Associate Director of Philanthropy, Nature United

Flexible within Canada, with preference for candidates from the prairies.

Who We Are:

Nature United is a national organization that is reimagining conservation across Canada. We believe that nature—thriving and full of life—is the foundation of strong communities, a prosperous economy, and a future worth passing on to our grandchildren. We believe that reconciliation is at the heart of our progress as a nation. And we believe that Canada can be a global beacon for hope. We work to advance sustainable resource management by supporting Indigenous leadership and authority and to harness the power of nature to address the climate crisis by advancing natural climate solutions. Nature United is an affiliate of the global organization The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

As a conservation organization, we support the authority of Indigenous peoples to steward and manage their lands and waters by working in partnership with Indigenous Nations to strengthen governance, build on-the-ground stewardship capacity, support leaders, and catalyze local economies. Diversity, equity, inclusion and justice are central to achieving our conservation mission and we are committed to co-creating a culture that is equitable and a workplace that is diverse, inclusive and safe for all staff, partners, donors, and volunteers.

Our goal is to cultivate an inclusive work environment so that all our colleagues feel a sense of belonging, and that their unique contributions to our mission are valued. We know we’ll only achieve our Mission by hiring and engaging a diverse workforce that reflects the communities in which we work. In addition to the requirements in our postings, we recognize that people come with talent and experiences outside of a job. Diversity of experience and skills combined with passion is a key to innovation and a culture of inclusion! Please apply – we’d love to hear from you. To quote myriad staff members, “you’ll join for our mission, and you’ll stay for our people.”

What We Can Achieve Together:

The Associate Director of Philanthropy (ADoP) reports to the Director of Major Gifts and will be a key member of the out-the-door fundraising team. They will implement and coordinate effective multi-year strategies and plans for gift prospects and donors. The ADoP will build a portfolio of qualified donors, develop strong donor strategies, and build lasting donor relationships. They will effectively communicate Nature United’s programs and engage donors through a variety of methods, such as outreach, meetings, presentations and events.

The ADoP will collaborate across multiple teams to develop proposals, budgets and reports, and should display curiosity and self-motivation to learn and communicate conservation goals to donors and prospects.

Responsibilities and Scope

• Build and manage a portfolio of 75-125 qualified donors and prospects with the capacity to give $25,000 - $100,000+ through one time or multi-year gifts.
• Annual fundraising goal of $1,000,000+ once the portfolio is fully developed.
• Through targeted prospecting efforts, identify and build relationships with new Canadian Foundations and Individual prospects.
• Collaborate with the Major Gifts team to build a major donor pipeline, including qualifying and disqualifying leads.
• Develop and execute thoughtful strategies to engage, cultivate, solicit and steward prospects and donors.
• Collaborate with internal teams to develop proposals, budgets and reports.
• Understand and comply with all Nature United gift-related policies and procedures and ensure ethical compliance, as defined by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
• Demonstrate an active commitment to being in right relations with Indigenous Peoples through philanthropy practices within the team and fundraising community more broadly.
• Bring an active commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice and contribute to a culture of inclusion and belonging.
• Readily take on additional responsibilities as this growing philanthropy program evolves into one of Canada’s leading development teams.

We’re Looking for You:

Are you looking for work you can believe in? Nature United is a workplace where we care about each other and know that what we do matters, and that our work makes a difference. We’re looking for an Associate Director of Philanthropy who’s passionate about fundraising to help convey Nature United’s mission to diverse groups. You will join a team of committed development professionals cultivating relationships and gifts to support Nature United’s work to advance our strategic priorities and reimagine conservation in Canada.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the ongoing mission of conservation by supporting the work of our team. Join us as we impact conservation across Canada and 70+ countries and territories around the globe!

Our Organizational Values:

RESPECT

We respect different work styles and are mindful of this within our interactions. We assume best intentions and can disagree productively, treating each other with kindness and equality. This practice builds trust and resilience

APPRECIATION

We create an inclusive, supportive and fun workplace where diversity is valued, and all team members feel appreciated. We celebrate milestones and successes to honour the long timelines of this challenging and rewarding work.

INNOVATION

We know excellence and innovation happen only through taking thoughtful risks and being open to failure as an honest teacher. We are a learning organization that values evidence in decision-making. When things don’t go as planned, we apply our learnings and adapt.

COLLABORATION

We come to our work knowing that recognizing and including various perspectives as we tackle complex projects, issues, and relationships makes our work better. We use clear processes for decision making and communication that ensure they are efficient, transparent, and productive.

EMPOWERMENT

We feel confident to take risks, ask questions, and have room to make honest mistakes. We are empowered to make decisions, set boundaries and are actively supported in these decisions. We value our own non-work time and that of others. This practice fosters the long-term health of staff and an environment where we bring our absolute best when we are at work.

CURIOSITY

We are curious and brave with our questions. We encourage creative ideas while being grounded in critical thinking. We are open to different forms of knowledge and have a responsibility to deliver high-quality work that builds an evidence base for conservation and capitalizes on our collective experience and knowledge.

Requirements

What You’ll Bring:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree and 5 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience building and maintaining long-term relationships with donors.
• Experience in asking and closing gifts of $25,000 or more.
• Experience in managing and tracking multiple prospects and donors.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams.
• Experience, coursework or other training in fundraising principles and practices.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience appreciated.
• Eagerness to participate in cultural competency training and advancing right relations with Indigenous Peoples.
• Curious and self-motivated to understand domestic and global conservation issues and become adept at linking the two.

We recognize that women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities and other equity-deserving groups are less likely to apply if they do not match most of the qualifications. Nature United finds strength in diversity of backgrounds, lived experiences, knowledge, and identities. We strongly encourage those interested who bring new perspective to apply.

Benefits

Nature United offers a comprehensive benefits package including health care benefits, parental leave, accrued paid time off, life insurance, disability coverage, employee assistance program, other life and work well-being benefits like Nature Fridays (an optional condensed work schedule). Learn more about our benefits in the Culture Tab on nature.org/careers.

We’re proud to offer a work environment that is supportive of the health, well-being, and flexibility needs of the people we employ!

Salary Information:

The estimated starting salary for this position is dependent on experience, qualifications and location.

Salary range is: $103,000 - $107,000 CAD annually.

Work format: Remote.

Application deadline: We are accepting rolling applications until the position is filled.

Check status of the search process here: https://www.gerardsearch.com/searches.html

Contact Noah@gerardsearch.com for more information.

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