About Toronto French School

INDIVIDUALS WHO REFLECT, CITIZENS WHO ACT

TFS is a leading independent educational institution that has been instrumental in the shaping of today’s Canada, as the first French immersion school in the country and pioneer of bilingualism. They are an extremely diverse community that sets out to develop multilingual critical thinkers who celebrate difference, transcend borders and strive for the betterment of humankind. Throughout their history, TFS students have been characterized by their academic ambition, as well as by their determination to acquire an international perspective.

In pursuit of this mission, TFS recruits excellent staff members who are deeply committed to the highest standards of teaching and learning, and who also share their passion for the all-round development of students as accomplished individuals and responsible citizens. Their staff members benefit from exceptional professional learning opportunities and a competitive compensation package.

TFS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults, and all of their staff and volunteers are expected to undergo child protection screening.

TFS recruits candidates who embrace the TFS values of integrity, discernment, respect and engagement.

For more information on the background of the school, please visit their website https://www.tfs.ca/ .

About TFS Foundation

In an innovative model, the TFS Foundation leads the outreach to engage TFS families, alumni and friends to provide the support needed to advance the school’s mission. Their raison d’être is to strengthen school pride and connections with the school through engagement and giving.

This outreach includes leading the school’s fundraising program encompassing annual giving, major and special gifts, donor recognition, stewardship and a special events, such as gala. In addition, the Foundation team leads programming to support engagement of alumni in the life of the school.

Led by a volunteer Board of Directors actively engaged in fundraising, the team works collaboratively with its partners — Head’s Council (the TFS leadership team), the TFS Alumni Association Executive and the TFS Parents’ Association — to engage our community, helping to nurture a culture of philanthropy and volunteering, which is critical to the school’s well-being.

The Foundation is currently in the active stages of a comprehensive campaign that will focus on capital renovations to its two campuses and on growing its current financial assistance program.

To successfully achieve these key objectives, the Foundation seeks to hire someone who will have a significant impact on its campaign and advancement successes.

The Foundation is a fast-paced and professional team, working tirelessly and cooperatively to rapidly achieve its objectives.

The Role

Reporting to the Executive Director of Philanthropy, the Senior Development Officer (SDO), Philanthropy is a key member of the fundraising team responsible for the following priorities: leading and supporting lead annual giving, mini-campaigns, growing the prospect pipeline of annual and lead annual donors, supporting the President and Executive Director of Philanthropy with major gift prospects, and being an active member of the fundraising team. The SDO will take an active part in the comprehensive campaign and their work will be integral to meeting the overall fundraising objectives.

As a member of a small and dynamic Foundation with significant fundraising goals, the SDO will view the overall Foundation goals as their goals, supporting team members on time sensitive activities that require the support of the whole department.

Key Responsibilities

Annual & Leadership Giving Mini-Campaigns

• Support the Chair(s) and volunteer committee with all aspects of annual and leadership giving mini-campaigns, including following up with potential donors, coordinating meetings and providing campaign updates.
• Help develop and implement plans to identify, cultivate and solicit potential new donors.
• Help identify and develop opportunities for engagement with mid-level donors.
• Effectively steward lead annual giving donors for support renewal and identify major giving potential.
• Write scripts and marketing collateral for volunteers soliciting donors, and work with your marketing colleagues to create dynamic and compelling documents.
• Manage a portfolio of annual prospects and donors ($5,000 to $25,000).
• Ensure maintenance of up-to-date prospect and donor records in Raiser’s Edge.
• Track and report on the revenue of all annual, leadership and mini-campaigns, ensuring final goals are being met. Create new strategies to meet financial goals, as necessary.
• Formulate innovative new tactics for engaging with and securing mid-level donors.
• Ensure the Head of School and other academic leadership are briefed, coached and supported in their work on behalf of the TFS Foundation.

Major Gift & Campaign Support

• Provide support to the President of the Foundation and the Executive Director of Philanthropy with major gift activities, including prospect research, preparing senior volunteer and donor meetings, and tracking pertinent donor and moves management information.
• Prepare communication with donors, volunteers and colleagues such as: biographical profiles, briefing notes for meetings, meeting agendas, letters, reports and presentations proposals.

Other

• Contribute to institutional events, including a campaign gala.
• Contribute to departmental planning and goal setting, and track and evaluate progress against key performance indicators.
• Assist with and attend school events.
• Other projects/duties as assigned.

The Opportunity

As an integral part of the major gifts team, the SDO will benefit from mentoring and crucial exposure to major-gift fundraising practices within a capital campaign setting. For those who aim to become major gift fundraisers, this is an opportunity to manage a major gift portfolio. For those who prefer annual and mid-level giving, it is a chance to build a more robust and creative program.

TFS is an exceptional place to work with highly competitive compensation and benefits, combined with professional development and a stimulating work environment.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate has a minimum 5 years of fundraising experience with a demonstrated track record in cultivating and soliciting individual gifts over $10K and managing annual, mid-level and/or leadership giving programs. The mini-campaigns are led by volunteers, so experience with peer-to-peer fundraising and supporting volunteer fundraising committees is a significant advantage.

Candidates must be able to successfully manage multiple priorities and tight timelines within a fastpaced and metrics-oriented environment, achieving financial targets as well as conceiving new and compelling ways to engage donors.

Candidates who have supported leaders with major gift prospects will find that experience an asset.

Personal Attributes

The successful SDO is adaptable and flexible to the changing needs of a capital campaign environment. Proactive and self-motivated, they must be a confident decision-maker who also understands when to ask for help. And while the ability to work independently is essential, so is the need to be a team player who jumps in to support colleagues when needed; those who can work outside of a rigid job description are the best fit for this Foundation. Also vital are exceptional relationship management skills in order to build respectful and successful partnerships with people who have a wide range of personalities and styles. And finally, given a school setting with high standards, candidates must be continual learners who thrive on self-improvement and growth. And all candidates must embrace the TFS values of integrity, discernment, respect and engagement.

Core Competencies

• Exceptional project management skills to get the work done on time and on budget, understanding of when and how to follow up, and the ability to achieve buy-in from those whose work they depend on to meet their own objectives.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Knowledge of French or Mandarin a definite asset.
• Knowledge of Raiser’s Edge and the Microsoft suite of products.
• Very well organized and detailed oriented.
• Able to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Proactive problem solver—solutions oriented and combining sound decision-making abilities with a positive “can-do” attitude.

Other

• Due to the nature of the work, the SDO may be asked to work occasional evenings and weekends.
• Salary for the position is between $70,000 and $100,000 annually. Final remuneration will be based on the candidate’s experience and skill set.

How to Apply

We thank all candidates in advance. We will, however, contact only those selected for an interview. To apply, please submit, in confidence, a resume along with cover letter which sets out your interest in the role and highlights the experience you have relevant to the role. Please add your salary expectation for the role in your cover letter. The preferred method of application is on-line at searchsmartconnect.com/jobs

The Toronto French School is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age or veteran status.

Contact Details

Sandra Paquette | 416 763 0404 | sandra@searchsmart.ca

Vesna Markovic | 647 608 3595 | vesna@searchsmart.ca