Director of Advancement

Canadian Children's Opera Company; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 60,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Canadian Children’s Opera Company is seeking an experienced Fractional Director of Advancement to lead fundraising strategy and donor engagement. The role focuses on individual giving, major donors, corporate partnerships, and institutional support, with a plan to strengthen the organization’s revenue and endowment efforts.

Working in a hybrid setup, you will report to the Board and collaborate with the Executive Director and staff.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in nonprofit fundraising and advancement.
• Proven success with individual giving, major donors, and corporate partnerships.
• Experience overseeing institutional fundraising.

Responsibilities

• Assess donor base and giving history; identify opportunities for growth.
• Develop a comprehensive individual giving strategy aligned with capacity and ambitions.
• Segment and prioritize donors and prospects; establish cultivation and stewardship practices.
• Build a major donor pipeline including leadership and transformational giving.
• Develop recurring and upgraded giving opportunities; strengthen donor satisfaction and long-term relationships.
• Support Executive Director, Artistic Director, and Board in donor engagement and communications.

Job description

Fractional | Contract | Hybrid | Flexible Schedule

Potential to Grow with the Organization

Deadline to apply: October 9, 2026

Initial Term: 6 – 12 months to be finalised based on organizational needs, with potential for

extension.

Time Commitment: Approximately 2 – 3 days per week, to be finalised based on candidate

and organizational needs.

Reporting to: The CCOC’s Board of Directors, working in partnership with the Executive

Director, Artistic Director, other staff members and designated board members.

The Canadian Children’s Opera Company (CCOC) is dedicated to providing unmatched opportunities for young people to connect, collaborate, created, and grow through opera. We believe every child has the right to quality music education, and that music and storytelling play a vital role in a young person’s artistic, social, and personal development. As Canada’s only permanent children’s opera company, the CCOC has inspired thousands of young performers for more than 58 years through exceptional training, innovative productions, and community engagement. Every day, our artists, educators, staff, and volunteers, work together to create transformative experiences that inspire artistic excellence and enrich the lives of young people, their families, and our community. Learn more about the CCOC at canadianchildrensopera.com

The Opportunity

The CCOC is seeking an experienced, strategy-to-execution Fractional Director of Advancement. The Director of Advancement will play a pivotal role in strengthening individual and major donor giving, expanding corporate partnerships, and building a robust, renewable, and sustainable fundraising pipeline. They will join a passionate team dedicated to nurturing young artists who grow into tomorrow’s leaders. As the CCOC approaches its 60th anniversary, the organization is preparing for a milestone year that celebrates decades of artistic excellence, youth development, and national impact. Looking ahead, the CCOC is committed to building a more resilient and diversified revenue model including the launch of a long-term endowment that will sustain the organization for generations.

The Director of Advancement will lead the CCOC’s fundraising and advancement strategy across individual giving, major donors, corporate sponsorships, and institutional support.

The role will focus on:

• Growing individual and major donor giving, including donor acquisition, cultivation, stewardship, and leadership giving.
• Expanding corporate partnerships, with an emphasis on multi-year relationships aligned with youth arts, education, and leadership development.
• Providing strategic oversight of grants and foundations, supported by the CCOC’s fractional grant writer.
• Building a robust, renewable, and sustainable advancement pipeline, including identifying and cultivating new prospects beyond the CCOC’s community.
• Strengthening Board engagement, providing tools, clarity and opportunities for
• Aligning advancement strategy with organizational priorities, including the 60th anniversary and endowment launch.

Key Responsibilities

• Assessing the current donor base, giving history, and practices.
• Developing a comprehensive individual giving strategy aligned with organizational capacity and ambitions.
• Segmenting and prioritizing donors and prospects.
• Establishing cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship practices.
• Building a major donor pipeline, including leadership and transformational giving.
• Developing recurring and upgraded giving opportunities.
• Developing practices that strengthen donor satisfaction and deepen long-term donor relationships, contributing to both retention and increased giving.
• Supporting the Executive Director, Artistic Director, and Board members in donor engagement.
• Creating compelling donor communications and appeals in partnership with organizational leadership and marketing.
• Leading outreach, cultivation, and solicitation directly.
• Identifying corporate sectors aligned with youth arts, education, leadership development, and community impact.
• Developing a corporate partnership strategy with clear value propositions.
• Building a pipeline of corporate prospects and multi-year partnership opportunities.
• Strengthening stewardship and reporting practices for corporate partners.
• Integrating corporate engagement into the 60th anniversary and long-term advancement strategy.
• Leading outreach and relationship development directly.
• Providing strategic oversight of foundation and government grant activity.
• Ensuring alignment between proposals, organizational priorities, and program needs.
• Reviewing proposals, reports, and stewardship materials for quality and consistency.
• Identifying renewal, upgrade, and new prospect opportunities.
• Ensuring institutional revenue is forecasted, tracked, and communicated effectively.
• Maintaining a diversified institutional portfolio that reduces organizational risk.
• Developing an integrated advancement strategy for FY2026–27 and beyond.
• Establishing measurable priorities, milestones, and revenue projections.
• Creating or strengthening donor and prospect tracking systems.
• Building a reliable advancement dashboard and reporting process.
• Establishing stewardship standards and a communications calendar.
• Identifying gaps in processes, technology, data, and staƯing.
• Recommending practical improvements that can be sustained after the fractional engagement.
• Ensuring alignment between advancement, communications, and marketing.
• Executing the work required to build these systems, not only recommending them.
• Clarifying appropriate Board and staff roles in fundraising.
• Providing Board members with tools, talking points, and prospect information.
• Supporting Board members in donor introductions, cultivation, and stewardship.
• Providing regular advancement updates to the Board.
• Partnering with the Board member leading marketing strategy to ensure alignment.
• Helping establish realistic expectations and accountability.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will be an experienced advancement professional who combines strategic thinking, excellent relationship-building skills, and a willingness to execute. A senior leader who thrives in dynamic environments and is energized by building systems, strengthening relationships, and unlocking new revenue opportunities.

• Significant experience in non-profit fundraising and advancement.
• Demonstrated success with individual giving, major donors, and corporate partnerships.
• Experience overseeing institutional fundraising.
• Strong relationship-building and donor engagement skills.
• Ability to develop strategy and manage hands-on execution.
• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Comfort working independently in a fractional capacity.
• Experience in small or mid-sized nonprofit environments.
• A collaborative, flexible, and solutions-oriented approach.

Engagement and Working Relationship

This is a flexible fractional senior leadership engagement. The CCOC is open to working

with an experienced individual consultant or a fundraising consulting firm with a clearly

identified lead.

The anticipated commitment is 2 – 3 days per week, with the precise level determined

based on the candidate's proposed approach and organizational priorities. This is a hybrid

position with flexibility in how hours are scheduled. Most work can be completed remotely

with some evening and weekend attendance required for performances, meetings, and

special events.

The initial engagement is 6 – 12 months, with potential extension based on performance,

organizational need, and resources.

The Director of Advancement will report to the CCOC’s Board of Directors and work in

partnership with the Executive Director, Artistic Director, other staff members, and

designated Board members, becoming an integrated partner in the CCOC’s advancement

efforts.

Application Process

We are committed to equity in hiring and building a workforce that reflects the diversity of

the community in which we live and serve. We welcome and encourage people from

communities of colour, Indigenous, LGBTQIA2S++, with disabilities, and other equity seeking communities to apply. We thank all applicants, in advance, however, only those

considered for an interview will be contacted.

The CCOC is committed to providing accommodations for people with disabilities in all

parts of the hiring process. If you required an accommodation, please let us know and we