The Stewardship and Recognition Director provides strategic leadership for benefactor relations strategies to advance Mayo Clinic’s fundraising priorities, administer complex gifts and deepen key relationships. This role leads and oversees the stewardship and recognition lifecycle for large and transformational gifts within their portfolios, ensuring an exceptional, innovative, high-touch customized benefactor experience while honoring benefactor intent and advancing institutional priorities. Ensures all stewardship and recognition strategies are grounded in a cultivation mindset, intentionally designed to strengthen relationships, deepen engagement, and support long-term philanthropic partnerships. This may include developing benefactor-specific pre-gift and post-gift stewardship and recognition strategies; operationalizing new large and/or complex gifts in partnership with funding area stakeholders; and ensuring accountability, allocation oversight and timely impact reporting in alignment with benefactor intent. Partners closely with Development staff, including gift officers, to proactively plan and manage benefactor relationships, , align expectations, and support solicitation and stewardship strategies throughout the gift lifecycle. Acquires and maintains knowledge and fluency of Mayo Clinic’s business strategy, fundraising strategy and top fundraising priorities, and translates this knowledge into informed stewardship and recognition recommendations for department and executive leadership. Contributes to solicitation strategies for complex gifts and reviews gift agreements. Leads through influence and convenes interdisciplinary teams, including campaign administration, events, communications, creative, digital, data and technology services, finance and facilities to implement creative and innovative ideas that advance excellence, improve operational practices, and enhance the benefactor experience. Leads problem solving and decision-making activities; develops documentation for stewardship and recognition best practices, processes and procedures; and delivers training to colleagues. Maintains and promotes an enterprise perspective in all activities.

This specific role will work primarily within the Recognition vertical. Key responsibilities include facilitating the identification and creation of naming opportunities (particularly related to full-scale building projects), creating recognition displays and initiating recognition plans for large gifts, collaborating to deliver benefactor proposals, representing recognition vertical in transformational gift planning, creating  custom gift items and coordinating distribution of ready-made gift items, and presentation of strategies to leadership for discussion and approvals. Regular on-campus meeting and duties will be required.

Minimum Education and/or Experience Required: (Education Requirements and Experience): 
Bachelor's degree in business, communications, marketing or related field required plus five to seven years of experience in donor relations, communications, marketing, events, healthcare administration or finance, including at least one to three years of Development experience. Demonstrated knowledge of fundraising required. 

Additional Experience and/or Qualifications: (Has Achieved Competency in the Following Areas, Job Knowledge and Additional Considerations): 
Master's degree preferred. Requires excellent oral and written communications skills, financial analysis and reporting skills and the ability to work in a complex environment with multi-dimensional points of view. Incumbents will have demonstrated competencies in leadership and project management and legal agreement development and interpretation. Incumbents will have demonstrated the ability to function effectively in a consensus-style operation that expects and promotes teamwork. Must be comfortable with ambiguity. Required creativity in innovative messaging. Must possess the ability to inspire trust and confidence and communicate effectively with internal and external audiences, including Mayo benefactors at the highest levels. The ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism and confidentiality is essential. Must be proficient in the use of information technology and management of database systems. Manages time effectively and maintains flexibility to work around tight timelines, which may require work outside of standard business hours.