Senior Manager, Philanthropic Partnerships

About WeForest

WeForest is an international NGO headquartered in Brussels with teams and projects across Africa and Latin America – with a focus on its entities in Zambia, Ethiopia, and Malawi.

The aim of WeForest is to demonstrate, through the restoration of entire regions, that well-planned reforestation can be the solution to today’s biggest challenge: climate change. This is done by promoting Forest and Landscape Restoration best practices and through the creation of a global movement engaging brands, and their customers to act toward their aims.

Job Summary

We’re seeking our first Senior Manager, Philanthropic Partnerships to drive and define the trajectory of WeForest’s philanthropic, institutional and HNWI funding stream as our scope and impact grow.

This is a new role, designed to bring leadership and continuity to WeForest’s Philanthropic Partnerships team and portfolio. The Senior Manager will provide critical support to the senior leadership team toward WeForest’s strategy and mission, playing a key role in doubling our impact over the next three years.

Reporting to the Director of Fundraising, the Senior Manager plays a pivotal role in securing and nurturing high-impact partnerships with philanthropic foundations, institutional donors, and HNWI that make substantial investments in WeForest. This role is intricately tied to both strategy and relationship management, connecting in-depth program understanding with high-value, personalised funding initiatives. You will have a key role in exploring new sectors and geographies to enhance our portfolio and diversify our income streams.

As Senior Manager, Philanthropic Partnerships, your task is twofold: cultivating new relationships and strengthening existing ones to grow both our visibility and your portfolio – reaching €5-6M annually in the next two years. Beyond that, your priority will be leading a team that manages the sharing and consolidation of project details and data – acting as a core nexus between fundraising and our broader organisation.

• Fundraising: Build and maintain a €5-6M portfolio from Day 1.
• High-Value Donor Cultivation and Stewardship: Develop and maintain relationships with foundations, institutional donors, and HNWIs, securing six- and seven-figure gifts.
• Networking: Engage in networking, including attendance of key events, to build new relationships, develop existing ones, and prepare the Director and CEO for high-level engagements.
• Pipeline Development: Proactively build and manage a robust pipeline of high-value prospects, identifying new opportunities and addressing any gaps to drive long-term, sustainable funding.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Prioritize and manage high-return opportunities using data to inform strategic decisions.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Lead and mentor a team that acts as the nexus between fundraising and the rest of WeForest, ensuring alignment in donor communications, proposal development, and project reporting. Ensure donor investments support both WeForest’s core costs and project needs.
• Compelling Communication: Collaborate with Marcomm on crafting and communicating compelling narratives that resonate with donors. Address donor feedback. Reinforce WeForest’s value proposition and effectively communicate WeForest’s business model and mission to develop new and existing partnerships.

Required Experience

• Fundraising and Partnerships: Experience in philanthropic fundraising, ideally in sustainability. Demonstrated experience securing and managing high-value, long-term donor relationships and securing six- and seven-figure investments.
• Sector Knowledge: Experience in the sustainability sector, with the ability to communicate WeForest’s expertise and impact to potential and existing partners. A deep understanding of environmental conservation, nature restoration, and the philanthropic landscape, including key trends in sustainable development funding.
• Proposals and Reporting: Proven expertise in creating high-quality proposals and reports that clearly demonstrate the impact of donor contributions.
• Cross-vertical Management: Experience leading cross-functional teams, ensuring alignment between fundraising efforts and organisational goals.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Experience analysing and applying data to inform strategic decisions. Familiarity with SalesForce or other CRM software.

Required Skills & Personal Qualities

• Strategic and Analytical Thinking: Ability to develop data-driven strategies to build and manage a high-value donor pipeline, ensuring sustainable, diversified funding and aligning philanthropic partner needs with WeForest’s goals to create win-win partnerships. Ability to maintain strategic oversight of the entire engagement process, from driving pipelines through to project management, in alignment with WeForest’s fundraising and marketing strategies.
• Networking and Relationship-Building: Strong skills in building and maintaining networking and relationship management.
• Communication: Excellent story-telling skills, with the ability to communicate WeForest’s business model as a tangible and exciting opportunity for impact.
• Leadership: Demonstrated leadership skills with the ability to motivate teams and align priorities to cross-vertical goals.
• Innovation and Resilience: Creative problem-solving skills with an analytical mindset. Adaptable and resilient with the ability to navigate challenges, ensuring continued growth in a dynamic environment.
• Language Proficiency: Fluent in spoken and written English; proficiency in additional European languages (Dutch, French, or German) is a significant asset.
• Environmental Dedication: A deep commitment to WeForest’s mission and values.

We place great importance on values…

…and seek to recruit colleagues who align with our organisational principles. We are committed to promoting a work environment characterised by collaboration, courage, excellence, integrity, passion, and transparency. We believe that these values are essential for driving positive change and achieving our mission of forest restoration and sustainable development. Thus, we require candidates to wholeheartedly embrace and embody these values throughout their work with us.

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