Senior Fundraising Communications officer
Position Summary
The future of nature conservation depends on inspiring people to understand the benefits of biodiversity and to act on their love and connection with the natural world. WCS Canada aims to broaden and deepen conservation engagement with a wide range of audiences — from political leaders to Indigenous communities to the public – and to transform the relationship between society and nature in a way that benefits wildlife, ecosystems, and people.
WCS Canada is seeking a Senior Fundraising Communications Officer to play a central role in growing our organization’s fundraising capacity by building meaningful relationships and engaging existing and prospective donors.
The position will create, develop, and enhance an integrated mix of donor and partner-centered communication tools from copy to design, to support individual, corporate and foundation partnerships and other fundraising activities. This will include the creation of Cases for Support, donor Impact Reports, proposals and grant applications, and meaningful stewardship correspondence from conception to completion. The successful candidate will be a captivating storyteller who can inspire our community by sharing our conservation work. The incumbent will work closely with teams across the organization, including Communications and Marketing and Conservation programs, as well as with external contractors, to achieve organizational goals.
This position will be a vital member of a small, successful and motivated team working toward implementing our five-year fundraising strategy. The ideal candidate will have exceptional interpersonal, communication and project management skills, with the ability to prioritize competing demands. The right candidate will be a passionate storyteller, a savvy relationship manager, and able to deliver on ambitious targets.
Principal Responsibilities:
- Collaborate with the Director of Philanthropy to develop targeted solicitation strategies, customized proposals, sponsorship packages, briefing documents, grant applications, and presentations to secure individual, corporate and foundation gifts.
- Enthusiastically develop communication messages and materials in support of Annual Giving and donor stewardship initiatives, including strategizing concepts, identifying key themes, target audiences and delivery channels, and facilitating needed input and approvals from colleagues, culminating in well-managed production.
- Champion planning, writing, and delivering fundraising emails, segment lists, and undertake regular email performance tracking and analytics to maximize response and conversions.
- Develop proposals, grant applications, and donor reports in collaboration with our conservation scientists, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of information while creating compelling audience-centric material.
- Deliver superior donor stewardship, to retain and upgrade support – including prompt, personal and meaningful gift acknowledgement correspondence, timely renewals, strategic monthly conversions, and gift upgrades.
- Write and produce compelling communications that spotlight and share donor stories.
- Act as an internal champion of the Fundraising Team to support a culture of philanthropy at WCS Canada and implement strategic ideas with a focus on deepening engagement.
- Develop and manage the production of bi-annual Impact Reports and WCS Canada’s Annual Report.
- Strategize and draft content updates when needed pertaining to donor-focused areas of WCS Canada’s website, to ensure accurate and up-to-date presentation of fundraising WCS Canada’s development initiatives and channels.
- Help coordinate donor stewardship and fundraising events and participate in donor cultivation.
- Work with the Communications Team on the design and production of any marketing and communications materials related to fundraising including digital advertising through social media and Google Ads.
- Participate in the analysis of supporters to identify giving trends and new potential revenue opportunities.
- Contribute to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace that promotes engagement and belonging.
- Other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications/Skills/Experience:
- A degree in fundraising, communication, marketing or a similar field of study or work experience equivalent.
- 3-5 years’ experience in fundraising or communications, with expertise in developing high-quality customized corporate, major gift and foundation communications including proposals, reports, letters, and other communication assets.
- Superlative writing and communication skills, with strong ability to inspire and motivate donors in response to calls to action, and reflective of a well-evolved understanding of correct grammar, punctuation, and syntax.
- Excellent interpersonal skills with a strong sense of diplomacy, and demonstrated ability to build strong, collaborative relationships with colleagues, volunteers, donors, and other stakeholders.
- Proven ability to work in a multi-layered, complex, results-orientated institution with multiple internal and external stakeholders.
- Superior ability to produce high-quality work under tight, changing deadlines, combined with a comfort managing multiple projects, priorities, and deadlines.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and implement strategies that strengthen long-term relationships with donors and/or volunteers.
- Superior project management skills and ability to coordinate multiple priorities concurrently and establish new standards of success.
- Understanding of current and emerging best practices in stewardship and donor engagement.
- Demonstrated commitment to advancing the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- Commitment to professional development and personal growth.
- Ability to work independently, rise to new challenges, find creative solutions, and prioritize competing demands in a fast-paced environment, with an unwavering commitment to detail.
- Experience with graphic design, Adobe Suite, and email marketing platforms a strong asset.
- Familiarity with Raiser’s Edge fundraising database a strong asset.
- Computer proficiency in using the MS Office suite.
- Bilingual (ability to write formal communications in French) is an asset.
Office Safety Plan Compliance
WCS Canada is committed to providing and maintaining a safe environment for our employees, contractors, and partners. As part of this unwavering commitment to safety, it is a condition of employment that all WCS Canada employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with a COVID-19 vaccine series approved by Health Canada or the World Health Organization.
How to apply:
Please submit your CV and a cover letter explaining your interest in this position and relevant skills and experience through this link.
For questions regarding the position, please contact Forough Shafiei at fshafiei@wcs.org.
For questions regarding the application process, please contact Okechukwu Ezibe at oezibe@wcs.org.
About WCS Canada
WCS Canada (www.wcscanada.org) was established as a Canadian conservation organization in July 2004. We are committed to championing accessibility, diversity, and equal opportunity. Our mission is to save wildlife and wild places by improving our understanding of and seeking solutions to critical problems that threaten key species and large wild ecosystems throughout Canada. We implement and support comprehensive field studies that gather information on wildlife needs and then seek to resolve key conservation problems by working with a broad array of actors. WCS Canada has a track record of our science being recognized as relevant, credible and legitimate by researchers, NGOs and agencies. WCS Canada is independently registered and managed, while retaining a strong collaborative working relationship with sister Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) programs in more than 60 countries.
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 feel they belong and can grow.
WCS Canada’s programs occur on the homelands of Indigenous Peoples whose relationships various governments are described in historic (numbered) Treaties, modern land claim agreements, and negotiations around unceded lands. We recognize and support the international ecological and social commitments and responsibilities to Indigenous Peoples that Canada has signed, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Our commitment to engagement with Indigenous Peoples ranges from notification of research to the provision of scientific advice, to co-creation of research. We respect Indigenous knowledge systems and include this knowledge in our research and conservation programs where possible. We engage in land use planning and impact assessment processes that affect Indigenous Peoples, seeking ways to advance conservation as well as opportunities to sustain the livelihoods and cultures of Indigenous communities. We seek to motivate positive conservation outcomes by supporting effective governance and decision-making processes by Indigenous communities, particularly by supporting Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas.