Associate VP of Philanthropy Services, Operations and Analytics
- Requisition #: 178928
- Location: Houston, TX
- Posted Date: 2/20/2026
Reporting to the Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer, the Associate Vice President for Philanthropy Business Operations and Analytics serves as a member of the Philanthropy Senior Leadership Team and provides executive leadership for the operational, analytical, and systems infrastructure that enables MD Anderson's philanthropy enterprise to perform reliably at scale.
This role is accountable for integrating and advancing the core services that support one of the nation's most complex and high-performing fundraising operations, encompassing more than 150,000 philanthropic transactions annually and a public comprehensive campaign environment.
The Associate Vice President provides strategic direction and operational oversight for an integrated portfolio that includes both the Decision Science & Analytics and the Finance & Gift Operations departments, thus overseeing all gift administration and compliance, prospect development and research; records management and due diligence; reporting and analytics with associated data governance; and CRM and digital systems. This position plays a critical enterprise-facing role, partnering closely with Finance, Legal, Internal Audit, Business Solutions, and Information Services. As MD Anderson advances its ERP initiative, the Associate Vice President serves as a key translator between fundraising requirements and enterprise architecture, ensuring donor, financial, and CRM systems are aligned, integrated, and future-ready. The role is also responsible for strengthening data integrity, audit readiness, and compliance across all philanthropy operations.
The Associate Vice President is a people leader who builds, mentors, and develops multidisciplinary teams across operations, analytics, research, and systems. This leader fosters a culture of accountability, service, continuous improvement, and high reliability, ensuring staff have the clarity, tools, and support needed to thrive in a complex, donor-facing environment.
By providing unified leadership for philanthropy's core business functions, the Associate Vice President enables frontline fundraisers, faculty partners, and volunteers to focus on donor engagement and institutional impact, while ensuring the operational foundation required to sustain growth, reduce risk, and steward donor trust.
The ideal candidate will possess:
JOB SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES:
Strategic Initiatives 40%
Utilize efficiency, resourcefulness, foresight and connectedness to conceptualize, lead and sustain divisional critical programs, projects and objectives. Provide the means of translating goals and visions into practice by using leadership to unite all stakeholders around rapid self-organization in pursuit of common goals. Translate vision and strategy into a compelling plan of action others can work towards. Display fluency in leading through ambiguity and uncertainty, often leading novel efforts of strategic significance.
• Provide strategic vision and direction for Decision Science & Analytics, Gift Operations, and Philanthropy Finance, ensuring these functions operate as integrated enterprise capabilities.
• Ensure that strategies and initiatives across Philanthropy Services align with the objectives, milestones, and timelines of MD Anderson's philanthropic campaign
• Collaborate closely with leaders across Philanthropy to maximize synergies, coordinate interdependencies, and strengthen collective impact in campaign execution
• Oversee and direct internal and external benchmarking efforts to assess performance, organizational design, and operational maturity against peer institutions
• Seek, synthesize, and analyze data from multiple sources to support evidence-based decision-making and advance Philanthropy's strategic priorities
• Ensure alignment of programmatic, departmental, vertical, and organization-wide activities with Philanthropy's goals, performance expectations, and standards of reliability
• Plan, organize, and establish policies and governance structures that promote efficient, cost-effective, and high-quality service delivery at scale
Consultation with Critical Evaluation 30%
Provide guidance to internal and external stakeholders utilizing subject matter expertise. Use critical evaluation skills to interpret information and make business decisions and recommendations to internal and external stakeholders. Possess and use cross functional knowledge to understand interdepartmental connections and help others to make these associations.
• Provide guidance to internal and external stakeholders utilizing subject matter expertise. Use critical evaluation skills to interpret information and make business decisions and recommendations to internal and external stakeholders. Possess and use cross-functional knowledge to understand interdepartmental connections and help others to make these associations
• Serve as a consultative partner to the Philanthropy Senior Leadership Team on matters related to data science, philanthropy finance, gift operations, CRM strategy, and evolving industry best practices
• Contribute to the long-term achievement of MD Anderson's institutional goals and philanthropic objectives through informed strategic counsel and operational leadership
• Continuously assess the philanthropic operating environment to identify opportunities to enhance services, developing innovative and practical strategies that address evolving operational and decision-making needs across departments
• Build and sustain strong relationships across the institution to advance Philanthropy's short- and long-term goals, fostering collaboration and shared accountability
• Build on the foundation established through the CRM conversion by leveraging current and emerging technologies to guide Philanthropy's CRM strategy, ensuring seamless integration across divisional workflows.
• Increase awareness, understanding, and adoption of the CRM's full capabilities, including advanced analytics and generative AI tools, to support more effective fundraising, stewardship, and decision-making
• Partner with enterprise leaders during ERP implementation to translate fundraising requirements into enterprise workflows and ensure alignment between donor, financial, and system data
Leadership and Project Management 30%
Drive execution of strategic plans and lead decision making around stakeholder relationships, special projects and initiatives and the orchestration of strategic approaches. Continuously capture and collect significant data points, execute on deliverables with precision, develop actionable strategies and allocate appropriate resources to execute work functions. Serve as a coach, mentor and sponsor, enabling others to thrive in a dynamic and changing environment.
• Provide oversight and campaign experience-based leadership to drive innovation, facilitate accuracy and ensure high reliability (HRO) for managed departments
• Effectively set clear and challenging goals while committing the operation functions to improved performance and ensure high reliability
• Analyze department data against industry benchmarking to evolve practices that will ensure service excellence
• Ensure the right administrative structure and leadership is in place to support timely, effective, and efficient decision making across all departments
• Drive internal growth using the Leadership Institute's principles of knowledge sharing, capacity building, and accountability
• Has final approval over procedures created in cooperation with teams and provides oversight to communicate and implement them
• Continuously evaluates, develops and promotes performance improvement activities
• Provides guidance on, and ensures compliance with, all HIPAA fundraising rules and regulations
EDUCATION:
Required: Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Data Analytics/Science, or a
related field.
Preferred: Advanced degree in Business or a related field
EXPERIENCE:
Required: 14 years of progressive professional experience in advancement services or fundraising, including at least 5 years significant leadership and operations experience; a successful track record of people and program management; and proven expertise in the management of finances, operations, systems, cost efficiencies, and productivity enhancements.
Preferred: 14 plus years of experience in advancement services or fundraising
Experience in higher education and/or a complex academic medical center setting
Industry experience in not-for-profits and/or public higher education
Knowledge of federal and state financial regulations
Knowledge of CASE Global Reporting Standards
Experience in managing a multi-year comprehensive campaign
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, paid time off, retirement, tuition benefits, educational opportunities, and individual and team recognition.
This position may be responsible for maintaining the security and integrity of critical infrastructure, as defined in Section 113.001(2) of the Texas Business and Commerce Code and therefore may require routine reviews and screening. The ability to satisfy and maintain all requirements necessary to ensure the continued security and integrity of such infrastructure is a condition of hire and continued employment.
It is the policy of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to provide equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other basis protected by institutional policy or by federal, state, or local laws unless such distinction is required by law.http://www.mdanderson.org/about-us/legal-and-policy/legal-statements/eeo-affirmative-action.html
Additional Information
#LI-Hybrid
This role is accountable for integrating and advancing the core services that support one of the nation's most complex and high-performing fundraising operations, encompassing more than 150,000 philanthropic transactions annually and a public comprehensive campaign environment.
The Associate Vice President provides strategic direction and operational oversight for an integrated portfolio that includes both the Decision Science & Analytics and the Finance & Gift Operations departments, thus overseeing all gift administration and compliance, prospect development and research; records management and due diligence; reporting and analytics with associated data governance; and CRM and digital systems. This position plays a critical enterprise-facing role, partnering closely with Finance, Legal, Internal Audit, Business Solutions, and Information Services. As MD Anderson advances its ERP initiative, the Associate Vice President serves as a key translator between fundraising requirements and enterprise architecture, ensuring donor, financial, and CRM systems are aligned, integrated, and future-ready. The role is also responsible for strengthening data integrity, audit readiness, and compliance across all philanthropy operations.
The Associate Vice President is a people leader who builds, mentors, and develops multidisciplinary teams across operations, analytics, research, and systems. This leader fosters a culture of accountability, service, continuous improvement, and high reliability, ensuring staff have the clarity, tools, and support needed to thrive in a complex, donor-facing environment.
By providing unified leadership for philanthropy's core business functions, the Associate Vice President enables frontline fundraisers, faculty partners, and volunteers to focus on donor engagement and institutional impact, while ensuring the operational foundation required to sustain growth, reduce risk, and steward donor trust.
The ideal candidate will possess:
- Ability to understand, communicate and explain quantitative information to improve decision-making and improve team and divisional performance
- Professional credibility, intellectual depth, maturity, wisdom and collaborative skills that garner the trust and confidence of the institution's Executive Leadership Team, Philanthropy's Senior Leadership Team, faculty, Board of Visitors and other key constituents
- Strong collaborator and facilitator able to work across a complex/multi-layered organization and provide inspired leadership
- Strong analytical and strategic thinking capabilities
- Ability to embrace change, and lead others through strong change management leadership
- Self-motivated, self-directed and highly organized professional with a genuine belief in the mission and strong ethical conduct
- Trustworthy in handling highly confidential conversations and information
JOB SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES:
Strategic Initiatives 40%
Utilize efficiency, resourcefulness, foresight and connectedness to conceptualize, lead and sustain divisional critical programs, projects and objectives. Provide the means of translating goals and visions into practice by using leadership to unite all stakeholders around rapid self-organization in pursuit of common goals. Translate vision and strategy into a compelling plan of action others can work towards. Display fluency in leading through ambiguity and uncertainty, often leading novel efforts of strategic significance.
• Provide strategic vision and direction for Decision Science & Analytics, Gift Operations, and Philanthropy Finance, ensuring these functions operate as integrated enterprise capabilities.
• Ensure that strategies and initiatives across Philanthropy Services align with the objectives, milestones, and timelines of MD Anderson's philanthropic campaign
• Collaborate closely with leaders across Philanthropy to maximize synergies, coordinate interdependencies, and strengthen collective impact in campaign execution
• Oversee and direct internal and external benchmarking efforts to assess performance, organizational design, and operational maturity against peer institutions
• Seek, synthesize, and analyze data from multiple sources to support evidence-based decision-making and advance Philanthropy's strategic priorities
• Ensure alignment of programmatic, departmental, vertical, and organization-wide activities with Philanthropy's goals, performance expectations, and standards of reliability
• Plan, organize, and establish policies and governance structures that promote efficient, cost-effective, and high-quality service delivery at scale
Consultation with Critical Evaluation 30%
Provide guidance to internal and external stakeholders utilizing subject matter expertise. Use critical evaluation skills to interpret information and make business decisions and recommendations to internal and external stakeholders. Possess and use cross functional knowledge to understand interdepartmental connections and help others to make these associations.
• Provide guidance to internal and external stakeholders utilizing subject matter expertise. Use critical evaluation skills to interpret information and make business decisions and recommendations to internal and external stakeholders. Possess and use cross-functional knowledge to understand interdepartmental connections and help others to make these associations
• Serve as a consultative partner to the Philanthropy Senior Leadership Team on matters related to data science, philanthropy finance, gift operations, CRM strategy, and evolving industry best practices
• Contribute to the long-term achievement of MD Anderson's institutional goals and philanthropic objectives through informed strategic counsel and operational leadership
• Continuously assess the philanthropic operating environment to identify opportunities to enhance services, developing innovative and practical strategies that address evolving operational and decision-making needs across departments
• Build and sustain strong relationships across the institution to advance Philanthropy's short- and long-term goals, fostering collaboration and shared accountability
• Build on the foundation established through the CRM conversion by leveraging current and emerging technologies to guide Philanthropy's CRM strategy, ensuring seamless integration across divisional workflows.
• Increase awareness, understanding, and adoption of the CRM's full capabilities, including advanced analytics and generative AI tools, to support more effective fundraising, stewardship, and decision-making
• Partner with enterprise leaders during ERP implementation to translate fundraising requirements into enterprise workflows and ensure alignment between donor, financial, and system data
Leadership and Project Management 30%
Drive execution of strategic plans and lead decision making around stakeholder relationships, special projects and initiatives and the orchestration of strategic approaches. Continuously capture and collect significant data points, execute on deliverables with precision, develop actionable strategies and allocate appropriate resources to execute work functions. Serve as a coach, mentor and sponsor, enabling others to thrive in a dynamic and changing environment.
• Provide oversight and campaign experience-based leadership to drive innovation, facilitate accuracy and ensure high reliability (HRO) for managed departments
• Effectively set clear and challenging goals while committing the operation functions to improved performance and ensure high reliability
• Analyze department data against industry benchmarking to evolve practices that will ensure service excellence
• Ensure the right administrative structure and leadership is in place to support timely, effective, and efficient decision making across all departments
• Drive internal growth using the Leadership Institute's principles of knowledge sharing, capacity building, and accountability
• Has final approval over procedures created in cooperation with teams and provides oversight to communicate and implement them
• Continuously evaluates, develops and promotes performance improvement activities
• Provides guidance on, and ensures compliance with, all HIPAA fundraising rules and regulations
EDUCATION:
Required: Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Data Analytics/Science, or a
related field.
Preferred: Advanced degree in Business or a related field
EXPERIENCE:
Required: 14 years of progressive professional experience in advancement services or fundraising, including at least 5 years significant leadership and operations experience; a successful track record of people and program management; and proven expertise in the management of finances, operations, systems, cost efficiencies, and productivity enhancements.
Preferred: 14 plus years of experience in advancement services or fundraising
Experience in higher education and/or a complex academic medical center setting
Industry experience in not-for-profits and/or public higher education
Knowledge of federal and state financial regulations
Knowledge of CASE Global Reporting Standards
Experience in managing a multi-year comprehensive campaign
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, paid time off, retirement, tuition benefits, educational opportunities, and individual and team recognition.
This position may be responsible for maintaining the security and integrity of critical infrastructure, as defined in Section 113.001(2) of the Texas Business and Commerce Code and therefore may require routine reviews and screening. The ability to satisfy and maintain all requirements necessary to ensure the continued security and integrity of such infrastructure is a condition of hire and continued employment.
It is the policy of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to provide equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other basis protected by institutional policy or by federal, state, or local laws unless such distinction is required by law.http://www.mdanderson.org/about-us/legal-and-policy/legal-statements/eeo-affirmative-action.html
Additional Information
- Requisition ID: 178928
- Employment Status: Full-Time
- Employee Status: Regular
- Work Week: Days
- Minimum Salary: US Dollar (USD) 255,000
- Midpoint Salary: US Dollar (USD) 277,500
- Maximum Salary : US Dollar (USD) 300,000
- FLSA: exempt and not eligible for overtime pay
- Fund Type: Hard
- Work Location: Hybrid Onsite/Remote
- Pivotal Position: No
- Referral Bonus Available?: No
- Relocation Assistance Available?: No
#LI-Hybrid
