Manager of Foundation Relations

Organization Description:

Vital Voices Global Partnership is a leading international non-profit organization. We invest in women leaders who are tackling the world s greatest challenges from gender-based violence to the climate crisis, economic inequities, and more. We are venture catalysts, identifying leaders with a daring vision for change and partnering with them to make that vision a reality. What sets Vital Voices apart is that we make long-term, holistic investments in leaders with bold ideas for change — providing them connections, capacity, a network of their peers, financial support, and visibility for their work. We have provided early support for leaders who went on to become Nobel Peace Laureates, US Youth Poet Laureates, Prime Ministers, award winning innovators and breakthrough social entrepreneurs. Over the past 24 years, we have directly invested in more than 20,000 change-makers across 184 countries, who in turn have improved the lives of millions of people in their communities and countries.

Today, Vital Voices has a staff of nearly 80 headquartered in Washington, DC. We ve recently been working to dramatically scale our impact in accordance with our bold vision. In early 2022, we opened the first ever Global Headquarters for Women s Leadership, a 30,000+ sq. ft. historic building just blocks from the White House on 16th Street. It is a hub of activity, events, and collaborations — bringing together women leaders and their allies to tackle the world s greatest challenges.

Summary

The Foundation Relations Manager will develop and manage a portfolio of foundation funders aligned with the mission and strategic plan of Vital Voices. The manager must be a highly motivated self-starter with a strong work ethic, excellent interpersonal and communication skills, patience under pressure, and a passion for our work.

The Foundation Relations Manager will report directly to the Sr. Director of Strategic Partnerships and work collaboratively with members of the Development, Communications, and Programming teams, as well as with team members from across the organization. This position is based in Washington, DC with the option of a hybrid work schedule.

Responsibilities

• Portfolio Management:
  • Identify, cultivate, and steward a portfolio of foundation prospects, with an emphasis on identifying new prospects to grow the portfolio during year 1.
  • Lead the development of highly competitive concept notes, letters of inquiry, and full proposals, working closely with programmatic staff and with the support of a Development Writer.
  • Serve as a lead strategist in translating the goals and strategies of Vital Voices programs into a desirable framework for foundation funders.
• Proposals:
  • Ensure the submission of timely foundation proposals, budgets, and reporting.
  • Compile supporting documentation for completed applications to ensure that proposals and grant deliverables, budgets, and required organizational documents are submitted in full compliance with the proposal guidelines and that grant deliverable deadlines are met
  • Monitor proposal and reporting deadlines and manage submissions.
• Financial and Administrative Management:
  • Work closely with finance staff to draft and monitor project budgets and staffing implementation plans for proposals.
• Reporting:
  • Collaborate with the MERL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning) team on measuring achievable metrics to report to foundation funders.
  • Liaise between Program teams and the Development team on reporting out to donors.
• DE&I Commitment: Embrace and model the Vital Voices guiding principles, values, investment, and leadership models with the goal of supporting Vital Voices organization culture and success.
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications and Experience

The ideal candidate will have the majority of the following characteristics and experience:

• A minimum of 3-5 years of work experience in a Development department, with a focus on foundation fundraising and a proven track record of successfully securing grants from foundations.
• Strong knowledge of the foundation landscape, including an understanding of different types of foundations, their funding priorities, and grantmaking processes.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to align fundraising strategies with organizational goals.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust and effective relationships with foundation partners at all levels and to engage diverse stakeholders to coalesce around shared goals and objectives
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to craft compelling grant proposals and reports.
• Expert eye for project management and ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Expertise in grant budgeting (required)
• Strong CRM experience (ideally in Salesforce) (preferred)
• An entrepreneurial approach, with a passion for tackling complex problems and a high level of comfort with uncertainty and experimentation
• A desire and ability to track the results and impact of our work

Please submit a development-focused writing sample with the application materials.

This position is a full-time, exempt position based in Washington, DC. All staff are expected to be in the office twice a week. We are not considering remote candidates at this time. If and when it is safe to travel, domestic and international travel up to 10% may be required for the position. Vital Voices does not provide work visa sponsorship or relocation assistance for this position.

The starting salary range for this position is $78,564-$96,023 based on experience and ability to have broad impact early. The compensation package includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401k match, and generous PTO including wellness flex days, generous parental leave, sabbatical time, and volunteer leave as well as short- and long-term disability, life insurance, HSA, EAP, and a professional development stipend.

Vital Voices provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Vital Voices complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Vital Voices expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of Vital Voices employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.

How to Apply:

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Salary expectations

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Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.