Description:
The Senior Partnerships Officer will be responsible for the account management of the existing and growing portfolio of foundation partners within Europe. A key focus of the Senior Foundation Partnerships Officer will be to provide a high standard of proactive relationship management and stewardship so that partners are motivated to continue and increase their support to Mercy Corps’ work through increased funding values and deepened partnerships. This includes responsibility across the portfolio for grants management – including proposal and agreement review, compliance and finance coordination, award kick-off, reporting and tracking budget vs actual spends. They will also support the Director of Strategic Partnerships (Europe) to raise funds from new trust and foundation partners that have been highlighted as a priority through new business acquisition. This will involve frequent coordination across teams to find the strongest in-roads to cultivate 6, 7 and 8-figure funding opportunities with strategic prospects and build strong relationships that result in fruitful solicitations.
Essential Responsibilities
Relationship Management/Stewardship
- Lead on the account management of agreed partners within the Foundations portfolio in Europe, ensuring that each partnership is backed by a strategic plan for development.
- Find strategic ways to enhance and steward relationships within the Foundations portfolio to encourage increased giving levels and alignment with Mercy Corps’ priorities.
- Formulate and implement individual strategies for developing key partnerships and initiatives around programmatic priorities.
- Act as a point-person for partners and donors in response to outreach, questions and wider collaboration opportunities.
Grant Management
- Lead on coordination with desk teams, finance, compliance, country and programmatic teams to conduct agreement reviews, address internal/external compliance concerns, ensure timely grant reporting, track budget vs actuals and file official grant paperwork.
- Ensure account-related records are accurate and accessible and that up-to-date information is recorded on Raisers’ Edge and appropriate internal and global drives. Ensure that relevant teams understand and adhere to funding requirements and donor expectations so that the objectives of CFT grants are fully met.
- Maintain understanding of key foundation partnerships to be able to represent foundation strategies to internal stakeholders.
- Deputize key accounts when the Director of Strategic Partnerships (Europe) is unavailable.
Business Development
- Lead portfolio expansion efforts through strategic evaluation of most aligned, most likely funding opportunities, that align with the organisation’s strategy.
- Proactively pursue leads and in-roads based on strong alignment with Mercy Corps - from cold to warmer prospects. Cultivate new or lapsed donors to keep them engaged with Mercy Corps’ work and solicit for funds.
- Support cross-team efforts relating to open call opportunities when they arise.
- Review, edit and/or project-manage the development of concepts, proposals, reports, pitch decks, updates and stewardship materials according to strong donor knowledge.
- Work closely with global, regional and desk programmes teams to remain up to date of MC priorities, programmes and global impact.
- Input into cross-team workstreams related to new-business mapping; global event and conference research and preparation.
Representation
- Act as an internal expert on the philanthropic landscape, and channel the perspective of foundation partners in developing proposals and ideas with programmatic team members.
- Act as an advocate for the CFT team through regular collaboration and update meetings with programmatic and technical teams to collaborate on funding opportunities and gain knowledge on our programmes to share with the team. Support country and programmatic teams in raising their profile and sharing prospect/partner strategies for internal alignment.
- Effectively represent Mercy Corps to partners and external audiences for both fundraising and profile elevation.