Contents
01 Our Client
02 The Opportunity
03 The Executive
04 Contact
01 Our Client
About Co-Impact:
Founded in 2017, Co-Impact is a global organization that supports locally-rooted coalitions in Africa, Asia and Latin America to transform key systems at scale, with a core focus on advancing gender equality and women's leadership. It brings together funders from around the world to partner with initiatives that are working to improve education, health, and economic opportunity for millions of people by addressing the root causes of social inequities so that systems work better for everyone. Together with locally-rooted program partners and advisors, Co-Impact forms a global collaborative that advances inclusive systems change through grantmaking and influencing philanthropy.
Co-Impact believes that power is at the heart of all systems. Power defines the way that systems function, who sets agendas and makes decisions, who benefits from the system, and how these benefits are shared. In most health, education, and economic systems, this power is inequitably distributed to benefit a few. Co-Impact's program partners understand the context and approaches required to shift levers of power so that systems benefit all people equally. Its diverse team is spread across seven countries on five continents, where they support powerful coalitions of actors – predominantly organisations working at scale, but also ecosystem and grassroots organizations – to collaboratively effect substantive and sustainable systems change.
Through its model for collaborative philanthropy, Co-Impact brings together over 60 funders from around the world to pool funding so that they are able to provide the larger, longer-term, and more flexible support needed to transform systems in a lasting way, while promoting a values-aligned approach to funding that is supportive, rather than directive. This funding is channeled into a range of grants that are put towards adopting proven approaches and ideas at scale. Co-Impact's role is to support the strategic vision of its partners within the contexts in which they live and operate.
Co-Impact currently has two funds dedicated to equitable systems change at scale. At their core, both funds focus on transforming systems to improve outcomes for millions of people. Both funds seek to achieve significant and enduring improvements in education, health, and/or economic opportunity.
The Foundational Fund is Co-Impact's first fund, which was established to advance a model of collaborative philanthropy, bringing together funders to support systems change in the foundational sectors of health, education, and economic opportunity. Through this fund, Co-Impact provides a small set of large, long-term, flexible grants (typically US $5-20 million over a period of 5 to 6 years) and non-financial support to organizations and coalitions across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The Gender Fund is focused on transformative systems change, with an emphasis on elevating women's power, agency, and leadership at all levels. The Gender Fund more explicitly focuses on supporting initiatives that are dedicated to advancing women's and girls' power, agency, and leadership at all levels and shifting harmful gender norms that prevent progress. The Gender Fund has already raised nearly $500m and aims to raise and grant a total US $1 billion over the next decade to provide predominantly women-led locally-rooted organizations, in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, with large, unrestricted, long-term, and flexible funding.
Working at scale
63 funding partners across 16 countries
With an engaged and dynamic Board of Directors and Advisory Boards
US$ 836 million in funding
Structured to receive and disburse funds quickly and efficiently
US$ 438 million deployed
For initiatives in Africa, Asia, and Latin America regions
Focus impact areas
Health, Education, Economic Opportunity, and Gender
>140 initiatives
Supported across Africa, Asia & Latin America
>849 million
People projected to be reached through improved systems impacted
Strong regional presence
Across 8 countries
02 The Opportunity
As Co-Impact continues to grow and expand globally, and more actors emphasize localisation, this opportunity is more relevant than ever. The Vice President of Philanthropy & Communications will lead both the Philanthropy and Communications teams and steer the organization as part of the wider Leadership Team. Reporting to the President and working closely with the Founder and CEO, this individual will play a key role in leading the organization during a time of growth. This is an exciting opportunity for an accomplished leader to drive impact through inclusive systems change.
Co-Impact is seeking someone with deep expertise in major donor strategy and engagement, and experience supporting or managing communications functions. The Vice President of Philanthropy & Communications will lead the philanthropy and communications teams and contribute to senior leadership team projects. This leader will be highly influential in elevating fundraising and donor engagement by both enriching the team culture and creating and implementing the overall development strategy in service of developing a world-class function. This is the perfect opportunity for an experienced senior fundraiser who wishes to expand their mandate. The ideal candidates will have held a managerial role encompassing multiple high-value donor income streams.
In partnership with the President, Founder, and CEO, the Vice President of Philanthropy & Communications will engage with external stakeholders and cultivate funding partners. This leader will use insights and data to drive strategic and robust donor engagement. The successful candidate will be goal-oriented, creative, mission-driven, and a collaborative team player who can unlock potential to achieve transformational results. They will be a visionary leader who harnesses entrepreneurial thinking to accelerate philanthropic revenue generation. The Vice President of Philanthropy & Communications will lead by example when deploying best practices for high performing development teams.
This leader has a team of direct reports, including three Associate Directors in Philanthropy (two in position), one Associate Director in Communications, and an Executive Assistant who supports the post-holder and the team broadly.
Specific duties and responsibilities of the Vice President of Philanthropy & Communications include:
Philanthropy Strategy and Communications Management:
- Lead and inspire the philanthropy and communications teams to deliver on Co-Impact's mission. Provide effective people management, mentorship, and professional development for teams.
- Coordinate and ensure operational processes are followed, including goal setting and tracking through objectives and key results (OKRs), budgeting and forecasting, human resource management processes, and tracking/reporting.
- Drive the development and implementation of a comprehensive philanthropy strategy aligned with Co-Impact's mission and long-term goals, underpinned by donor segmentation, robust financial planning and performance monitoring.
- Oversee all major fundraising streams, and lead the team with clear objectives, accountability, and a shared commitment to excellence. Develop strategic and agile relationships with the Director of Strategic Partnerships to unlock new funding streams at scale and deepen relationships with existing funders.
- Embed an insights-driven, evidence-based approach by analyzing sector trends and internal/external data to identify priority areas for growth, strengthen positioning, and equip both teams to meet ambitious targets.
- Work closely with the CEO and Board, providing expert insight on fundraising trends, risks, and opportunities.
- Oversee the effective use of internal systems that support team effectiveness and collaboration across teams, as well as the use of our Salesforce CRM system.
Major Donor and Corporate Philanthropy:
- Deliver major donor philanthropy program, overseeing all related cultivation activities and events.
- Develop and implement a year-round funder engagement strategy, creating clear journeys aligned with a calendar of events and communications designed to deepen relationships and maximize philanthropic support.
- Establish and implement clear internal processes for deployment and engagement of: Founder and CEO, President, Director of Strategic Partnerships, and Program teams for funder engagement and pitches.
- Cultivate relationships with high-value donors to deepen relationships and secure new and renewal funding.
- Build and strengthen philanthropic systems and processes, harnessing the team's expertise in a structured, systematic way and ensuring clear, repeatable processes that support excellence in donor engagement and stewardship.
Communications:
- Oversee and support the communications team, providing managerial and strategic guidance as needed, to an experienced small team and retained external agencies.
- Manage and support the Associate Director of Communications to deliver and inspire a small, experienced team.
- Enable and support the team to gather robust data, compelling evidence, and powerful stories and case studies that showcase impact and inspire ongoing support.
- Oversee and approve communications materials and content, ensuring consistent and compelling messaging, and brand - bringing in the President and Founder and CEO in on specific approvals, as required.
- Plan and oversee production of key annual content pieces, ensuring clear commissioning, strong briefs, and organization-wide buy-in and appropriate contributions. This includes but is not limited to: the biannual CEP report comms; funder newsletters, annual funder reports, board presentations, and visual content.
- Support the development and implementation of a media strategy and annual plan with clear goals, proactive and thoughtful external positioning, and appropriate risk management.
Governance and Representation:
- As a key member of the Leadership Team, contribute to the strategic direction and organizational development of Co-Impact. Prepare high-quality briefings and reports for the President, Founder, and CEO, Committees, and Boards, ensuring timely and accurate information is shared.
- Ensure all grant-making and philanthropic processes are in compliance and well understood and followed, ensuring policies are adhered to in coordination with the COO and Operations Team.
- Represent Co-Impact externally with deep knowledge across the portfolio and commitment to the Co-Impact values and approach.
- Given the global nature of the organization, working across time zones, a willingness to be flexible with working hours is required. Frequent international travel.
03 The Executive
Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in philanthropy, communications, and organizational leadership. The successful candidate will also possess exceptional people management skills, significant knowledge of and/or lived experience in the Global South, and a strong alignment with Co-Impact's values.
- Fifteen or more years of leadership experience in a social impact/philanthropy environment, including building partnerships with a diversity of stakeholders.
- Experience working with UHNWI philanthropists, in a professional capacity, a good portion of which should be in a major donor fundraising role.
- Deep knowledge of the philanthropy sector internationally.
- Experience devising strategies and aligning work plans in creative, dynamic, and complex environments.
- Demonstrated entrepreneurial approach to their work, either in a start-up environment or building new functions within more established organizations.
- Excellent numeracy and experience with financial data and budgets.
- Proven track record of fundraising proposal writing or commercial bid writing.
- Experience working with and managing Communications, Marketing and Media professionals in a supervisory capacity (in-house and/or agencies).
- Demonstrated sound editorial and media judgment and decision-making, informed by awareness of internal and external context.
- Ability to lead through influence and to build consensus.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
In terms of the performance and personal competencies required, we would highlight the following:
Personal Attributes and Competencies
Strategic and Inspirational Leadership• Record of setting functional-level strategies that support enterprise-level success at significant organizations within the nonprofit sector
• Demonstrated analytical and strategic skills, with experience using data to support creation of strategic fundraising plans
• Flexibility to create nuanced plans and objectives that adapt to the situation and/or partners at hand, while bringing to life an inspirational future for the organization as a whole
Executing for Results• Experience completing a successful multi-year initiative that includes a transformative revenue growth plan or capital campaign
• Strong track record of building systems and leveraging data insights to evolve systems in a timely manner
• Capacity to set priorities and achieve goals, individually and for teams, while balancing financial prudence with innovation and risk-taking
• Proven ability to cultivate, solicit, and steward leadership-level gifts
Leading, Managing, and Inspiring Teams• Proven ability to recruit, mentor, lead, and develop a diverse staff and a track record of building inclusive, high-performing and loyal teams; skilled at giving and receiving constructive feedback
• Demonstrated success in elevating the level of business acumen and performance orientation within a team
• Exceptional communicator and flexible leader, with ability to adapt communication style to different audiences while providing productive, value-added feedback for colleagues' work
Building Relationships, Using Influence and Communications Skills• The intellectual depth, maturity, self-confidence, interpersonal skills, and emotional intelligence to work effectively with internal and external senior stakeholders including boards, donors, program partners' leadership.
• Ability to build the credibility and respect of specific departments and/or initiatives through active listening, responsiveness, building strong relationships, and inspiring action, including leading both formally and through executive influence
• Reputation for building and maintaining relationships with people at all levels of an organization, across a diverse range of backgrounds
• Ability to build philanthropic support for complex topics, including by employing excellent oral and written communications skills
• Ability to represent the organization by speaking engagingly and with authority in small groups as well as at large events
Additional Information
The projected salary range for this position is $275,000–$330,000, with final compensation determined by skills, experience, and internal pay equity considerations. This is a fully remote role. The post-holder will ideally be based in the UK, Switzerland, or the USA (ideally on the East Coast).
04 Contact
Russell Reynolds Associates has been exclusively engaged to lead this search. Interested candidates are invited to visit the Russell Reynolds Engage platform to apply and submit their materials, accessible through this URL.
- Candidates will first be asked to register and create a profile.
- From the home page, navigate to "Job Post"
- Click "Apply for Position" and enter the following career code: 2510-241NA to submit a resume and cover letter for consideration.
Katie M Nivard Russell Reynolds Associates 101 California Street Suite 2750 San Francisco, CA 94111 USA katie.nivard@russellreynolds.com
Kenny Dougherty Russell Reynolds Associates 2001 K St NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006 kenny.dougherty@russellreynolds.com
Henry Scarlett Russell Reynolds Associates Almack House, 28 King Street London SW1Y 6QW United Kingdom henry.scarlett@russellreynolds.com
Lexi Spalding Russell Reynolds Associates 101 California Street Suite 2750 San Francisco, CA 94111 USA lexi.spalding@russellreynolds.com
About Russell Reynolds Associates
Russell Reynolds Associates is a global leadership advisory firm. Our 600+ consultants in 47 offices work with public, private, and nonprofit organizations across all industries and regions. We help our clients build teams of transformational leaders who can meet today's challenges and anticipate the digital, economic, sustainability, and political trends that are reshaping the global business environment. From helping boards with their structure, culture, and effectiveness to identifying, assessing and defining the best leadership for organizations, our teams bring their decades of expertise to help clients address their most complex leadership issues. We exist to improve the way the world is led.
www.russellreynolds.com
This position was originally posted by Co-Impact / Russell Reynolds Associates and has been curated by PurposePhil Career. To apply, please visit the original listing on the "apply" link on the side. We are not affiliated with the employer organization of this job ad or consultancy, and provide this curated listing as a service to our users.
