Careers

At the Foundation Fighting Blindness, our employees are true beacons of hope as they are committed to our urgent mission to drive the research that will provide preventions, treatments and cures for people affected by retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, Usher syndrome and the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness is the largest nongovernmental foundation supporting retinal disease research in the world. Over the past four decades, FFB expanded its influence by raising more than $760 million to fund thousands of research studies at prominent institutions worldwide, attracting and investing in the first generation of clinicians and scientists focused on retinal disease research. We have regional offices in New York NY, Columbia MD, Chicago IL, Raleigh NC and Santa Monica CA.

We are looking for talented and passionate individuals to join us in the search to find preventions, treatments, and cures for inherited retinal degenerative diseases. Learn more about the job opportunities that are currently available at the Foundation.

VICE PRESIDENT, DATA SYSTEMS & TECHNOLOGY

Foundation Fighting Blindness is the global leader in the search for preventions, treatments and cures for blinding retinal disease. We are an extraordinary organization with a passionate group of highly motivated professionals dedicated to this mission. Since 1971, the Foundation has raised over $760 million and funded thousands of the best research studies at prominent institutions worldwide.

We are actively recruiting a Vice President, Data Systems & Technology, reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, based in Columbia, MD. This individual will be primarily responsible for designing and leading all efforts related to our data and data systems, business analytics, and technology platforms to drive data collection, analysis and insights as we evolve to a data driven culture.

The successful candidate will be a highly driven, self-managed individual who seeks out opportunities to problem solve, and thrives in a fast paced, collaborative environment. They will have a strong track record of leadership and accomplishment, along with a history of building trust and working in collaboration with internal customers. They will have experiences successfully developing and leading a team and managing budgets for the department. They must be a team player, and an excellent written and oral communicator.

Primary Responsibilities include:

  1. Drive the vision, strategy and execution of our data, data systems and technology to allow for best in class data capture, data curation, and data delivery multiple users consisting of multiple levels and departments within the organization
  2. Lead the overarching system architecture, along with required integration projects, and overall day to day health of our data and technology
  3. Manage overall system configuration, workflows, data imports/exports, upgrades, and global updates, as well as integrations to the database
  4. Coordinate cross-team collaboration between Development (donor services), community outreach, and finance on system-related processes, including gift entry, posting, and acknowledgments
  5. Build consensus with other stakeholders to create business cases for upgrades or enhancements as needed
  6. Build consensus with stakeholders on the schedule, priority, and scope of new data related projects, and work to meet appropriate deadlines
  7. Serve as subject matter expert on current architecture and instance, along with market trends and cutting-edge technology that will enable us to effectively and efficiently manage data
  8. Benchmark current information management practices against industry best practices
  9. Analyze end-user experience and requirements to inform functionality or improvements
  10. Coordinate with department heads on data management considerations for staff training, creating a shared understanding of system processes, and standard operating procedures
  11. Develop and manage department budgets
  12. Coordinate with the finance and development/communication/events teams on relevant data reporting, analysis, data mining, business intelligence, dashboards, and processes and procedures – including budget and revenue projection scenarios. Lead the execution of the Monthly Performance Report including a process to automate data collection, curate the data and contribute relevant insights to drive collaborate decision making
  13. Prepare materials to be presented to the Board of Directors, various Committees and other high-profile constituents
  14. Develop a data governance strategy to ensure appropriate availability, usability, and integrity of enterprise systems.
  15. Create and maintain documentation of business processes and identify opportunities for automation and improvement as needed.
  16. Develop end to end reporting requirements to support a variety of business functions.
  17. Analyze data to identify insights and communicate observations to drive appropriate change within the organization.
  18. Identify staffing needs for department and develop and retain top talent as required.

The successful candidate will possess:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Business or related field – advanced degree a plus
  • 7+ years relevant experience, non-profit experience required, preferably in a health research organization
  • Strong/advanced technical skills including SQL, Access, Excel, Crystal Reporting, and additional systems and reporting software experience required
  • Strong experience with BI/data visualization tools required
  • Experience in validating and auditing data
  • Strong communication skills and ability to facilitate meetings and make presentations before management and staff
  • Ability to take loosely defined business questions and translate them into clearly defined technical/data specifications and processes to provide the relevant insight.
  • High professional standards with the ability to translate broad goals into achievable steps
  • A can-do attitude with passion for work product and the organization as a whole
  • Demonstrated leadership, mentoring and management background
  • Ability to handle multiple projects and shifting priorities
  • Occasional overnight travel required

Please send resume with salary requirements to HR@fightingblindness.org. Please note - RESUMES WITHOUT SALARY REQUIREMENTS MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED. We offer competitive salary and benefits, as well as a terrific team to work with! FFB is an equal opportunity employer.