Director, Foundation Relations

About African Wildlife Foundation

African Wildlife Foundation’s mission is to ensure wildlife and wild lands thrive in modern Africa.

The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) is the oldest international conservation organization focused solely on Africa. Since our founding in 1961, AWF has recognized that Africa’s wildlife resources and ecosystems are critical to the future prosperity of Africa and its people. Some key facts about AWF:

• With a geographic focus on the continent of Africa, AWF works with Africans at the local, regional and national levels to conserve the continent’s tremendous natural resources.
• We believe that sustainable development is good for Africa when balanced with biodiversity conservation.
• We focus on key African species, including elephants, rhinos, lions and other large carnivores, mountain gorillas and Africa’s other great apes.
• AWF is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with offices throughout Africa and in Europe and North America.

Our Conservation Approach

For long-lasting impact, conservation in Africa must be done at a large-landscape level, together with local, national and regional partners. Conservation must also consider the needs of not simply the wildlife living in the area but also the people.

To that end:

• Supporting, promoting, investing in African conservation leadership is in our DNA and a fundamental building block in everything we believe in and do as an organization.
• AWF targets large areas of land that extend beyond single parks, even national boundaries.
• We implement a variety of conservation initiatives, all of which are centered around three specific areas: land, wildlife and people (including education and enterprise).
• AWF incorporates climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts into many of our projects. Because conservation does not always take effect without political will, we also work with governmental partners and regional bodies to effect policy change.

The Role

The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) is an Africa-based global conservation organization protecting wildlife and their habitats as essential to a modern and prosperous Africa. We articulate a unique vision of African-led conservation, focusing on solutions that create opportunity for people — not at the expense of wildlife and their habitats, but because of them.

This is an exciting opportunity to join an organization that is effectively developing successful and innovative solutions to some of the most pressing and challenging environmental issues in Africa. AWF recently launched a $300 million fundraising campaign, Resilient Africa, Resilient Planet, with three programmatic priorities: Leading for Wildlife, Living with Wildlife and Caring for Wildlife. The Director, Foundation Relations is a newly-created position that will work in close partnership with the Vice President, Foundation & Corporate Relations and Executive Leadership to execute the strategic plan for a burgeoning foundations program. We are steadily building new relationships and advancing strategies to steward current and prospective funders.

The Director, Foundation Relations will be a strategic thinker and superb communicator, seasoned in building and stewarding relationships, developing funding opportunities, creating compelling proposals, and meeting revenue goals. In collaboration with the Vice President and as a key leader of the Foundation Relations team, you will focus on securing private foundation funding of $2 million per annum with the aim to grow significantly over the next five years.

You will be responsible for the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of foundations, with the primary responsibility to lead the development of foundation partnerships and funding growth strategies with the focus on private foundations capable of giving above $100,000 and prioritizing giving of $1,000,000 and above. You will develop a firm grasp of donor interests and motivations, and clearly articulate AWF’s value proposition based on strategic and funding priorities, working closely with technical and field teams and cost proposal managers to shape relevant, inspiring, implementable proposals, concepts and pitches that inspire donors and lead to conservation impact.

• Maintain a portfolio of 30-40 foundations. Act as a central point of contact for portfolio donors and prospects, developing comprehensive strategies for priority donors/prospects with meaningful “moves management” touchpoints.
• Engage in qualification, strategy, relationship building, and proposal development for gifts or grants at the $100,000-level and above. Work with technical and executive team leads and fundraising colleagues across the organization to develop effective fundraising strategies that translate into successful proposals. May include being the primary writer on a grant proposal.
• Develop and implement innovative plans for enhancing cultivation and stewardship of foundation and donors. Identify, secure, and attend meetings with foundation executives and staff. Provide thorough and responsive information requested by foundations as required.
• Distill complex content into accessible, inspirational, compelling, and concise materials that highlight the impact of donor investment.
• Manage workflow on production of content in line with AWF’s Account Management Framework.
• Monitor reporting deadlines and provide timely grant reporting to donors, ensuring quality control and compliance with donor and AWF requirements and quality standards.
• Maintain accurate records and responsibly document all work with prospects and funders into the constituent relationship management database in a timely manner in accordance with the policies and procedures of the External Affairs department.
• Establish and maintain strong and effective relationships with AWF’s major internal constituencies, which includes the Executive Leadership team, Country Directors, field teams, and members of key administrative units such as finance and communications.
• Remain competent and current through self-directed professional reading, developing professional contacts with colleagues, and attending professional development courses and trainings.
• Partner with Vice President in building and managing a best-in-class foundations team to develop donor strategies and increase foundation investments and establish annual and monthly revenue goals. Provide reporting to Vice President on program performance and produce internal and external reports regarding projected and achieved goals monthly.
• Contribute to AWF’s overall success by assuming responsibility for special projects as assigned, and performing all other duties and responsibilities as assigned in a timely, thorough, and professional manner.

• Proven success in cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding foundations. Experience writing successful grants, proposals, and letters of intent. Track record of securing mid-six figure + grants.
• Commitment to, and experience with, promoting and supporting an environment of diversity, equity and inclusion. Ability to work in a multicultural environment with diverse stakeholders. Global experience in conservation, international development, or related field strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of and proficiency with common industry databases and software including, but not limited to; Raiser’s Edge (NXT), and Microsoft Office Suite. Comfortable and nimble in learning new systems, processes, and protocols.
• Superb verbal and written communication skills. Ability to communicate detailed instructions and provide or solicit feedback.
• Demonstrated strength in organizational and project management skills.
• Proactive, and possessing the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines under pressure.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills; demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships.
• Ability to handle confidential information professionally.
• Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of seven years of related experience.
• Master’s degree in related field strongly preferred; strong preference for demonstrated knowledge of conservation and development issues, particularly in Africa.
• Valid passport and ability to travel domestically and internationally.

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