Main purpose of the role

The Partnerships Manager leads and supports a range of work, investments and activities to drive additional philanthropic funding into climate change solutions. This includes:

• Guiding the climate team to develop and manage partnerships with other funders, through which work is co-strategized and co-funded.
• Supporting grantees to leverage additional funding through a range of fundraising activities.
• Preparing insightful briefings and contributing to communications, events and meetings that showcase CIFF’s climate investments and build the organisation’s profile as a collaborative philanthropy.
• Managing a portfolio of investment proposals and active programmes focused on philanthropic leadership, that contribute to the delivery of climate team priorities and meet the corporate objectives of the CIFF Board.

Role’s responsibilities

Co-funding & fundraising

• Guide and support the team to develop strategic partnerships to assist the adoption, replication, co-funding or scaling-up of CIFF programmes.
• Aid the development and operation of funder collaboratives, including supporting CIFF’s participation in the Climate Funders Table and other forums.
• Harness and distribute partner intelligence, to grasp opportunities, build trust and mitigate relationship risks for the team and wider organization.
• Build and maintain overviews of CIFF’s climate portfolio and investment opportunities.
• Prepare briefings and materials for effective funder engagement.
• Build relationships with grantee fundraising staff and provide input and advice on fundraising initiatives and strategies as required.
• Ensure strategic grantees are collaborating appropriately with fundraising grantees and partners (e.g. Climate Lead, Active Philanthropy, Impatience Earth)
• Develop and maintain comprehensive co-funding processes and reports.

Communications & events

• Write and co-ordinate high-quality, strategic briefings for partnership meetings and events for the ED, CEO, Climate Directors and board as required.
• Support in the preparation of talking points, presentations and event materials ahead of speaking engagements and events.
• Take and disseminate executive summaries of events and meetings to maintain team clarity on existing partnerships and new opportunities.
• Develop content about CIFF’s climate team and portfolio for internal and external use (e.g. quarterly CEO report, annual report and website)

Strategy & planning

• Collaborate with the Director of Partnerships and other senior colleagues to build and deliver an impactful approach to partnerships across the climate team to accelerate the delivery of our co-funding and collective strategy development objectives.
• Act as a specialist in fundraising, guiding grantees and colleagues as required.
• Support implementation of co-funding convening and engagement plans.
• Prepare and present high-quality analysis and research, as required, to support future strategic priorities and setting operational plans.
• Contribute to the production of programme strategy and the associated evidence base, alongside other team members, prior to a proposal’s submission for approval.

Programme development, delivery & performance

• Manage climate philanthropic leadership programmes (circa $18m) in accordance with the climate team priorities and plan.
• Against key corporate and / or sector team indicators and targets, monitor and report internally on the performance of assigned portfolio.
• Apply agreed due diligence and risk management protocols appropriately throughout the development and delivery of proposals and programmes, to ensure the interests and reputation of the Foundation are protected.
• Working either with sector colleagues or independently, prepare summary reports, board reports and portfolio investment reports, ensuring these are produced to a high-standard and in a timely fashion, often within tight timeframes.
• Co-ordinate the development of grant agreements, to forecast and process grant payments and to enable effective grant management and reporting within the organisation.
• Working with Evidence, Measurement and Evaluation, identify and embed appropriate monitoring and evaluation processes to all proposals and programmes.
• Conduct regular reviews of the progress and performance of programmes under delivery to identify problems and delays, and work with partners to develop effective solutions (escalating for support and intervention, where required).
• Identify opportunities and options for improving processes, procedures and programme management approaches within (and beyond) the team, to support increased organisational efficiency and effectiveness.

Sector knowledge and profile-building

• Keep abreast of developments within the philanthropy and climate sectors, establishing appropriate information gathering networks and channels to deepen professional knowledge and skills.
• As required, contribute to the development of thought leadership, PR, marketing and advocacy materials, to support CIFF’s ambitions to scale-up, mainstream and leverage additional support for its initiatives.

Stakeholder and partner management

• With other climate funders and a variety of external audiences, develop and maintain strong partnerships and act as a knowledgeable resource about CIFF’s programmes and priority areas.
• Proactively develop and maintain networks with strategic partnership managers in other foundations, climate and environment funders networks, and with potential new funders.
• Conduct rigorous research and evaluation of potential partners, using agreed corporate protocols and techniques, to assess their suitability and credentials for collaborating on CIFF initiatives.
• Apply CIFF’s agreed account management disciplines and approaches in all dealings with programme partners and stakeholders, to ensure productive and professional relationships are maintained in a coordinated and strategic manner.

Membership and leadership of the team

• Actively participate in cross organisational working groups related to philanthropy and partnerships.
• Be a role model to less experienced team members, demonstrating CIFF’s leadership behaviours and providing mentorship to aid their growth.
• Adopt a coaching approach with colleagues – particularly on fundraising – which instills a culture of openness and trust, embraces diverse thinking, and encourages continuous improvement and learning.
• We operate a matrix structure so reporting lines can vary between specific aspects of the role.
• Contribute to corporate initiatives, as required by the ED and Director of Partnerships.
• This role may have line management responsibility for an analyst.

Requirements

Skills & Experience

• Self-starter and self-disciplined, driven by CIFF’s mission and a demonstrated passion for breaking new ground in the fight against climate change.
• Partnership development and high value fundraising experience in the philanthropic and/or the NGO sector.
• Skilled in relationship building and strengthening; able to influence others and work collaboratively, uniting groups with a shared purpose.
• Strong working knowledge of impact measurement, programme monitoring and evaluation; and belief in the importance of evidence-based decision making.
• An innovative thinker with a pragmatic and solution-oriented mindset.
• Ability to work efficiently, juggle tasks simultaneously, meet deadlines, and achieve goals and prioritize projects.
• English is CIFF’s business language – we expect all of our people to display outstanding verbal and written communication skills across all aspects of their role. Ability to communicate complex ideas succinctly for diverse audiences
• Capacity to work in a range of cultural and socio-economic contexts, adapting style and approach appropriately and in a culturally sensitive manner to maximise effectiveness.
• IT proficiency (most specifically in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint).
• A proven self-starter, who works with pace and resilience.

Key working relationships

• CIFF Board members
• Other CIFF teams – particularly EME and functional teams (e.g., legal, HR, finance)
• Co-funders – e.g., Hewlett Foundation, Oak Foundation, Ikea Foundation
• Strategic partners and grantees – e.g., Climate Lead, FILE, Clean Air Fund, C40, ECF
• International charities and NGOs – e.g. WRI, RMI
• National governments and local NGO partners in priority geographies
• Research and academic institutions active within sector specialism

Benefits

The starting salary for this role is GBP 63,790 per annum.

CIFF operates a hybrid work policy across all locations, which means employees works some of the time from home. We are happy to provide more information on this as part of the recruitment process.

Alongside a competitive salary, we offer a generous benefits package here at CIFF that includes, but is not limited to the following. All these will be prorated to the fixed term.

• Annual leave – 25 days per annum. Increasing by 1 day after each year of service, to a maximum of 30 days.
• Bonus – CIFF currently operates a discretionary bonus scheme.
• Pension
• Private medical insurance
• Training allowance
• Wellbeing allowance
• Life insurance

Please submit your application on or before 7th June 2024. CIFF reserves the right to close the job advert early if we receive a high number of suitable applications.