Senior Manager, Foundation Relations

Rainforest Alliance; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 97,000 - 121,000; Full time

Job summary

Rainforest Alliance is seeking a Senior Manager, Foundation Relations to grow a portfolio of foundation funders across climate, development, agriculture, sustainability and systems change. You will identify prospects, represent the organization externally, and develop compelling proposals that inspire programmatic investments.

Reporting to the Director, Institutional Relations, this global role manages foundation accounts of all sizes, ensuring strategic alignment and long-term partnerships

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in business administration, international development, sustainability, or a related field.
• Master's degree is preferred.
• 10+ years of fundraising, business development, sales, consultancy, or sustainable development experience.
• Experience securing foundation philanthropic funding, including multi-year commitments.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally on occasion.

Responsibilities

• Create a revenue-generating portfolio of foundation accounts through prospect identification, relationship-building, and securing new funding commitments.
• Exceed annual revenue targets.
• Expand and diversify the existing foundation portfolio, with a focus on 6-figure or higher, multi-year commitments.
• Report on budgetary projections, cultivation activities, and progress against goals for the foundation pipeline in Salesforce.

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent in business administration, international development, sustainability, or a related field

Master's degree preferred

Job description

The Senior Manager, Foundation Relations, is a senior fundraising role responsible for growing a portfolio of philanthropic foundation funders in the climate, development, agriculture, sustainability, and systems change sectors. This role is responsible for developing engagement and funding strategies, securing new donors and growing revenue from existing accounts.

You will identify new foundation prospects, represent the Rainforest Alliance externally to strengthen our visibility across the foundation landscape, and develop compelling value propositions that inspire programmatic investments in the Rainforest Alliance.

Reporting to the Director, Institutional Relations, the Senior Manager, Foundation Relations works across the organization to analyse market intelligence, prioritize high-potential foundation segments, and build a pipeline of strategic funding opportunities to meet financial targets.

This is a global role managing foundation accounts of all sizes, ensuring strategic agreement, value delivery, and long-term partnership growth across all engagements.

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

• Create a revenue-generating portfolio of foundation accounts through prospect identification, relationship-building, and securing new funding commitments.
• Exceed annual revenue targets.
• Expand and diversify the existing foundation portfolio, with a focus on 6-figure or higher, multi-year commitments.
• Report on budgetary projections, cultivation activities, and progress against goals for the foundation pipeline in Salesforce.

Opportunity Identification & Pipeline Development

• Partner with Research and Revenue Operations to stay informed about new funding trends, identify aligned affinity networks and entry points, and create new funding leads for impactful restricted funding opportunities.
• Motivated to move prospects through a sales pipeline and with clear revenue targets defined.
• Prioritize strategic external engagement for yourself and senior leadership, identify prospects, secure meetings, prepare briefing documents, and lead meeting follow-ups.
• Contribute to the development and management of the Institutional Relations pipeline, ensuring accurate prioritization and updates in Salesforce of your portfolio.

Value Proposition Design

• Contribute to the Rainforest Alliance's foundation fundraising strategy.
• Develop compelling cases for support, donor collateral and philanthropic offerings tailored to foundation audiences.
• Innovate and test new models of revenue generation, including blended finance or pooled funds, and varied methods of engagement, such as hosting donor roundtables, attending networking events or securing panel representation.
• Lead the proposal development process for prioritized opportunities.

Cross-Organizational Collaboration

• Work across revenue lines and with the programs, products, and commercial portfolios to identify co-funding opportunities and develop public–private–philanthropic partnerships.

WHAT YOU BRING:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in business administration, international development, sustainability, or a related field. Master's degree, preferred.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in fundraising, business development, sales, consultancy, or sustainable development.
• Experience securing foundation philanthropic funding, including multi-year commitments.
• Experience with sustainability, systems change, and global development market trends.
• Experience moving donors through a cultivation pipeline and meeting annual revenue targets.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally on occasion.

BENEFITS OF WORKING AT THE RAINFOREST ALLIANCE:

• Be a part of a global organization with an impactful mission and a collaborative, respectful, and accountable culture.
• Enjoy opportunities for professional growth and career development.
• Benefit from remote working flexibility and flexible hybrid working environment.
• Prioritize your wellbeing. We have numerous ways to promote work-life balance.

LOCATION: We will only consider candidates legally authorized to work in the US.

WORKPLACE TYPE: Flexible hybrid working environment

CLOSING DATE: 27 September 2026

JOB LEVEL: 2

SALARY:

• US National salary range: $96,886 - $121,107
• New York salary range: $101,390 - $126,738

If you have any questions about the job vacancy, please contact the HR department: [e-mail] The Rainforest Alliance encourages diversity and inclusion across the global organization. With this commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ages, disability and any other protected group.