Senior Strategic Partnerships Officer

Women's World Banking; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Women's World Banking is seeking an entrepreneurial fundraising leader to partner directly with the President & CEO in expanding major gifts and individual philanthropy. The role blends relationship-building with business development to convert networks into charitable partnerships advancing economic opportunity for women worldwide.

You will manage and grow a portfolio of major donor prospects, cultivate strategic relationships, and collaborate with senior leaders to meet annual fundraising

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years in fundraising, business development, private wealth, strategic partnerships, or related field.
• Proven success building senior-level relationships and translating them into fundraising or revenue outcomes.
• Experience managing a portfolio of donors, prospects, clients, or other strategic relationships.
• Ability to engage credibly with senior executives, philanthropists, board members, and influential stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication with ability to develop compelling proposals and engagement strategies.

Responsibilities

• Own and grow a portfolio of major donor prospects and supporters, develop strategies to identify opportunities and convert relationships into philanthropy.
• Build and advance a pipeline of individual donors, family offices, foundations, and corporate leaders aligned with WWB's mission.
• Develop cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans to strengthen donor relationships and funding goals.
• Evaluate portfolio performance and adjust strategy to maximize fundraising results.
• Provide strategic briefings and proposals to support CEO engagement and donor interactions.
• Collaborate with Development colleagues to deliver coordinated donor experiences across lifecycle.

Skills

Major gifts

Fundraising

Relationship management

Donor cultivation

Strategic partnerships

Executive presence

Communication

Job description

Women's World Banking is seeking an entrepreneurial, relationship-oriented fundraising professional to partner directly with President & CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian in expanding the organization's major gifts and individual philanthropy program.

This is not a traditional development role. You'll bring the relationship discipline, stewardship instincts, and mission fluency of a major gifts officer, fused with the hunter mentality, deal-closing energy, and door-opening hustle of a business development leader. Partnering directly with the CEO, you'll transform relationships, introductions, speaking engagements, board connections, and strategic networks into philanthropic partnerships that advance economic opportunity for millions of women around the world.

The role carries responsibility for managing and advancing a portfolio of major donor prospects and supporters while serving as a trusted strategic partner to the CEO. Both elements of the role offer a unique opportunity to engage philanthropists, family offices, foundations, corporate leaders, and influential changemakers while helping grow philanthropic support for Women's World Banking's mission to advance economic opportunity for millions of women around the world. Working in partnership with the CEO, this role contributes directly to annual fundraising objectives of approximately $10 million through strategic relationship development, donor cultivation, and philanthropic partnership building.

Why This Role Is Different

At Women's World Banking, fundraising is central to advancing our mission of economic empowerment for women globally.

In this role, you will:

• Partner directly with the CEO as a strategic thought partner and fundraising collaborator.
• Build relationships with philanthropists, family offices, foundations, and influential leaders around the world.
• Help shape and grow a pipeline of funding and general operating support, including a major gifts and individual giving program at a critical moment of organizational growth.
• Gain exposure to senior leadership, Board members, donors, and global stakeholders.
• Enjoy significant autonomy, ownership, and visibility while helping secure the resources needed to transform women's lives.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Own and grow a portfolio of major donor prospects and supporters, developing and executing strategies that identify new opportunities, deepen engagement, and convert relationships into philanthropic investment.
• Build and advance a pipeline of individual donors, family offices, philanthropic advisors, foundations, corporate leaders, and other high-potential supporters aligned with Women's World Banking's mission and fundraising priorities.
• Develop and execute cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies that strengthen donor relationships and support fundraising goals.
• Evaluate portfolio performance, identify emerging opportunities, and recommend strategic adjustments to maximize fundraising results.
• Maintain relationship intelligence and portfolio data that support effective decision-making, forecasting, and fundraising strategy.

CEO Partnership & Strategic Engagement

• Serve as a strategic fundraising partner to the CEO, developing and executing engagement strategies for high-priority prospects, donors, and strategic relationships.
• Translate the CEO's network, visibility, and influence into philanthropic opportunities through targeted outreach, relationship mapping, introductions, events, speaking engagements, and other strategic engagement channels.
• Drive end-to-end stewardship of priority relationships, moving prospects seamlessly from initial engagement through investment and ongoing partnership.
• Provide strategic briefings, communications, proposals, and recommendations that equip the CEO to maximize donor and prospect interactions.
• Partner closely with Development colleagues to deliver a coordinated and exceptional donor experience across the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship lifecycle.
• Support the continued evolution of the Women's World Banking Leaders Circle as a strategic platform for donor engagement, influence, and philanthropy.

Required Qualifications

We recognize that successful candidates may come from a variety of backgrounds, including fundraising, business development, private wealth, strategic partnerships, consulting, or relationship management. What matters most is a track record of building trusted relationships, creating opportunities, and driving successful outcomes with senior stakeholders.

You bring:

• A minimum of 10 years of experience in fundraising, business development, private wealth, strategic partnerships, consulting, client relationship management, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success building senior-level relationships and translating them into measurable fundraising, business development, partnership, or revenue outcomes.
• Experience managing a portfolio of donors, prospects, clients, investors, accounts, or other strategic relationships.
• Executive presence, sound judgment, and the ability to engage credibly with senior executives, philanthropists, board members, and other influential stakeholders.
• Strong communication and relationship management skills, including the ability to develop compelling proposals, briefings, correspondence, and engagement strategies on behalf of senior leaders.
• A genuine pull toward Women's World Banking's mission: economic empowerment for women, financial inclusion, and international development.

Preferred Qualifications

• Existing relationships within philanthropy, family offices, private wealth, corporate social impact, or related networks that you’re excited to put to work. .
• Experience supporting a CEO, President, Board member, or other senior executive in managing external relationships and strategic partnerships.
• Experience securing, influencing, or advancing major gifts, strategic partnerships, or other complex stakeholder relationships.
• Experience with Salesforce or a comparable CRM platform.
• Familiarity with international development, gender equity, financial inclusion, or related sectors.

Measure of Success

Within the First 75 Days

• Develop a strong understanding of the CEO's fundraising priorities, relationship network, funding targets, and expectations for donor and prospect engagement.
• Develop an understanding of Women's World Banking's mission, strategic priorities, programs, impact, and value proposition.
• Build productive working relationships with the CEO, Executive Assistant, Development leadership, Board members, and other colleagues involved in donor cultivation and stewardship.
• Assess existing CEO-linked donor and prospect activity and establish a prioritized individual giving and major gifts pipeline with clear engagement strategies and introduction pathways.
• Demonstrate early progress in generating and advancing opportunities through prospect research, outreach, relationship development, portfolio management, and CEO engagement support.