Title: Sr. Institutional Relations Advisor - Foundation Relations Location: Dallas, Texas, United States Department: Individual & Institutional Giving Requisition ID 2026-17315 Additional Locations Broadly Distributed – SW | Broadly Distributed – SE Position Type Full Time Job Description:

Overview

Since our founding in 1924, we've cut cardiovascular disease deaths in half, but there is still so much more to do. To overcome today’s biggest health challenges and accelerate this progress, we need passionate individuals like you. Join our movement, be part of the progress, and help ensure a healthier future for all. You matter, and so does the impact you can make with us. The American Heart Association has a professional fundraising opportunity for a National Senior Advisor, Institutional Relations within the Mission Advancement Department. The location for this position is flexible and home-based. The Association offers many resources to help you maintain work-life harmonization through your changing needs and life situations. To help you be successful, you will have access to Heart U, our award-winning corporate university, as well as additional training and support, locally. #TheAHALife is more than a company culture; it is our way of life. It embodies our commitment to work-life harmonization and is guided by our core values where our employees can thrive both personally and professionally. Discover why you will Be Seen. Be Heard.

Responsibilities

This individual will be responsible for advancing the American Heart Association’s mission by establishing and cultivating relationships with current and potential funders that have a giving capacity of at least $5M to increase giving, achieve mutual goals, and build long-term, transformative relationships. Responsible for researching, developing, and managing a portfolio of donors with an emphasis on foundations pursuing national-scale impact. The position is also responsible for identifying, planning, preparing, and presenting grant proposals and accompanying materials (including budgets and timelines), as well as completing appropriate follow-through and stewardship for multiple grants/gifts. Additionally, the National Senior Advisor collaborates with other fundraising teams on large, complex gift and relationship opportunities as needed.

• Actively identifies and develops donor relationships, executing tailored cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans to ensure that revenue goals are met and mission priorities are funded. Develops depth of mission knowledge and insight needed to effectively communicate with donors. Provides leadership and management for all assigned prospects in portfolio. Engages in a variety of communications with donors, including face-to-face meetings and engaging appropriate internal partners and volunteers.
• Manages proposal development and submission processes, including preparing proposals, reports, and other well-written, compelling, and consistent documents that meet the strategic direction and funding needs of the Association in alignment with donor goals. Utilizes standard funding opportunity template resources and co-creates novel, mission-aligned gift opportunities with funders as appropriate. Presents the agreed-upon number of proposals to achieve established annual performance goals.
• Conducts internal and external research on prospective donors and builds an understanding of the goals of funders as they correspond to the Association’s mission. Identifies and matches potential funders across the country and, at times, globally for priority project funding. Continually adds to the portfolio pipeline to ensure adequate support and achievement of goals.
• Records donor plans and activity in customer relationship management tool and provides regular progress reporting as requested. Participates in Mission Advancement Department team projects and initiatives as requested.

Want to help get your resume to the top? Take a look at the experience we require:

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree from a four-year college or university, or equivalent work experience.
• At least five (5) years of experience in the following:
• Securing revenue and forming relationships with high-capacity individual, corporate, and/or foundation donors to include leading research, cultivation, and proposal writing.
• Collaborating with internal partners and volunteers.
• Excellent communication/writing, organization, and relationship-building skills.
• Primary responsibility for proposal writing and donor-facing communications.
• Strong critical thinking, judgment, and strategic decision-making.
• Developing budgets and outcomes/deliverables.
• Leading cross-functional groups, facilitating strategy and action with a focus on collaborative solutions; includes working across geographic markets.
• Experience and knowledge of public health initiatives.
• Ability to up travel up 30% local and overnight stay.

Preferred Experience:

• Master