Director, Grantmaking and Impact

Children's Aid Foundation of Canada; Toronto; On-site; CAD 110,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A national charity focused on child welfare is seeking a Director of Grantmaking and Impact. This pivotal role involves leading grantmaking strategies, managing a multimillion-dollar portfolio, and driving equitable impact for children and youth across Canada. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in philanthropy and program design, exceptional leadership skills, and a commitment to fostering equity-informed practices. This position offers a competitive salary and the opportunity to effect meaningful change.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in grantmaking, program design, or philanthropy.
• Track record of managing multi-stakeholder partnerships.
• Commitment to equity-informed practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead national granting and program investment strategies.
• Manage a multimillion-dollar granting portfolio.
• Oversee CAFC's special annual grant to the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto.

Skills

Leadership skills

Communication skills

Project management

Equity-focused practices

Systems thinking

Education

Relevant post-secondary education

Job description

Direct message the job poster from Children's Aid Foundation of Canada

Employment Advisor & HR Professional | Connecting People to Opportunities | Passionate About Mitigating Bias in Hiring.

Position Title Director, Grantmaking and Impact

Type Permanent, FT

Department Impact

Salary $110,000-$125,000

Reports to Chief Impact Officer

Updated August 2025

About Children's Aid Foundation of Canada

Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada is our country’s leading charity dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth involved in the child welfare system. Guided by a bold five-year strategic plan and Impact Framework and working alongside over 100 child and-youth serving organizations across the country, is focused on driving meaningful, measurable change through outcomes-based partnerships, philanthropy, and systems level influence.

Our work is grounded in four key areas of focus that are critical to long-term stability for children and youth in and from care: Education, Employment, Mental Health and Well-being, and Strong Families and Lifelong Connections. Across these areas, we fund and deliver high-impact programs and collaborate with communities, service agencies, and young people on solutions that address the persistent challenges faced by children and youth engaged with the child welfare system.

As we implement our new 2025-2030 strategic plan, Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada is entering a pivotal implementation phase, realigning its efforts and structuring its team to maximize measurable outcomes and national reach. Joining the Foundation means being part of a passionate, future-focused team driven by impact and equity. It’s an opportunity to be part of a national movement committed to creating a better future for those too often left behind. Together, we are building a future where the children and youth have the strength and resilience to create a lifetime of their own unstoppable successes.

To learn more about us, please visit our website.

To better understand our impact, please watch our ‘Investing in the Future, Today’ video

The Ideal Candidate:

Are you motivated by the opportunity to create lasting, equitable change in the lives of young people across Canada? You are a value-driven leader who is passionate about impact, equity, and systems change. You thrive in mission-focused environments and are energized by the challenge of shaping strategies that help communities flourish. Naturally collaborative, you enjoy bringing people together around a shared vision and excel at building trusting, respectful relationships.

As a leader, you inspire your team, coach them through challenges, and help them stay focused on achieving shared organizational goals. You are excited about fostering our VOICE culture and approaching your work with curiosity, humility, and a mindset of growth. If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you.

Purpose of the Position:

The Director, Grantmaking and Impact will lead CAFC’s national granting and program investment strategies. This position is central to driving the Foundation’s work as a grantmaker and to helping identify high-potential programs that can be scaled through our outcomes-based Venture Fund. This role is also critical to the Foundation’s influencing work, where grant-funded insights and results help inform public dialogue and policy.

This individual will manage a high-performing team, oversee a multimillion-dollar granting portfolio, including partnerships with child welfare authorities, community agencies, post-secondary institutions, and funders. The role also oversees CAFC’s special annual grant to the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (CAST) through the Teddy Bear Fund.

As a people leader, this role includes direct supervision of three grants and programs team and occasional oversight of seasonal interns, students or volunteers. This leader will be expected to shape CAFC’s evolving vision for grantmaking, aligned with our impact focused, equity-informed strategy.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Provide overall strategic direction for CAFC’s grantmaking (funds) and program portfolios.
• Lead the implementation of a refreshed outcomes-based approach to grantmaking, aligned with the Foundation’s Impact Framework.
• In partnership with the Director, Innovation, Research & Partnerships, identify promising programs and ventures from within the grantmaking ecosystem for potential scaling and investment through the National Programs and the Venture Fund.
• Collaborate with other Directors in the design of new funds and partnership programs/ventures and the scaling of existing programs/ventures.
• Contribute to CAFC’s influencing work by drawing insights from grant and PSE outcomes to inform public messaging, knowledge mobilization, sector engagement, and system solutions.

Grantmaking

• Oversee all CAFC grantmaking and partnership program activities, ensuring alignment with the Foundation’s strategic priorities, impact framework and equity commitments.
• Guide the development of granting criteria, targets, application processes, due diligence protocols, evaluation standards, and reporting practices.
• Maintain strong, collaborative relationships with grantees and partner agencies.
• Ensure effective grant lifecycle management—from solicitation to due diligence, funding disbursement, performance tracking, and donor reporting.
• Budgeting, Financial Tracking and Process Management
• Lead the grants and programs team in the processes of tracking granting and program expenditures, ensuring alignment with funder commitments and Foundation priorities.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Development, Finance, and Administration to support grant and program budgeting, fund allocation, forecasting, and timely financial and impact reporting.
• Work with the Chief Impact Officer to monitor and analyze trends in fundraising, grant disbursements, and program performance to help set annual fundraising targets and investment priorities.
• Work with the Chief Impact Officer to assess program- and fund-specific outcomes and contribute to strategic planning and continuous improvement across CAFC’s grantmaking and impact portfolios

Team Leadership and Collaboration

• Supervise and coach a team fostering collaboration, innovation, and a high-performance culture.
• Collaborate across the Impact Team to align grantmaking and program efforts with broader strategies in innovation, research, programs, and ventures.
• Partner closely with the Development and Communications teams to ensure donor needs are met through excellent grant and impact reporting.

Special Grant: Teddy Bear Fund and CAST relationship management

• Administer and support the development of the Teddy Bear Fund and the annual distribution of Teddy Bear Grants.
• Manage the annual granting relationship with CAST, ensuring alignment with both CAFC’s and CAST’s priorities.
• Oversee the funding process, documentation, compliance, and outcomes reporting for all Teddy Bear Fund allocations to partners (currently CAS Toronto and Native Child and Family Services of Toronto).
• Maintain open communication with key CAS Toronto staff to ensure alignment between CAFC and CAS Toronto’s funding priorities.
• Manage the annual granting relationship with CAST, and support CAFC staff leads on individual grants, including the Teddy Bear Grant, special funds, Connections, Soul Journey, PARC grants, and other related initiatives
• Facilitate connections and opportunities between CAFC and CAST related to events such as the Holiday Season Celebration, resource fairs, and other community engagement activities, as well as in-kind donations.
  

Essential Qualifications and Competencies:

• Significant experience, typically 7+ years, in grantmaking, program design, or philanthropy, preferably in social impact, child welfare, or education-related sectors.
• Relevant post-secondary education and/or equivalent professional work experience in a related field.
• Proven ability to manage multi-stakeholder partnerships and/or granting relationships with non-profits, funders, and/or government.
• Strong leadership skills with experience managing and coaching high-performing teams.
• Track record of leading complex, outcomes-focused granting strategies and to apply data and evaluation insights to inform strategic decision-making.
• In-depth knowledge of child welfare systems, post-secondary access and success, and/or equity-centered grantmaking.
• Skilled in systems thinking, strategic planning, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Result-oriented, with the ability to track and measure impact and outcomes.
• Excellent communication and relationship building skills, including experience in donor stewardship and stakeholder engagement.
• Commitment to equity-informed practices and inclusive relationship management across diverse communities and sectors.
• Strategic thinker with strong project management, and the ability to drive initiatives from planning to execution.
• Ability to manage large budgets with diligence, transparency, and efficiency with a strong sense of accountability.
• Visionary and empowering leadership style with the ability to inspire teams, and cultivate a culture of learning and innovation
• Deep commitment to youth voice, equity, and systems-change values aligned with the Foundation’s mission.
• Committed to upholding the Foundation’s VOICE values: Vital Learning & Innovation, Open Communication, Inclusion & Diversity, Care & Compassion, and Empowering Accountability
• Flexibility for evening/weekend meetings and travel.
• Lived experience in the child welfare system
• Experience working in child welfare, social services, or with indigenous led organizations
• Bilingualism English and French

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, please submit your current resume and a covering letter in one single document, detailing how your qualifications align with this opportunity and the Foundations' mission to [e-mail] and include Director, Grantmaking & Impactin the subject line of your email by Friday, August 22, 2025Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted. You are encouraged to apply early as we are motivated to fill this role as soon as possible.

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Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Director

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  Full-time

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