Director of Institutional Funding (Business Development)

Application Deadline: April 19th, 2024

Overall Description: The Director of Institutional Funding (DIF) is responsible for securing funding for GRS programs and strategic priorities across GRS’s restricted donor portfolio (foundation, private sector/corporate, and multi and bilateral donors) with a focus on donor prospecting and stewarding. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer and working in close collaboration with the Chief Executive Officer/founder, VP Principal Gifts, and VP Development, the DIF will develop and manage our restricted fundraising strategy and the business development team. As a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT), the successful candidate is a strategic leader and experienced team builder and relationship manager. They have high emotional intelligence, are a collaborative team player and thought partner, and are comfortable working with a broad range of stakeholders to further GRS’ mission.

Position Summary:

The DIF will work closely with other members of the global Business Development (BD) team to re-engage current or lapsed donors, and identify and secure new donors to support GRS’s five-year strategy, and beyond. This is a frontline fundraising position that requires prospecting, opening doors, and meeting and managing relationships with prospective donors and current funders. They will partner with the Business Development team and impact teams to identify new funding opportunities, cultivate relationships with institutional funders, and turn those opportunities into revenue.

Responsibilities:

Strategy and Portfolio Management (70%)

• Build and execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy to grow and diversify revenue in support of GRS health issue areas across geographies, programs, research, etc. as it relates to foundations, multi and bilateral donors, corporate partners, and other institutional and private sector donors (~$5M/year)
• In partnership with the BD team, grow and manage portfolio of current and prospective funders to include: discovery and qualification; building and executing strategies; overseeing and supporting grant proposal development and reporting; developing and executing cultivation and stewardship strategies; building, managing, and maintaining strong relationships to secure funding for GRS programs, research priorities, and innovations
• Partner with Founder/CEO, COO, and Development team on funder strategy and relationship management as it relates to major gifts, organizational leadership, key initiatives and growth opportunities, and select constituencies and stakeholders
• Become fluent in GRS programs and impact, and be able to simply and effectively communicate how our work fits with funder priorities
• Share funder engagement best practices across the organization and actively contribute to an internal culture of philanthropy and stewardship

Department /Business Development Team Management – 20%

• Develop and support the BD team as it relates to grant and proposal development, grant management and reporting, prospecting, consultants, and other key positions in support of revenue growth
• Partner with the development and marketing teams on communications and key engagement opportunities as it relates to institutional funders and partners
• Oversee department budget (expenses and revenue) and with the Senior Manager of Business Development and finance team, set annual KPIs to deliver against GRS 5 year plan.
• Ensure systems are optimized for managing and tracking donors including donor prospecting, funder management, and revenue
• Provide reports and analysis to leadership, board, and other stakeholders as it relates to department revenue and key initiatives

Other – 10%

• Partner with other internal teams on exploration of additional restricted and unrestricted revenue sources, partnerships, and opportunities
• Partner with global and in-country teams to provide programmatic updates for key funders as it relates to portfolio
• As needed, support events and strategic engagement opportunities (such as the annual Gala) that include select funders and relationship management
• Other projects and responsibilities as assigned

Location & Travel

• Approximately 20%-30% domestic and international travel
• GRS supports a flexible work schedule and ability to work remotely

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree and 7-10+ years’ non-profit/NGO experience developing, growing, and securing 6-7 figure funding specifically from corporate funders and foundations, as well as experience working with other institutional funders including multi and bilateral funders.
• Experience working with and securing funding from top global health funders (e.g. Gates, Wellcome Trust, Children’s Investment Fund, etc), including knowledge of their programmatic priorities, business practices, rules and regulations is highly preferred
• Experience managing a grants team; building a pipeline of prospects from various prospecting strategies
• Deep experience in grant management and proposal development for 6-fig+ grant opportunities; a strong understanding of inner working and processes to secure and deliver against grants
• Experience delivering results in a highly decentralized, matrixed, global organization

The ideal candidate should be exceptional at the following:

• You are a relationship builder. You are exceptional at identifying, researching, and managing relationships with current and potential funders. You are creative, flexible, and opportunistic when it comes to seeking out funding opportunities; you can “connect the dots” among stakeholders and donors to open new doors and secure funding.
• You are a people person. You have high EQ and are exceptional at working in teams across different cultures and time zones and with a diverse range of stakeholders.
• You are an exceptional listener and communicator. You can simplify complexity and communicate clearly, simply, boldly, and persuasively so funders will want to fund our programs, impact, and business model for scale.
• You are an exceptional writer with close attention to detail and you easily adapt how our work is presented for different audiences and formats.

Successful leaders at Grassroot Soccer are bold, yet humble. They are passionate about the mission of Grassroot Soccer and understand their role on the Grassroot Soccer team to achieve its mission.

Day to day, they are…

• Proactive: can anticipate both opportunities and obstacles and take action
• Professional: level-headed; ability to de-escalate difficult situations, behave exceptionally, and manage/minimize distractions
• Problem Solvers: comfortable with ambiguity, can creatively unlock bottlenecks and turn problems into opportunities

…they demonstrate lots of…

• Common Sense: prioritizing the right things at the right time; making good, quick, informed decisions balancing multiple issues and points of view
• Self-awareness: know where one’s blind spots are, recognize differences, and build a team to complement one’s skills and weaknesses

…and a strong bias for…

• Follow-through and Outcomes: deliver results, not just create lots of activity
• Treating People Well: empathetic, kind, great listener, yet can make tough decisions and hold oneself/others accountable

Benefits:

• Flexible remote schedule
• Generous Paid Time Off
• Affordable dental and vision coverage
• Significant employer health insurance contributions
• Opportunity to work on a global team and visit GRS sites
• 5 days of study leave and more!