JOBS

IISD is recruiting for a Director of Strategic Partnerships (Globally remote, Canada, UK, Germany, Portugal or USA preferred)

Ednah Carrick June 19, 2025

0 226 3 minutes read

Closing Date: 7 July 2025

IISD is recruiting for a Director of Strategic Partnerships (Globally remote, Canada, UK, Germany, Portugal or USA preferred)

Location type: Remote
Annual salary: $134K –$175K CAD; €84,800 – €110,800 EUROS; $96,500 – $126,000 USD; £72,800 – £95,100 GBP

Background

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is a leading think tank dedicated to promoting human development and environmental sustainability. With a diverse team of over 300 professionals globally, IISD strive to create solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges through research, partnerships, and policy recommendations.

Purpose of role

IISD is seeking a dynamic and experienced Director of Strategic Partnerships to lead its fundraising and donor engagement efforts. The Director of Strategic Partnerships reports to the CEO for strategy and to the VP of Operations for daily management and is pivotal in securing the financial resources necessary to advance our mission of promoting sustainable development worldwide.

A core focus of this role will be to devise, implement, and coordinate an organizational wide fundraising strategy, with a strong emphasis on identifying and securing new funding sources. The successful candidate will be expected to proactively explore untapped donor opportunities, expand IISD’s funding portfolio, and reduce reliance on traditional streams by building relationships with new philanthropic, private sector partners. This strategic leadership will be key in ensuring IISD’s long-term financial sustainability and ability to scale impact. This role has a dual focus: it combines strategic responsibilities with hands-on support to programs to identify new opportunities and develop and coordinate cross-programmatic proposals.

The ideal candidate brings demonstrated success in diversifying revenue streams and building strategic partnerships, along with the ability to both envision ambitious fundraising goals and execute detailed plans to achieve them. This individual will play a key role in unlocking opportunities by identifying new, untapped sources of funding and leading strategic outreach to prospective funders. The Director will focus on aligning donor interests with organizational priorities, providing strategic guidance on scoping and developing project proposals while offering creative solutions and approaches to ensure alignment with funding opportunities. This role blends strategic oversight with hands-on contributions, including writing and developing proposals, coordinating processes, and supporting the teams to maximize their success.

Primary responsibilities

Setting Fundraising Strategy and Vision: Develop and implement a comprehensive new fundraising strategy that aligns with IISD’s mission and goals, ensuring long-term financial sustainability.
Donor Cultivation: Identify and research prospective donor funders for both the organization and program teams, develop tailored cultivation strategies, build and maintain relationships through personalized outreach and engagement, and work collaboratively with the development team to move prospects through the donor pipeline.
Proposal Administration: Supervised proposal workflows and updated CRM records to reflect real-time project status.
Prospecting: Design and execute tailored strategies for identifying, soliciting, and stewarding foundation and individual funders.
Team leadership: Cultivate a culture of collaboration, innovation, and excellence within the fundraising function, with an eye toward building and growing a high-performing development team. Collaborate closely with Program Teams to align efforts and drive impact.
Proposal Development: Lead the writing and creation of compelling funding proposals in collaboration with the program teams, pitches, appeals, and other materials to secure funding
Donor Relations: Create strategic funder communications highlighting IISD initiatives and cultivated ongoing donor partnerships.
Collaboration: Partner with Program Directors and the Communications Team to integrate fundraising strategies with organizational and program teams priorities and ensure the compelling communication of IISD’s impact.
Innovative Fundraising Strategies: Explore and implement new approaches, while enhancing fundraising capacity at country, global, and initiative levels.
Reporting: Provides fundraising updates, insights, and recommendations to the CEO for strategic guidance and to the VP of Operations for operational oversight; also reports regularly to the Board of Directors.

Experience

Bachelor’s degree in non-profit management, business administration, communications, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
Ideally 10+ years in international fundraising, with a strong track record of securing six-figure gifts and multi-year funding and managing diverse funding portfolios. Experience in the environmental or sustainability sectors is preferred.
Experience in a dual role that combines strategic leadership with hands-on team coordination and writing, with a proven track record of collaborating effectively with others in proposal development and tracking.
Experience collaborating with program teams to align fundraising efforts, with a demonstrated ability to foster a shared culture of philanthropy and engage cross-functional teams in development initiatives.
Ability to build and implement a comprehensive strategy from the ground up, thriving in an environment that requires proactive leadership to identify opportunities and shape the direction for success.
Proven leadership and management experience, including mentoring and developing staff. Ability to lead teams through change and foster a positive work environment.
Established donor network within relevant sectors.
A commitment to advancing sustainability and the ability to engage in discussions on environmental policy and social impact.
Demonstrable success in managing donor relationships from acquisition to stewardship and retention.

Skills

Exceptional planning, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
Excellent writer who enjoys both strategy development but also being an individual contributor.
Advanced public speaking and communication abilities.
Proficiency with donor management software; experience with platforms like Salesforce is an asset.