Position Title: Fundraising Manager

Program: Management

Position Location:  WCS Canada head office, Toronto, Ontario

Term: Full-time

Salary range:  $67,000 to $80,000

Date Written/Revised: 08 November 2021

Reports to: Director of Philanthropy

Supervises: n/a

Application closing: 4 March 2022

Position Summary: 

WCS Canada is seeking a talented fundraiser to join our team to help us continue to save wildlife and wild places in Canada.

As a growing medium-sized charity, WCS Canada is looking to increase and diversify our funder base. We remain primarily focused on foundations and individuals and are looking for an individual with demonstrated strengths and talents in this area.

Reporting to the Director of Philanthropy, the Fundraising Manager will be responsible for understanding and articulating our programs’ funding needs, soliciting funds, managing a funder/prospect portfolio, engaging new donors, and stewarding existing funders. The candidate should expect to meet face-to-face with donors and prospects when possible.

WCS Canada’s unique position among other conservation groups is our science. We lead field science across much of central, western, and arctic Canada, and with the information we collect, we advance relevant and important conservation policies. This affords us engaging and important material such as charismatic wildlife and beautiful landscapes – with which to work to compel donors.

This is a unique opportunity for a creative, motivated, and experienced fundraiser to join a dynamic team and make a difference in Canada’s wildlife and wild places.

Objectives:

• Meet fundraising targets and goals.
• Identify and engage new major donors from individuals and foundations.
• Lead relationship management for a portfolio of new and existing major donors.

Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the development and implementation of fundraising strategies, goals, and initiatives based on the organization’s strategic conservation priorities.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of comprehensive donor-centric engagement, recognition, and stewardship plans tailored for individual, corporate, and foundation major gift donors.
• Lead the preparation and submission of funding proposals and reports in partnership with our knowledgeable program staff, ensuring that deadlines are met.
• Engage with donors and prospects face-to-face and virtually – through meetings, web/phone calls, event attendance – to cultivate, ask and steward donors.
• Contribute to developing and enhancing a prospect pipeline at a level sufficient to achieve WCS Canada’s major gift-giving goals.
• Contribute to the development and management of an annual fundraising budget and work plan.
• Collaborate with the finance team in the development, review, and approval of grant agreements.
• Contribute to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace that promotes engagement and belonging.

Skills and attributes:

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university.
• Minimum 5 – 7 years of experience with a proven track record of successful fundraising from foundations, philanthropic corporations, and major donors.
• Experience in the environmental sector, outside of fundraising, a benefit.
• Solid knowledge of the moves management process and experience designing and implementing strategies for each stage of the cycle.
• Proactive and shows initiative in soliciting funds.
• Embraces our work and passion for wildlife conservation.
• Skilled coordination across teams to develop compelling proposals for funders.
• Ability to listen and understand funder interests and motivations; steward them to giving.
• Excellent grant writer and editor.
• Experience with CRM and fundraising databases including record keeping, reporting and moves management tracking.
• Must be proficient with Microsoft Office and Office 365.
• Vibrant, contributing member of the team who will make meaningful contributions to our fundraising goals.
• Works with respect, kindness, a sense of ease, and a sense of humor.

To Apply:

Apply online. Please submit your resume with a cover letter explaining how your qualifications and experiences meet the attributes we are seeking and make you the ideal candidate for this role, along with the names and contact information of three references. Along with your resume, please submit a sample proposal that you wrote. Feel free to block out any confidential information in submitted documents.

Position Inquiries:

Biz Agnew

Director of Philanthropy

416-850-9035 x 25

eagnew@wcs.org

Application Inquiries:

Gillian Woolmer

Director of Finance and Operations

416-850-9038 x 24

gwoolmer@wcs.org

Application Deadline: 4 March 2022

About WCS Canada

Founded in 2004, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada, a registered charity, is the only national conservation organization conducting and applying science to advance the protection of Canada’s wildlife and wild places. We focus on priority species, landscapes, and seascapes where we have had a long-term field presence and where there is high potential for durable conservation gains.

WCS Canada strives to protect Canada’s wildlife and wild places by bringing science to conservation action. We are an organization of over 50 people — mostly Ph.D. scientists — working from coast to coast to coast in the service of conservation. Our conservation programs comprise a combination of habitat and species-centered fieldwork, and national and international policy initiatives. We focus on strongholds of wild places that include some of the most ecologically intact wilderness remaining in Canada and give us the best opportunity to contribute to the proactive protection of these globally significant regions.

Our experience and research findings enable us to advance relevant policy, legislation, and best practices in each region, leading to conservation solutions. We have recently developed several national programs to complement and expand our geographically focused work in northern Canada. These address issues of national concern such as biodiversity policy, wildlife health, Key Biodiversity Areas, climate change, and training the next generation of conservation scientists. The long-term commitment and scientific perspective we bring to each priority region or national program are based on a foundation of engagement enabling WCS Canada to influence local, regional, and national-scale conservation commitments, particularly where they affect biodiversity and climate change. We work with key partners and decision-makers at all levels of government to translate our strong science into effective conservation policies. Our website is www.wcscanada.org.  We are affiliated with the global Wildlife Conservation Society (www.wcs.org) — one of the world’s oldest conservation organizations operating in over 60 countries.

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion are core WCS Canada values. We value the diversity of the people we employ and work with and we strive to provide an inclusive and equitable workplace in which we recognize the unique characteristics, skills, and experiences of all employees. We are committed to engaging our employees in our diversity, equity, and inclusion work, and together we aim to create a workplace where all staff feels they belong and can grow.