Position Overview

Organization: Heart & Stroke

Title: Vice President, Philanthropy Ontario + Nunavut

Reports to: Senior Vice President, Ontario + Nunavut

Direct Team: Senior Philanthropy Officer

Cross Functional: Regional Philanthropy Leads (including individual major gifts, legacy, community, third party), Ontario Advisory Board/Ontario Development Committee, Central Services, Director Corporate Development Ontario, Mission Team, Finance + Legal

Location: Ontario: with the ability to travel a minimum of up to 5 days per month within Ontario (London/Guelph, Hamilton, Niagara, Kingston and Ottawa)

Is This You?

You consider yourself to be a visionary, dynamic and collaborative philanthropy leader who can influence and motivate stakeholders at all levels in the organization and across the community. You bring strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication and negotiation skills to the table, with demonstrated success in strategic and annual planning, donor prospecting and cultivation, overseeing multi-channel fundraising including community-based with proven success in soliciting mid/major level individual gifts at the $100k+ level.

You can work effectively with a diverse population of community leaders, volunteers, donors and other stakeholders and you use your strong organizational, administrative and time management skills to address multiple projects in a fast-paced environment. You have experience working with and supporting a volunteer advisory board focused on philanthropy and awareness building and can pioneer new territory while building programs from the ground up. You are someone with integrity and are passionate about heart health.

You would be excited to support one of Canada’s most beloved health and wellness charities working alongside a dedicated and passionate national team.

If this sounds like you, keep reading!

Executive Summary

Heart & Stroke’s mission is to promote health, save lives, and enhance recovery as it relates to heart disease and stroke. They are committed to a culture that exemplifies their core values: CHAMPION Health, PRACTISE Humility, EMBRACE Change, DRIVE impact, LEARN and GROW, and BE HEARTFELT.

Heart & Stroke is a leading funder of life-saving research, which has led to breakthroughs such as heart transplant surgery and a revolutionary stroke treatment that cuts the death rate by 50%.

They empower Canadians to live healthier lives — from preventing and controlling high blood pressure to getting more physical activity. And they fight for change that will create better health for all, such as reducing salt in the food supply and improving access to stroke rehabilitation.

But there’s a lot more to do. Much more.

The threat is urgent.

Heart disease, stroke, and related conditions take one life every five minutes in Canada. An estimated 1.6 million more Canadians are living with the devastating effects of these diseases. An astounding 9 in 10 Canadians have at least one risk factor, such as high blood pressure, obesity, tobacco use, lack of physical activity, and diabetes.

The threat of heart disease and stroke has never been more urgent. And it’s amplified by our aging population, sedentary lifestyles, poor diets, and more.

Life. We don’t want you to miss it. ™

For more than 60 years, Heart & Stroke have been dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. Their work has saved thousands of lives and improved the lives of millions of others. They have invested more than $1.52 billion in heart and stroke research, making them the largest contributor in Canada after the federal government. In that time, the death rate from heart disease and stroke has declined by more than 75 per cent. The health promotion and advocacy programs across the country are saving lives every day. Working together, employees, volunteers, donors, and world-class researchers have made Heart & Stroke Canada’s most widely recognized and trusted authority on cardiovascular health.

Big challenge, ambitious goals

To tackle these challenges, Heart & Stroke focuses efforts on areas where they can make the biggest impact. They are working to beat heart disease and stroke with innovative programs such as:

Heart-Brain Connection: Seeking to gain better understanding of the critical connections between the heart and the brain, in January 2021, Heart & Stroke & Brain Canada announced a partnership resulting in a research award in the amount of $6M – the Heart-Brain Connection IMPACT Award. This research will investigate and unravel the heart-brain connection to improve knowledge and treatments.

Closing the Gap on Health Inequities: The focus in fiscal 2024 will continue to be health equity, with a greater focus on Women’s Health, and supporting early careers of Black & Indigenous Scholars through multi- year funding that will largely be supported through philanthropic contributions from Heart & Stroke donors.

Heart & Stroke currently funds two research Chairs in Women’s Indigenous Heart and Brain Health in partnership with the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR). In April 2024, H&S is hosting the fourth annual Canadian Women’s Heart Health Summit in partnership with the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Centre at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.

Heart Failure: Working to lessen the burden of heart failure, which afflicts over 600 thousand people in Canada, in collaboration with World Heart Federation and other Canadian health partners. The first order of business is to collect data to better understand current resources and services throughout all health care institutions in the country.

Advocating for Healthy Policies: Pushing for a national pharmacare program to provide the access to medically necessary medication that everyone in Canada deserves and reduce the burden on the health care system. Working to restrict youth vaping and cap nicotine levels in vapes, as well as restrict the marketing of unhealthy products such as sugary drinks to children.

Increasing Cardiac Arrest Survival Rates: Looking at new ways to increase the survival of out-of- hospital cardiac arrest. They support a vast network of Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation training across Canada and have been instrumental in placing Automated External Defibrillators in public places. Looking for innovative ways and partnerships to drive the survival rate up.

The Position

Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Ontario + Nunavut the Vice President, Philanthropy Ontario + Nunavut, leads Ontario and Nunavut in fundraising and elevating community awareness and engagement across the region. As a member of the leadership team this leader will contribute Nationally and lead Regionally. Our successful candidate will have the accountability for revenue targets in Ontario + Nunavut and will work collaboratively with all stakeholders (including the Ontario Advisory Board and Development Committee) to deliver a comprehensive fundraising program with their focus on individual giving/foundations and working collaboratively with community, third party events and corporate leads who report into the SVP ON Nunavut. A hands-on fundraiser our successful candidate will mange their own pipeline of prospects and donors at various stages of identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship focused on supporting the highest priority needs of Heart & Stroke.

Primary Accountabilities

Strategic Leadership

• Lead all major gift fundraising functions within Ontario + Nunavut to achieve goals with focus on strategic priorities
• Translate national strategy to regional plans, driving fundraising across the region in partnership with staff and volunteers
• Development, ownership and achievement of annual revenue and expense budget
• Is a role model when it comes to translating supporters into individual donors and sets the bar ‘high’ for philanthropy within the Region
• Drives innovation to fuel growth in alignment with the organization’s strategic objectives and priorities

Relationship Management

• Oversees the day-to-day operations of the region by developing and maintaining excellent relationships at all levels of the organization (e.g. National office, Regional offices, Volunteers, Community and Donors)
• Working alongside Central Services, lead proposals, solicitations, stewardship, and communication efforts with tailored and meaningful plans for donors/partners and prosects
• Using networks, research, staff and volunteer referrals to enhance the existing pipeline

Talent Management

• Provides leadership to the entire team to drive a mission motivated, collaborative, and high-performance culture
• Partner with human resources to recruit, engage, inspire, and retain top talent such that they build their careers at Heart & Stroke
• Provides support and direction in the development, alignment, and accomplishment of objectives through on-going performance feedback, recognition, and coaching
• Provide clear direction on business goals and priorities’ ensure optimal deployment of resources to achieve ‘said’ goals
• Understand and follow Health & Safety guidelines and Provincial Legislation
• Be a role model around the values and competencies of Heart & Stroke

Operation, Business Planning, Central Database Recording & Moves Management

• Participate in an integrated moves management program and prospect clearance process
• Record all outcomes from prospect, supporter and volunteer contact within 48 hours
• Ensure the seamless collection and coordination of information for prospective donor advancement purposes
• Take an active role in learning about and keeping up to date with the priority funding opportunities
• Collaborate with Central Development Team on prospect research, information management, strategic writing, opportunity/proposal development, activation, recognition and stewardship, and adheres to all standards and protocol

Board Engagement

• Support the SVP with engagement of the Ontario Advisory Board
• Lead the Ontario Development Committee team of volunteers and work with other senior volunteers to create enthusiasm for exercising their influence in their own communities
• Engage with Board members to support fundraising activities
• Provide regular briefings to the Provincial Advisory Board on progress of the team
• Where possible support the SVP and Ontario Advisory Board chair on recruitment of future development committee members

Donor/Partner Management

• Contribute to the research, qualification and identification of new prospects, working cooperatively and cross functionally in prospect management and clearance
• Effectively integrate the mission, strategic plan and various case for support in achieving the goals of the organization
• Liaise with internal teams to articulate the case for support to prospects and ensure appropriate representation of staff, scientists, clinicians at meetings
• Follow standard policies and procedures for the acceptance and administration of gifts
• Negotiate gift terms and bring solicitations to closure
• Ensure appropriate, meaningful recognition and thorough stewardship including follow-through on the gift implementation and administration of the funds and related expenditures
• Develop and oversee an annual stewardship and communication plan identifying key communications vehicles and events for existing and potential donors/partners

The Ideal Candidate

• 10+ years working within a matrixed philanthropic environment, with direct experience identifying, soliciting and closing gifts at the $100k level and up
• Successful track record recruiting, leading and retaining a high performance team
• Intensive knowledge of best practices in philanthropy
• Superior ability to produce high-quality work under tight deadlines, combined with a comfort managing multiple projects, priorities and deadlines
• Ability to work in a multi-layered, complex, results-oriented institution with multiple internal and external stakeholders
• A strong team work ethic with exceptional interpersonal skills; able to work well with all levels of staff
• Self-motivated with sound judgement and ethical decision-making skills
• Working knowledge of CRM (Blackbaud, Salesforce) is an asset
• Although not a requirement, preference will be given to candidates with experience in multi-level not for profit organizations within the health + wellness sector

Application Instructions

Please email your application to Cathy Preston at cathy@phcap.ca by Friday May 19th, 2023 by 5pm ET. Please include your cover letter and CV.

In addition to a competitive salary ($130,000 – $160,000), Heart & Stroke believe that time off is integral to the personal health and wellness of employees. They offer a generous paid time-off package including vacation days, personal days, wellness days, and paid company-wide closure between December 25 and January 1. They also provide competitive health, medical, dental and vision benefits, basic life and disability insurance, an employee assistance program (EAP) and a defined contribution pension plan with employer matching.  Heart & Stroke employees also enjoy a flexible hybrid working model and reimbursement for mobile phones and home office setup, as well as opportunities for professional development.

Heart & Stroke is committed to fostering an inclusive, barrier-free, and accessible environment.  If you are contacted for an interview and require accommodation to participate in the recruitment and selection process, please advise and we will work with you to meet your needs.

At Heart & Stroke, we believe in equity, diversity, and inclusion; it’s embedded in our values and core mission work to support all people in Canada to lead healthier lives. We are committed to applying this principle to cultivate a welcoming environment that embraces diversity among our employees.  Candidates from diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to, Indigenous peoples, racialized and LGBTQ2+ communities, women, and people with disabilities, are encouraged to apply.

We thank you for your interest in this opportunity. Please note that only qualified respondents will be contacted.