Senior Philanthropy Manager

Reporting to the Head of Engagement and Philanthropy, you’ll lead the team, strategy and execution behind our major gifts program – with the ambitious goal of doubling individual philanthropy income by 2030.

Your background in sales leadership, major gift fundraising, or high-level stakeholder engagement will be critical to building long-term partnerships that fuel life-changing medical research.

What You’ll Do

• Lead with strategy – Design major gift initiatives aligned to MCRI’s priorities, with clear performance metrics
• Grow revenue – Build and manage a high-performing team to deliver ambitious income growth
• Build partnerships – Cultivate, solicit, and steward relationships with high-value donors and prospects
• Create meaningful experiences – Deliver bespoke donor engagement, including events, lab tours and briefings
• Drive results – Implement a data-driven approach to pipeline, portfolio, and team performance
• Collaborate widely – Work closely with senior leaders, researchers and the broader Engagement and Development team to amplify outcomes.

About your new team

At Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI, our purpose is to give every child the opportunity to live a healthy and fulfilled life. Our Engagement and Development (E&D) team plays a vital role in achieving this, by informing, inspiring and connecting supporters to the impact of our groundbreaking research.

The E&D team brings together three powerful pillars:

• Brand and Marketing – Inspiring audiences with creativity and consistency
• Communications – Informing with clarity and purpose
• Philanthropy – Building meaningful relationships to secure support for vital research

What You Bring

• A track record of success in major gift fundraising, high-level sales, or relationship-based revenue generation
• Demonstrated success in securing significant philanthropic support
• Strategic thinking with the ability to lead and motivate a results-focused team
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience leading and motivating teams to achieve ambitious revenue targets
• Outstanding interpersonal, negotiation, and communication skills
• Experience using RE NXT or similar CRM/database systems
• Strong commercial acumen and analytical thinking

For full viewing of responsibilities and requirements please refer to the position description. Any specific questions related to this position should be directed to Rebecca Harford at [email protected]