quickly as possible, our capital needs to push research forward today—we therefore deliberately hold no endowment or excessive reserves. We instead seek to deploy funds raised as quickly and wisely as possible. MJFF raises over $100 million annually. Today, the Foundation has approximately 250 full-time employees. We offer a collegial and collaborative environment where optimistic problem-solvers and entrepreneurial, resourceful individuals can thrive and make a tangible difference for millions of people living with Parkinson’s disease.

Position Summary:
The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) is seeking top talent for its Senior Project Manager position.  The Senior Project Manager, Development, VIP is the execution lead for key fundraising deliverables specific to MJFF’s top 5-10 VIP donors. Working with MJFF’s executive leadership as well as leadership within Development and across Marketing, Communications, Finance, Research and the Project Management Office, this role supplies implementation to relationship managers by moving VIP donor fundraising strategies into bespoke deliverables such as pitch materials (slides, proposals, talking points), stewardship communications and update reports. 

Key to success in this role will be an ability to communicate PD research priorities, collaborate across teams to execute complex, nuanced deliverables, organize, maintain and update materials, and socialize and identify ways for content to be repurposed for other use cases when appropriate. As a linchpin for a new team, a successful candidate will help build, motivate and support identifying process needs across teams and activating internal Development service providers.

This role will also serve as keeper of all VIP donor-facing materials to start and will serve as VIP lens to the Business Management Team in their work to build and maintain resource organization.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

• Partner with executive leadership and senior fundraisers on the Individual Giving and Corporate and Foundation teams to execute the development process for donor-facing materials tailored to the Foundation’s top 5-10 relationships.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across different department to understand project requirements, resources and timeline needs.
• Develop new workflows and processes to meet deliverable deadlines and with lens to timeline and budget efficiencies.
• Manage and monitor progress of content development, providing status updates to internal interested parties.
• Identify potential risks and knowledge gaps, facilitating communication across internal teams to ensure information is flowing optimally for the success of the deliverable.
• Create timelines and develop tracking tools to support known annual deliverables, as well as opportunistic, transformative and time sensitive opportunities.
• Support strategy for MJFF-led and third-party speaking engagements and facilitate presentation materials, remarks, messaging. Ensure connectivity in talking points with priority Foundation science news and other communications and fundraising materials being developed.
• Support conducting internal feasibility assessments – consulting with relationship managers to cross reference resource hours with VIP deliverable needs.
• Identify and mitigate risks to timelines and develop contingency plans as needed.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and meet organization’s strategic goals.
• Develop and maintain project documentation, including charters, requirements documents and status reports.
• Attend and contribute to Development team meetings to elevate challenges and offer solutions as it relates to deliverable execution, audience overlaps, or optimizations for timing to enable a best-in-class donor experience for all donor levels.
• Serve as a positive and unifying figure who can contribute to the development culture at MJFF and exhibit the Foundation's values in daily interactions.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Proven history of success (5+ years) as a project manager, with proven creativity in supporting donors and fundraising at 7+ figures.
• Strong project management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines and work on many projects simultaneously, experience with Asana a plus.
• Comfort managing relationships with external vendors.
• Experience with donor management software, such as Salesforce and DOMO.
• Extremely clear communicator; good at setting expectations.  
• Comfortable exercising judgment, initiative and discretion.
• Ability to handle complex and highly confidential materials. 
• Proactive, and organized: must be able to independently prioritize needs with competing timelines and stakeholders.
• Strong management skills, both strategic and operational, and a demonstrated ability to build, manage, and motivate an effective team.
• Ability to articulate a clear and compelling case for support for MJFF.
• Strong attention to detail and organization skills to strategically share information across teams.
• Proven ability to support the management of relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels. 
• Ability to produce high-quality written work and plans, working cross-functionally and with urgency across different internal stakeholders and outside partners.
• Possess strong technical skills including PowerPoint and Word.  

Salary and Benefits:
The salary range for this position is $100,000 - $120,000.  In addition to salary, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• 15+ options for medical insurance (with MJFF paying 90 percent of the premiums).
• Competitive dental and vision plans.
• 401(k) plan with 6 percent employer contribution.
• Flexible spending accounts.
• Employer paid life and disability insurance.
• 18 days Paid Time Off (PTO); 12 Well-Being (Sick) Days; 2 Personal Days; summer Fridays (office closure at 2pm) and a summer holiday week over July 4.
• Two ways of working: hybrid-flex, or remote work.  We trust all employees to work closely with their manager and colleagues to determine when, where and how programs and projects get done. 

Employees are also eligible for a discretionary bonus on an annual basis. MJFF provides staff and leadership cultivation through regular training courses and events. 

Vaccine Statement: 
At The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF), the health and safety of our team and our community is a priority. MJFF has made the decision to require all staff receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment. Successful applicants for this position must be fully vaccinated by date of hire and proof of vaccine is required. Full vaccination is defined as two weeks after both doses of two-dose vaccine or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine has been administered. Anyone unable to be vaccinated, because of medical or religious reasons, can request a reasonable accommodation for consideration.

How to Apply:
Interested candidates should submit a resume and thoughtful cover letter describing their specific qualifications and interest in the position.

MJFF is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applications from individuals who will contribute to our efforts to build and support a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce. Diversity may refer to characteristics including, but not limited to, race, religion, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic circumstance, geographic background, ability and disability, political ideology and age.