Development Senior Manager, Foundations

Job Description:

Position Overview  

The Senior Manager (Foundations) is responsible for the development and management of a portfolio of current and prospective institutional and foundation funders. The Senior Manager will act as a point of contact for funders in their portfolio, liaising and informing them of RMI’s organizational and programmatic impact. The Senior Manager will spend equal time stewarding relationships with existing funders and identify and cultivate new funders for RMI.  The Senior Manager will be a key contributor to the development team and will be essential to the achievement of the organization’s fundraising goals.  

Portfolio Management 

• Manage and grow revenue from a portfolio of several dozen current and prospective institutional and foundation funders 

• Within a portfolio, lead all aspects of funder relationships, including coordinating conversations, submitting proposals and reports, and responding to inquiries 

• Create touchpoints with funders through, for example, meetings with RMI staff, proactive outreach and scheduling, preparation of meeting briefings with strategic goals and background, designing meeting content, and leading on follow up after meetings` 

• Provide regular updates to Development team leadership team on funder conversations, pipelines, and relationship status 

• Ensure funders are appropriately acknowledged and featured in   RMI reports and other key communications. 

Strategic Engagement 

• With programmatic staff, lead the creation of the fundraising strategy and the case for support 

• Through research and active conversations, understand funders' priorities and partnerships to effectively represent the organization's work 

• Advance relationships resulting in significant philanthropic contributions through strategic engagement including in person and virtual meetings, email correspondence  

• Identify, qualify, solicit, and steward new foundation prospects capable of making 6-8 figure grants 

• Provide high quality experience for funders and potential funders through education and engagement on RMI’s program portfolio 

• Travel to meet with funders where they are, including at US and global conferences   

Proposal Development and Reporting 

• Lead the process of developing compelling grant proposals, Letters of Inquiry, concept notes, and associated budgets to meet funder deadlines and expectations 

• Collaborate with program, accounting, and communications teams to ensure timely submissions of proposals and grant applications 

• Oversee the creation of and timely submission of regular stewardship reports to funders, including financial reports