• Lead a five-year foundation sector strategy and annual planning efforts, with priority focus on building high-value partnerships with European foundations towards increasing flexible revenue and on securing multi-year support for large, cross-program strategies
• Leverage and support WRI’s leadership and Board Members to cultivate new and steward existing European foundation partners, and to continue to shift from mostly restricted program grants to increased flexible funding
• Champion centralized engagement with key institutional donors through the centrally managed donors’ policy, ensuing high level internal coordination and adherence to key related policies
• Manage and review fundraising pipelines and revenue forecasts on a regular basis to inform WRI’s leadership and influence decision-making
• Co-lead enhancement of foundation relations’ knowledge products, systems and tools and ensure these are socialized and adopted across WRI
• Collaborate with the entire Department to develop effective donor communications, materials and shape and leverage strategic donor engagement events and moments
• Track and analyze philanthropic trends and priorities to identify points of intersection with WRI’s goals and position the institute strategically for investment where it has clear comparative advantage
• Liaise across Development Department sectors as needed to ensure strong collaboration in strategic engagement with the increasing number of hybrid donor collectives and campaigns
• Represent WRI within the philanthropic landscape in Europe, including corporate and individual donors, as skills and opportunity allow. Contribute to raising the visibility of WRI’s brand and thought leadership among European donors

• Instill excellence in stewardship and reporting related to centrally managed donors, with a particular focus on multi-year flexible and cross-program investments
• Prepare WRI leadership and experts for cultivation, solicitation and/or stewardship engagement with donors, and ensure that communications, briefers, submissions, reports, and other relevant materials are recorded in WRI’s relationship (Salesforce) and shared library (SharePoint) (Dynamics), ensuring information is accessible across WRI
• Lead or support directly the development of core institutional as well as multi-year, cross-program proposals that meet donor priorities while ensuring close alignment with WRI institutional strategy
• Creatively leverage the knowledge, experience, and passion of program colleagues to develop crisp and effective concepts and presentations for donor engagement
• Support program and operations staff in constructive engagement with donors conducting organization assessments
• Champion use of Salesforce across the institute to track key donor relations

• Provide strategic direction on prospect research on European foundations across WRI; steer prioritization of new sources of support or new program areas within current partners, including emerging environmental and/or development-focused European foundations
• Oversee mapping of relationships amongst philanthropies to identify new opportunities for engagement. Research, document, and track WRI leadership and Board Member networks with European foundations

• Co-manage Foundation Relations team with Director of North American Foundation Relations
• Develop and manage sector budget in partnership with Development Operations Manager. • Serve as outcomes manager for embedded development leads (Program or Country Office)
• Lend expertise to enhance fundraising practice across the institute, including on prospect research, proposal development and donor stewardship

What will you need:

• Education: You have a completed Master’s degree
• Experience: At least 12 years of experience in fundraising or in philanthropy with 3 years of supervisory experience is required
• Demonstrated experience developing, implementing and/or participating in a successful foundation relations strategy and a track record of securing new gifts at the six-figure, seven-figure, and eight-figure level from foundations
• Extensive network of relationships with foundation, demonstrated experience initiating and closing solicitations, and a proven understanding of the engagement and accountability expected by foundation donors. Experience in helping foundations shape program strategies or evaluating grants a plus
• You are a highly organized individual with excellent writing and interpersonal skills, and experience defining and sharpening program strategy. Must be able to prioritize projects and deadlines and balance a focused approach with a flexible attitude
• Ability to work with a diverse staff, across multiple program areas and geographies, and negotiate competing demands and interests. Experience working on global environment and socio-economic development issues a plus
• Strong collegial interpersonal skills; ability to diplomatically and effectively communicate in person, in writing, and by phone and video
• Excellent writing skills; ability to translate technical information into lay language; experience in developing and organizing proposals for varying audiences
• Proven self-starter and problem-solver; ability to take initiative and devise creative solutions – with a commitment to pan-organization cooperation and support
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office is required. Knowledge of Salesforce or a comparable CRM database is a plus