Location: US, UK, NL, Kenya or Colombia

Position Status: Full-time, 

Salary:  US Salary Range $90,000- $114,000 - commensurate on experience

Closing date: please submit cover letter and CV by August 12th 

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

The Department

The Philanthropic Growth & Engagement Department (PG&E) works to raise private funds, cultivating and maintaining relationships with private donors. The Corporate & Foundations Team (CFT) is composed of our Foundation Partnerships, Corporate Partnerships, and Strategic Philanthropic Partnerships teams, and includes several dozen dynamic professionals who possess a wide range of skills to engage and develop funding relationships. We are passionate about Mercy Corps’ mission and dedicated to supporting a worldwide team working to improve the lives of millions of people in 30+ countries.

The rise in inequality and fragility around the world, coupled with the decline in public sector funding for global development, means that Mercy Corps is more needed than ever. In support of that mission, the Foundation Partnerships team manages Mercy Corps’ fundraising relationships with major global foundations. We establish bold agency-wide strategies and work closely with program colleagues around the world. We contribute to Mercy Corps’ strategies for growing our restricted funding, securing unrestricted funds, and elevating our brand. Mercy Corps will rebrand to its new name – Prosper Global – in September 2026, with opportunities to engage funders and prospective partners on this transition.

To support Mercy Corps’ priorities, the foundation portfolio contributes strategic revenue annually from a reputable and high-value portfolio of foundation donors. By focusing on opportunities to work with such highly respected donors, the foundations portfolio aims to increase Mercy Corps’ profile and credibility as a 21st century partner for donors who are keen to support social impact at scale in our priority areas including market-led solutions to disaster recovery, climate change adaptation, and durable solutions to humanitarian and development challenges.

Foundation partnerships bring value to Mercy Corps via multiple elements: high-value philanthropic dollars for high-impact programming, building our profile with influential partners in the philanthropic landscape, and building towards game-changing ‘big bet’ investments ($10M+) to amplify Mercy Corps’ mission and create ground-breaking approaches to solving some of the most critical issues facing our world. In the post-USAID funding environment, private philanthropy represents an essential and growing part of the agency’s financial strategy, with significant opportunities for the new Director to contribute to the growth of these key partnerships.

The Position

The Director, Foundation Partnerships has a largely external presence representing Mercy Corps in front of major donors, prospects and other key stakeholders. This position will raise unrestricted and strategic restricted funds for Mercy Corps’ priority program areas. They willgrow existing partnerships and introduce Mercy Corps to new supporter audiences, as well as increase Mercy Corps’ profile and credibility as a 21st century partner that can deliver high-quality, innovative and impactful programming. This position will cultivate a portfolio of high value donors, strengthen new business pipeline development for 7-8 figure prospects, and strengthen Mercy Corps’ profile as a partner of choice for funders.

The Director, Foundation Partnerships will be the primary salesperson bringing Mercy Corps’ mission to partners and manage all elements required for successful partnership. The Director will manage a portfolio of important funding partner relationships and prospects, working in close partnership with stakeholders across the organization.

Essential Responsibilities

STRATEGY & VISION

●        Formulate and lead multi-year strategies to identify, leverage, and secure substantial new funding and profile-raising opportunities with private donors.

●        In partnership with key internal stakeholders, establish annual and longer-term goals in support of fundraising growth, including refining donor strategies, establishing metrics to monitor and determine successful implementation.

●        Develop a “cultivation and engagement roadmap” and engage across internal teams to generate new revenue from top donors and their affiliations.

●        Identify innovative ways to raise Mercy Corps’ profile and influence in our key areas with top foundations, influencers, and affinity groups.

●        Contribute significantly to the development of an evolving multi-year fundraising strategy as part of the broader resource development vision and help expand the efficiency, quality and quantity of private funding partnerships, including longer term planning and closer alignment with programmatic objectives.

RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

• Develop and steward relationships with a portfolio of top foundation donors and prospects to significantly increase giving levels.
• Create development strategies for each partner, ensuring stakeholder buy-in and alignment with Mercy Corps’ priorities; With a specific focus on expanding new business:
  • Manage an expanded New Business portfolio of 6-10 new prospects with 7- or 8- figure capacity that are expected to require enhanced stewardship efforts.
  • Work collaboratively across teams to develop top-tier proposals and pitches and oversee reporting, mobilizing necessary internal and external resources to ensure all partnerships are effectively executed and partners’ needs are fully met.
• Effectively represent Mercy Corps to external audiences for both fundraising and profile elevation. Prepare briefs and talking points for executive stewardship and engagement.
• Develop strong working relationships with Mercy Corps’ regional leadership teams and other key internal stakeholders.
• Act as an internal expert on the philanthropic landscape and channel the perspective of foundations in developing proposals and ideas with programmatic staff.
• Provide research and briefings to program, regional, and executive staff when they approach or connect to Foundation partners or prospects.

Supervisory Responsibility

None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Senior Director - Foundation Partnerships 

Works Directly With: Deputy Directors of Foundation Partnerships, Directors of Foundation Partnerships, extended Corporate and Foundations Partnerships team, key stakeholders in Development Operations, Awards Management Team, and program teams in over 30 countries, among others.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualifications & Transferable Skills

●        6+ years’ experience in global development, philanthropy, public policy advocacy, marketing, or partnership/coalition development.

●        Demonstrated track record of fundraising success with major foundations or building strategic partnerships in a way that maximizes value for donors and recipients and builds Mercy Corps’ profile with external audiences.

●        Demonstrated ability to grow current donor portfolio to between $4-5M in value.

●        Demonstrated ability to develop new business strategies and to raise funds from high-value prospects.

●        Deep knowledge of the international relief, development, and philanthropic sectors.

●        Experience mobilizing executives and senior stakeholders for strategic donor engagement, including facilitating and deepening exec-to-exec relationships.

●        Strong written and oral communication skills for effective collaboration internally and successful proposals to donors. 

●        Strong organizational skills and the ability to create and follow timelines for complex relationship management, research, writing, and editing.

●        Ability to proactively identify opportunities to collaborate across teams.

●        Proven ability to coordinate and collaborate with geographically dispersed colleagues to generate effective strategies, achieve consensus, and navigate the demands of a global proposal development process.

Success Factors

The successful candidate will be strategic, proactive, energetic, and forward-thinking, with strong emotional intelligence and the ability to navigate cross-cultural relationships. They will be persuasive, articulate, and able to mobilize and motivate teams. They will have the ability to develop and lead a fundraising strategy within a complex environment, and will create a clear, focused, and ambitious vision for each partner in the portfolio. A deep understanding of the complexities of the challenges low-income communities face, and the current efforts to solve them, as well as familiarity with global development issues is highly desirable.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in the US or UK and requires up to 15% travel to support country programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited. 

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Team Engagement and Effectiveness 

Achieving our mission starts with how we build our team and collaborate. By bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, we strengthen our ability to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. We foster a culture of trust and respect, where every team member is valued for their contributions, empowered to reach their full potential, and motivated to do their best work.

We recognize that building a strong and effective team is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and growing together.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline ([email protected]).