The Lupus Research Alliance has partnered with Aspen Leadership Group in the search for a Chief Advancement Officer.

You may view the position prospectus or submit an application via this link:

https://opportunities.aspenleadershipgroup.com/opportunities/1397

Please note: to be considered, you must apply using the link above.

In this newly created role, the Chief Advancement Officer is responsible for the alignment, planning, managing, and executing a comprehensive, diversified and strategic development and marketing and communications effort to further advance the organization's mission with the mandate of significantly growing and diversifying sources of revenue from all constituents. The Chief Advancement Officer will provide strategic vision and an innovative approach to this endeavor, ensuring that the development and marketing and communications teams are fully integrated to tell the Lupus Research Alliance's story in a compelling and impactful way to drive constituent engagement and fundraising growth.

The Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) is the largest nongovernmental, nonprofit funder of lupus research in the world. LRA aims to transform treatment while advancing toward a cure by funding the most innovative lupus research; fostering diverse scientific talent; stimulating collaborations; and driving discovery toward better diagnostics, improved treatments, and ultimately, a cure for lupus. Because the Lupus Research Alliance’s Board of Directors funds all administrative and fundraising costs, 100% of all donations goes to support lupus research programs.

The Lupus Research Alliance was born from the merger of three organizations: the Lupus Research Institute (LRI) and the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation with the Alliance for Lupus Research (ALR). The Lupus Research Alliance is now the world’s leading catalyst driving innovative research that can transform the lives of all affected by the disease—patients, their loved ones, and the entire Lupus Community. In 2016, the LRI, the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation, and the ALR merged to form the most comprehensive private-sector organization supporting biomedical research in lupus. This landmark merger united the leading lupus research organizations in a single unwavering focus: support the best new science to prevent, treat, and cure lupus. By pushing the limits of scientific exploration and shepherding new discoveries into potential treatments, the organization aims to seize every opportunity that will help ease the burden of people living with this difficult disease.

The Lupus Research Alliance, along with its affiliate Lupus Therapeutics, is the only organization focused on the complete spectrum of lupus research from transformative discoveries in the lab through clinical trials leading to new medications. The LRA will leave no stone unturned when it comes to looking for new treatments for people with lupus, making its aim for safer, more effective, and more targeted treatment options a tangible reality.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

The Chief Advancement Officer will report to the President and Chief Executive Officer, Albert T. Roy and will serve on the President's Executive Team. The Chief Advancement Officer will oversee a team of 13 staff including two direct reports - the Vice President of Communications and the Vice President of Development.

FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO

As the world’s largest private funder of lupus research, the Lupus Research Alliance has invested more than $245 million in lupus research since its inception 25 years ago. Through our affiliate, Lupus Therapeutics, and its premier Lupus Clinical Investigator Network, we are partnering with dozens of biopharmaceutical companies focused on delivering promising new diagnostics and therapies for lupus. Because our work spans the full research continuum from basic science to clinical research, we are uniquely positioned to dramatically improve the lives of those affected by lupus and we won’t abate until we achieve that objective.

With the lupus research landscape evolving to precision-based medicine approaches, the mission of the LRA could not be more urgent or important: drive the discovery and development of new diagnostics and treatments through innovative research and collaborations, while keeping patients at the center of everything we do. To guide us, we recently launched a bold, five-year strategic plan to meet this urgent moment. The key to turning our plan into life-changing breakthroughs for people with lupus will be the inspiration we draw from our passionate and committed donors, Board of Directors, incredible staff, and world-class scientific collaborators. It’s an exhilarating and pivotal time at the LRA and we couldn’t be more energized to embrace the challenge that lies ahead.

To succeed, however, we recognize we must quickly grow and diversify our support and resources to match our ambitious organizational goals. Simply put—we need to double our revenue (currently approximately $23M per year) within the next three years. Adding a Chief Advancement Officer to our Executive Team is a critical component to achieving that mandate.

The Chief Advancement Officer will oversee two functions: development and marketing and communications, leading the way to a more integrated, synergistic coordination of these teams and their work to ensure congruency with our organizational goals and objectives. We are looking for a proven and dynamic leader with innovative ideas—someone who will drive positive disruption, challenge the status quo, inspire others, and dare to go big.

If a challenge of this magnitude excites you, then this opportunity may be right for you. You will have the support of two incredibly talented senior leaders, each leading the day-to-day work of the development and marketing and communications teams, as well as partnership, guidance, and support from other members of the Executive Team, our staff, and our Board. Together, we are working tirelessly to build an organization that one day will allow us to realize our vision: a world free of lupus.

Thank you for your interest in this important professional opportunity.

—Albert T. Roy, President and Chief Executive Officer

THE LUPUS RESEARCH ALLIANCE'S COMMITMENT TO
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING

The shared mission of the Lupus Research Alliance and its clinical research affiliate Lupus Therapeutics places people impacted by lupus at the center of all it does. The LRA applies this same spirit toward building a more inclusive organization by also putting its staff, partners, and communities at the center of its equity efforts. As core institutional values, equity, inclusion, and a variety of lived experiences strengthen the LRA's research efforts and impact and contribute to its important work.

Lupus Research Alliance is carrying out activities around diversity, equity, and inclusion following an assessment of its organizational culture, practices, and impact. These include re-vitalizing a formal DEI committee, conducting a pay-equity analysis, training staff around inclusive leadership, developing a guide for inclusive language, and undergoing a benefits review which led to the addition of a generous fully paid parental leave benefit. In addition, the LRA has revamped its performance management processes to help grow its most important resource—its talented staff.

Lupus Research Alliance will continue to pursue ways to remove barriers to full inclusion, participation, and equity in everything it does both internally through its DEI work and externally through its Health Equity work to embrace all populations affected by lupus in searching for new treatments and advancing to a cure. Collectively, this work is a critical part of the LRA's organizational goals, ensuring it stays on track and accountable to its commitments.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Chief Advancement Officer will

• Establish a state-of-the-art development program, positioning the Lupus Research Alliance for long-term, sustainable success through strong and growing philanthropic support;
• Strategically align development with the marketing and communications team reach various new and existing individuals and stakeholder groups, increasing their understanding of the organization’s identity and brand, strategic imperatives, and case for charitable support;
• Develop and implement a robust national development strategy that encompasses foundations, major donors, corporations, and special events;
• Nurture, motivate, and lead a team of committed development, marketing, and communications colleagues who are passionate about the mission of the LRA through goal-setting, mentorship, evaluation, and recognition;
  articulate an inspiring vision and demonstrate an authentic commitment to organizational success;
• Create and implement a process by which a steady source of donor prospects is identified, researched, and qualified for the appropriate level of cultivation and solicitation, with the goal of creating a multi-year pipeline to sustain the organization for the future;
• Prepare the annual operational plan for development, including the delineation of timetables, budgets, and strategies for accomplishing fundraising goals and objectives;
• Prepare and ensure accurate fundraising reports that include all lines of revenue;
• Review and create clear policy guidelines for development, including processing and accounting, donor recognition, and stewardship;
• Develop a master calendar of development activities and events;
• Develop feedback mechanisms to measure the impact of the LRA's marketing and communications efforts;
• Build a productive working relationship with the organization’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Board, and senior leadership, and provide them with timely advice and counsel on all development and public relations issues;
• Collaborate with and leverage relationships of the President and Chief Executive Officer, Board of Directors, and senior leaders and ensure that they are effectively supported in their fundraising efforts;
• Assist the President and Chief Executive Officer and Board in identifying and recruiting new Board members and setting philanthropic goals for the Board;
• Be a source of development knowledge and expertise across the organization;
• Remain current on industry trends and best practices in philanthropy and apply findings to inform and adapt fundraising strategies; and
• Be visible in the philanthropic community nationally, promoting the LRA and attracting donors and advocates to advance its mission.

LEADERSHIP

Albert T. Roy
President and Chief Executive Officer
Albert T. Roy leads the Lupus Research Alliance as President and Chief Executive Officer. He has two decades of executive nonprofit experience with extensive research, drug development, and executive management experience in the academic and private sectors.

Leading the largest private lupus research funder at the forefront of many of today’s biggest breakthroughs, Roy is committed to realizing the mission of the Lupus Research Alliance: to find better treatments and ultimately, a cure, for this highly complex disease. With the vision of being able to match the right therapy for each patient, he remains laser focused on producing clinically meaningful results that “allow people with lupus to be the best versions of themselves.”

Roy joined the LRA after six years serving as Executive Director of its clinical arm Lupus Therapeutics. In this role, Roy expanded Lupus Therapeutics into a clinical research powerhouse, supporting 20 clinical research efforts with 16 partners from major biopharmaceutical companies committed to lupus drug development.

A cornerstone of this success has been the formation and expansion of the Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN), a network of 57 prestigious academic institutions throughout North America that care for 25,000 people living with lupus. Addressing health inequities in lupus research and improving clinical research awareness and engagement, particularly among people of color who are underrepresented in clinical research

Previously, Roy was Vice President of Operations and Research Programs at CureSearch for Children’s Cancer, a multi-million-dollar public charity whose mission is to support targeted and innovative children’s cancer research. CureSearch served as the fiscal, administrative, and philanthropic agent for the world’s largest pediatric cancer clinical trials research network, the Children’s Oncology Group (COG). During his tenure there, Roy managed a clinical research portfolio exceeding $50 million per year and coordinated the formation of the COG through strategic partnerships with more than 200 academic research medical centers throughout North America to conduct Phase I, II, and III industry-led and investigator-initiated pediatric cancer clinical trials.

Roy is a graduate of Ithaca College and received his master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University.

PREFERRED COMPETENCIES AND QUALIFICATIONS

The Lupus Research Alliance seeks a Chief Advancement Officer with:

• A commitment to the mission of the Lupus Research Alliance—to drive the discovery and development of next-generation lupus diagnostics and curative treatments through innovative research and collaborations;
• Experience leading a successful national fundraising program within a nonprofit or healthcare research institution of similar or larger size, structure, and scope;
• An ability to build upon an existing marketing and communications operation, evaluating its strengths, identifying opportunities for improvement, setting a vision for the future, and guiding teams through changes to structure and processes;
• An ability to serve as a visible and effective leader—to recognize and nurture talent while building and retaining successful teams;
• A comprehensive understanding of marketing, branding, and communications processes from creative conceptualization to implementation with an emphasis on the healthcare sector;
• An ability to foster an environment marked by creativity, commitment to professional growth, connectivity, collegiality, mutual respect, and cultural competency with an emphasis on equity;
• An ability to assess and implement successful identification strategies for new sources of support from individuals, corporations, and foundations;
• A proven record of converting strategy into effective execution;
• An ability to execute a development plan and evaluation of outcomes using a metrics-based approach;
• Experience with donor-centric approaches to resource development;
• Experience establishing and meeting strategic goals;
• Knowledge of the latest innovations in fundraising techniques and philanthropy and an ability to translate those innovations and techniques into action;
• An ability to communicate on the power of philanthropy to diverse audiences, internally and externally;
• An ability to understand and synthesize medical and scientific concepts for different audiences and for different purposes;
• Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to work with a diversity of stakeholders;
• Superb written and verbal communication skills, including active listening skills; and
• Competence in budgeting and revenue goal-setting.

A bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least eight years of experience leading an advancement function at an organization of similar size and scope focused on healthcare and research is preferred for this role. The Lupus Research Alliance will consider candidates with a broad range of backgrounds. If you are excited about this role and feel that you can contribute to the LRA, but your experience does not exactly align with every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range for this position is $250,000 to $300,000 annually. The Lupus Research Alliance offers comprehensive package of benefits including 100% of the cost of its employee's health, dental, and visioncinsurance from day one; a generous mix of paid time off and a flexible work environment; technology and internet stipend; and more.

LOCATION

This is a remote position. Travel on an as needed basis.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be responsive to the mission of the Lupus Research Alliance as well as the responsibilities and qualifications presented in the prospectus. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the successful candidate has been selected.

You may view the position prospectus or submit an application via this link:

https://opportunities.aspenleadershipgroup.com/opportunities/1397

Please note: to be considered, you must apply using the link above.

To nominate a candidate, please contact Steven Wallace, stevenwallace@aspenleadershipgroup.com. All inquiries will be held in confidence.