Senior Managing Director of Partnerships

Global Innovation Fund; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

An international nonprofit organization in London seeks a Senior Managing Director of Partnerships to lead fundraising efforts across diverse sectors. The ideal candidate has over 10 years of experience in institutional fundraising, strong relationship management skills, and exceptional communication abilities. This role involves strategic engagement with funders and requires a commitment to social innovation. Competitive salary, hybrid work model with international travel required.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional experience in institutional fundraising or investor relations.
• Demonstrated success in raising significant capital from diverse sources.
• Outstanding relationship management skills with senior funders.

Responsibilities

• Lead GIF’s global fundraising and capital strategy.
• Develop engagement strategies for different funder types.
• Oversee proposal development and investor materials.

Skills

Relationship management

Strategic storytelling

Fundraising

Communication

Job description

Senior Managing Director of Partnerships

Location: London UK

Location type: Hybrid

Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer

Annual salary: 110 - 120K GBP

Contract type: Permanent

Working hours: Full-time

Candidate level: Experienced Manager

Closing date: Monday 10 November 2025 9:00 am CET

Background

The Global Innovation Fund (GIF) is a non‑profit, impact‑first investment that finds funds and helps scale cost‑effective evidence‑based innovations that have the potential to measurably improve the lives of millions of people living in LMICs.

GIF uses a blended finance model to support social innovations with grants, debt and equity investments ranging from $230,000 to $15 million. To date GIF has supported over 75 innovations expected to benefit more than 150 million people annually by 2034.

GIF operates across two primary capital strategies:

• GIF Core (including its sub‑funds and strategies) – Our foundational mission‑driven platform backed by leading bilateral agencies and philanthropies. Core capital is deployed flexibly across early‑stage innovations that demonstrate strong potential for scalable social impact.
• GIF Growth – A for‑profit subsidiary making long‑term, returnable investments in high‑impact enterprises ready to scale. GIF Growth mobilises catalytic and concessionary capital to address financing gaps in emerging markets.

Purpose of role

We are seeking a strategic and entrepreneurial leader to serve as Senior Managing Director of Partnerships. Based in London, this role will lead the evolution and delivery of GIF’s organisation‑wide fundraising and investor engagement strategy. You will be responsible for expanding and stewarding relationships across GIF’s capital spectrum from public sector development partners to philanthropic funders to impact‑first investors.

The leadership role will focus primarily on GIF Core (60%) while also supporting partnership efforts for GIF Growth (40%). The role reports into the GIF CEO with a dotted line to the Managing Director Growth and includes oversight of the donor relations team and communications function ensuring alignment between our capital strategy external voice and internal systems.

Key responsibilities

Capital mobilisation and partnership development

• Lead GIF’s global fundraising and capital strategy across Core (including its specialised sub‑funds and strategies) and Growth aligning with our impact mission and blended finance model.
• Develop tailored engagement strategies for different funder types including bilateral and multilateral donors, foundations, family offices and catalytic investors.
• Translate GIF’s long‑term vision into compelling partnership opportunities and secure flexible multi‑year funding to support our innovation pipeline.
• Maintain and expand GIF’s relationships with key development partners while cultivating new philanthropic and private capital sources.
• Monitor and respond to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) issued by prospective donors ensuring timely high‑quality submissions that reflect GIF’s priorities.
• Oversee development of proposals, investor materials and pitch content tailored to each capital segment.

External engagement and relationship stewardship

• Serve as an ambassador for GIF representing our mission, model and portfolio to donors, investors and the broader global development and impact investing community.
• Steward high‑value relationships with current funders and investors, ensuring they are engaged and informed through regular and ad‑hoc reporting and confident in GIF’s ability to deliver impact efficiently and provide strong value for money.
• Provide strategic direction to the communications team to ensure that GIF’s messaging campaigns and thought leadership effectively support external engagement and position GIF as a global leader in innovation finance.

Team leadership and internal coordination

• Lead and oversee GIF’s donor relations and communications functions ensuring strategic alignment across fundraising, partner engagement and external messaging.
• Build and manage a high‑performing team that delivers excellence in donor stewardship, reporting and storytelling.
• Ensure effective coordination with legal, finance, impact and investment teams to align funding strategies with operational delivery.
• Develop and maintain systems and tools that enable efficient, consistent engagement with donors and investors.

Profile

We are seeking a senior leader with the experience and capability to build partnerships across the capital continuum, including but not limited to bilateral aid agencies, philanthropies and return‑seeking investors, all anchored in a shared commitment to social innovation and measurable impact.

Essential qualifications

• 10 or more years of professional experience in institutional fundraising, philanthropic partnerships or investor relations.
• Demonstrated success raising significant capital from bilateral donors, foundations, DFIs or impact‑first investors, including for initiatives in climate adaptation and resilience and / or gender equality, and the ability to position GIF’s work in these areas to funders whose priorities align with our mission.
• Deep understanding of global development finance, impact measurement and the evolving philanthropic and investing landscape.
• Outstanding relationship management skills and credibility with senior‑level funders and investors.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with strong strategic storytelling and proposal development capabilities.
• Experience managing cross‑functional teams and leading fundraising and communications functions.
• Ability to operate independently, think strategically and thrive in a mission‑driven entrepreneurial environment.
• Familiarity with grant compliance and reporting to bilateral aid agencies and donors.
• Exposure to investment fund structures or blended finance vehicles is desirable.
• An unrestricted right to work in the UK is essential for applying for this role.

Terms and conditions

GIF’s mission and model are more important than ever. Mobilising capital to accelerate evidence‑based inclusive solutions is essential to meeting the challenges facing communities around the world. We are seeking a thoughtful and strategic leader who can engage across sectors, build trusted partnerships and help shape how mission‑driven capital delivers lasting impact. The position is based in London and will require international travel (approximately 25 percent of the time).

Equal opportunity

GIF is committed to promoting equal opportunities in employment and creating a diverse and inclusive environment where all team members feel valued and empowered. We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation and strengthen our ability to achieve our mission. We strongly encourage women and individuals from underrepresented groups to apply.

Note: In order to keep your application safe and ensure your data is GDPR compliant, applications will not be accepted via email.