Senior Manager, Development (South-West Team)

Easter Seals Ontario; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Easter Seals Ontario is seeking a Senior Manager, Development to lead the South-West Team in enhancing fundraising efforts across Ontario. You will drive sponsorships, major gifts, and community engagement while mentoring four colleagues and ensuring strong donor stewardship.

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, you will build a high-performing team, manage events, and expand relationships with corporate partners and foundations to secure sustainable funding.

Qualifications

• 5–7+ years of progressive fundraising experience.
• Demonstrated success securing corporate sponsorships and major gifts.
• Experience managing donor, sponsor, foundation, and/or corporate portfolios.
• Ability to travel throughout Ontario and work occasional evenings and weekends.

Responsibilities

• Develop and oversee an event-based prospect identification and cultivation strategy.
• Lead sponsorship strategy across Easter Seals Ontario's fundraising events and prepare compelling proposals.
• Manage a portfolio of high-potential donors and secure five- and six-figure gifts.
• Coach and develop a team of Community Engagement Officers and a Regional Administrator.
• Represent Easter Seals Ontario with donors, sponsors, and community partners.

Skills

Donor relations

Leadership

Communication

Strategic planning

Event fundraising

CRM stewardship

Education

Post-secondary degree or diploma in Fundraising/Nonprofit Management/Business

Tools

Raiser's Edge NXT

Job description

Senior Manager, Development (South-West Team)

Location: Greater Toronto Area (GTA) or Southern Ontario (Remote/Hybrid)

Salary Range: $100,000 – $120,000

Reports to: Chief Development Officer (CDO)

Direct Reports: 3 Community Engagement Officers and 1 Regional Administrator

Join Easter Seals Ontario and Help Create a More Inclusive Future

At Easter Seals Ontario, we are dedicated to enhancing the quality of life, independence, and inclusion of children and youth with physical disabilities. We are seeking a strategic, relationship-focused fundraising leader to join our Development Team as Senior Manager, Development (South-West Team).

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced fundraising professional who understands how to transform event participation into meaningful long-term donor and sponsor relationships. The successful candidate will lead and mentor a regional development team while driving revenue growth through sponsorships, major gifts, and community engagement initiatives.

About the Role

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the Senior Manager, Development will oversee the event-based fundraising activities of a team of four and play a key role in strengthening Easter Seals Ontario's fundraising capacity across South-West Ontario.

The successful candidate will use established fundraising practices, systems, and tools to maximize sponsorship opportunities, identify and cultivate major gift prospects, and enhance donor stewardship. This individual will bring both strategic vision and operational excellence to support sustainable revenue growth.

This role uses the organization's robust event portfolio as a gateway to identifying, qualifying, cultivating, and stewarding corporate, foundation, and individual donors.

What You'll Do

Strategic Fundraising & Prospect Development

• Develop and oversee an event-based prospect identification and cultivation strategy.
• Leverage events to identify and qualify new corporate, foundation, and individual major gift prospects.
• Collaborate with senior leadership, board members, volunteers, and committees to develop and strengthen donor relationships.
• Establish annual and multi-year fundraising goals and monitor performance against targets.
• Build and maintain a strong pipeline of major gift prospects.

Sponsorship Growth & Revenue Generation

• Lead sponsorship strategy across Easter Seals Ontario's fundraising events.
• Design and package sponsorship opportunities that deliver value to partners.
• Prospect, cultivate, solicit, and steward corporate sponsors and community partners.
• Prepare compelling sponsorship proposals and presentations.
• Negotiate sponsorship agreements and oversee fulfillment and recognition activities.

Major Gifts Fundraising

• Manage a portfolio of high-potential corporate, foundation, and individual donors.
• Execute qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies.
• Build meaningful donor relationships leading to five- and six-figure gifts.
• Collaborate with colleagues to create compelling cases for support and impact reports.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Community Engagement Officers and a Regional Administrator.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Support team members in prospect identification, sponsorship sales, and donor cultivation.
• Ensure effective use of the CRM database and donor management practices.
• Monitor fundraising performance metrics and share insights to drive results.

External Representation

• Represent Easter Seals Ontario with donors, sponsors, community partners, and volunteers.
• Attend fundraising events and networking opportunities across the province.
• Serve as a passionate ambassador for the organization and its mission.

What You'll Bring

Education & Experience

• Post-secondary degree or diploma in Fundraising, Nonprofit Management, Business, Communications, or a related field.
• 5-7+ years of progressive fundraising experience.
• Demonstrated success securing corporate sponsorships and major gifts.
• Experience managing donor, sponsor, foundation, and/or corporate portfolios.
• Proven record of securing five-figure and preferably six-figure gifts and sponsorships.
• Experience working within a nonprofit or charitable organization.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong relationship-building and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Excellent proposal writing, presentation, and negotiation abilities.
• Strategic thinker who understands how to build fundraising pipelines.
• Strong leadership and coaching capabilities.
• Exceptional organizational and project management skills.
• Experience using Raiser's Edge NXT or similar CRM platforms.
• Ability to travel throughout Ontario and work occasional evenings and weekends.

Personal Attributes

• Entrepreneurial, proactive, and results-oriented.
• Collaborative leadership style.
• Strong communicator with exceptional interpersonal skills.
• Passionate about the mission and impact of Easter Seals Ontario.
• Able to think strategically while executing operationally.

Why Join Easter Seals Ontario?

You’ll have the opportunity to help shape and grow fundraising efforts that directly support children and youth with physical disabilities across Ontario. This role offers meaningful work, strong leadership support, and the ability to make a lasting impact through innovative fundraising and relationship building.

Easter Seals Ontario is committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible, and diverse workplace. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates and will provide accommodations throughout the recruitment process upon request.