Director, Institutional Partnerships

Position: Director, Institutional Partnerships

Status: Full-time, indefinite

Reports to: Vice President of Policy and Strategic Partnerships

Supervises: Development Officer

Language(s): English – professional working proficiency required; others – an asset

Location: Remote, within Canada or US

Salary Range: 98,000 to 130,000 CAD

Deadline for Applications: 11 March 2024, 9am EST

ABOUT THE EQUALITY FUND

The Equality Fund is transforming the way that resources—and power—flow into the hands of girls, women, and trans people worldwide. Designed by feminists for feminists, it is a model for sustainably resourcing feminist movements everywhere, through global grantmaking, gender-lens investing, policy advocacy, and feminist philanthropy. Launched in 2019, the Equality Fund has committed $53 million to date and is supporting 650 organizations working in 90 countries globally.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to the Vice President of Policy and Strategic Partnerships, the Director of Institutional Partnerships will be a key member of the Policy and Strategic Partnerships team, leading and aligning the Equality Fund’s (EF) institutional donor partnerships with the organization’s strategic priorities and mission. The Director will provide leadership to the overall direction of the organization’s partnerships with philanthropic and other institutional partners, generating sustainable revenue and cultivating relationships in support of the overall work of EF. The Director will identify, steward, and deepen existing Institutional Partnerships as well as build new relationships with new partners - in line with Equality Fund’s strategy to build a coalition of unlikely allies and partners.

SCOPE & RESPONSIBILITIES

Fund mobilization – philanthropic grants, donor cultivation, advocacy, engagement, and stewardship (75%)

• Oversees, leads, and prioritizes the growth and evolution of Equality Fund’s relationships with institutional funding partners.
• Deepens and renews relationships with existing institutional funders.
• Identifies and develops strategies to build relationships with potential new funding partners, including with unlikely allies, leveraging existing relationships and partnerships where appropriate.
• Develops and delivers compelling proposals and presentations to donors and prospective donors including writing letters of intent, grant proposals, and other funder correspondence as well as managing contract support.
• Manages a portfolio of institutional philanthropy grants and relationships for the purpose of securing philanthropic revenue for EF; works collaboratively across the EF team to maximize gift opportunities, ex. with the Philanthropy team to identify and participate in relevant collaborations and networks to promote philanthropic advocacy.
• Leads the foundational grants cycle, including proposal, report writing, and renewal.
• Leads regular analysis and reporting on the overall performance of the Institutional Partnerships portfolio against goals and the strategic plan.
• In collaboration with the Development Officer, the monitoring, evaluation, and learning team, and other departments, ensures Equality Fund’s institutional partners receive timely, meaningful reports regarding our work.

Leadership and Management (25%)

• In partnership with the VP Policy and Strategic Partnerships and the AVP of Philanthropy, senior leadership, and other stakeholders, supports the development and implementation of an innovative, progressive, and values-aligned vision and strategic framework for EF’s institutional feminist resource mobilization work; monitors and interprets performance and trends and proactively adapts to ongoing challenges and opportunities.
• Develops goals and key performance indicators that align with priorities and values.
• Supervises the Development Officer, provides regular coaching, performance feedback, and reviews.
• Builds effective, cross-functional, and collaborative relationships across the organization, particularly with the Global Programs and Philanthropy team—through regular check-in meetings with team members to discuss progress/challenges while strategizing, planning, executing, and celebrating accomplishments.
• Supports an integrated organizational approach to funds mobilization.

QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES

• At least 7 years of progressive fund development experience in the not-for-profit sector
• At least 5 years of experience independently leading a portfolio of work involving establishing and growing meaningful, engaging partnerships with institutional philanthropic donors
• At least 3 years of experience in a people manager role with a track record of building, organizing, directing, and motivating successful teams
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills
• Strong interpersonal, negotiation, and management skills with the ability to communicate effectively with a diverse group of stakeholders
• Discerning organizational and time management skills to multitask, management of various projects, deadlines, and priorities while guiding strategic fundraising goals, and reporting on results
• Ability and openness to work on cross-functional/multi-disciplinary teams
• Flexible and adaptive, able to respond quickly and effectively to changing circumstances
• Values-driven with a passion for women’s rights and a strong understanding of feminist issues, advocacy, movement building and the funding environment facing women’s rights organizations in the Global South
• Commitment to anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices
• Excellent working knowledge of GSuite, Excel and fundraising software
• Bilingual French/English considered an asset
• CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive) designation is an asset

REQUIREMENTS

• Must be legally eligible to work in Canada or the U.S.
• Available to travel, up to 4-6 weeks per year.
• This position may be responsible for meeting tight deadlines.
• Willing and able to work remotely on mostly computer-based work

OUR ENVIRONMENT OF CARE

• We trust our talented team and are pleased to offer an extremely flexible and virtual work environment.
• We are driven by our values: anti-racism, anti-oppression, and intersectionality; feminist leadership; accountability; and radical love. We believe our values are realized through collaboration, a growth and learning mindset, emotional intelligence, diversity, authenticity, a global perspective, care, and building networks. We work to share power and create space for everyone to lead.
• Equality Fund is proud to offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package which has no waiting period and includes 4 weeks paid vacation, paid sick time, parental leave top up, medical benefits, life insurance, Group RRSP, paid birthday off, and more!
• Equality Fund is committed to providing and maintaining a safe and respectful workplace. We do not tolerate harassment, coercion, sexual exploitation, or abuse of any form. We recognize that those behaviors are often rooted in abuse of power, which is contrary to EF's mission to make a more equitable world for women, trans, and non-binary people.
• The Equality Fund is an equal opportunity employer. We believe deeply in equality and diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin, disability, and all other protected grounds under the Ontario Human Rights Code. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and abilities, and are committed to providing an accessible candidate experience. To request an accommodation or adjustment in the selection process and beyond, please reach out to people@equalityfund.ca.

SELECTION PROCESS

• Equality Fund’s People, Equity, and Culture team will work with the hiring manager to do an initial screening of applicants. Please make sure to detail your experience in your resume/cover letter to ensure the committee has the information they need to assess your qualifications for the role. This process takes about 1 week from the application deadline.
• When there are many candidates who pass the initial screening, the People, Equity, and Culture team may conduct 15-30 minute phone screening calls.
• The hiring committee will conduct first round interviews with selected candidates. Candidates will be sent the interview questions 48 hours in advance of their scheduled interview. Candidates are welcome, but not expected or required, to send any questions they have for the hiring committee in advance of the interview. These interviews usually occur 1-2 weeks after the application deadline.
• The hiring committee may conduct a second round of interviews, which may include an assignment.
• The People, Equity, and Culture team will conduct reference checks for the candidate to whom they intend to extend an offer. This process usually takes about 1 week.
• The People, Equity, and Culture team will initiate a background check. This is intended to safeguard Equality Fund employees, grantees, and the organization. We recognize that some communities experience systemic over-policing. As such, only findings related to harassment, exploitation, coercion, sexual exploitation, fraud, abuse, or other findings specifically relevant to the duties of the role will be considered in relation to one’s eligibility for employment.
• The People, Equity, and Culture team will send the selected candidate an Employment Agreement, which the candidate will have time to review and return.

JOIN US!
Though we work to respond to all applicants, at times we may only be able to follow-up with those selected for an interview.