Position summary:

At the Rainforest Alliance we are looking for a strategic, collaborative and globally minded fundraising professional to engage with some of the world’s biggest funders of climate and agriculture programs.

Working as part of an international fundraising team, the Manager, Institutional Relations, will be tasked with positioning Rainforest Alliance as a relevant, innovative and capable development partner. With a focus on fundraising from foundations and corporate foundations, they will be familiar with international development funding and trends which will help to gather insight and donor intelligence, grow donor and partner relationships and develop highly competitive proposals. The position is instrumental in supporting the Rainforest Alliance in its work to continue implementing impact-driven programs in different parts of the world.

Responsibilities:

The Rainforest Alliance’s Core Values are Impact, Change, Collaboration, Openness and Trust and as such they form the basis of the behaviors we demonstrate.

• Proactively manage a portfolio of strategic donors for Rainforest Alliance:
  • With the prospect research team, contribute to pipeline development, analysis, and management; conduct desk-based research and liaise directly with external contacts to identify funding opportunities and gain insight on donor policies, strategies and trends;
  • Develop and implement cultivation and engagement strategies, coordinating with regionally-based colleagues as well as other members of the Institutional Relations team;
  • Ensure systems are in place to manage regular and efficient communications with internal and external stakeholders, donors and prospects, and ensuring internal protocols are followed;
  • Engage in direct fundraising and proposal pitches, meetings and donor cultivation efforts in coordination with program teams and technical colleagues; and
  • Ensure effective donor stewardship, through editing high-quality reports and managing timely, relevant and engaging donor communications.
• Lead on proposal development, serving as bid lead on five- and six- figure opportunities:
  • Work closely with technical, program, MEL and finance staff to coordinate the development of concept notes and proposals, theories of change, logical frameworks, etc.;
  • Advise colleagues on proposal strategy to ensure maximum competitiveness; and
  • Engage and coordinate with internal and external stakeholders, to understand programmatic vision and funding needs and align with donor interests.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s Degree preferred
• At least 5 years’ institutional development experience with at least 3 in a large, global organization;
• Must be a strong writer that is detail oriented, resourceful, and able translate complex, technical information into persuasive donor proposals and reports;
• High degree of organizational skill, including the ability to handle multiple priorities and work under strict timelines;
• Significant experience working with both private and corporate foundations;
• Clear ability to understand and articulate complex programmatic material in a detailed manner, both internally and externally and to audiences with different levels of background in these areas;
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, as well as be an effective team member;
• Knowledge of the work of the Rainforest Alliance (conservation; community development; forestry; agriculture; livelihoods) strongly preferred;
• An understanding of program design and monitoring and evaluation, ideally within an international development setting;
• Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal) with fluency in English required;
• Additional language skills in Spanish or French fluency a significant plus;
• High degree of skill in using MS Office Suite (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) required;
• Experience with Salesforce preferred; and
• Ability to travel up to 5% of time.