Associate Director of Philanthropy 

Job description

How you will make a difference

The work of GFI is funded through philanthropy. We fundraise as a network of nonprofits through a collaborative operating model toward a global fundraising goal. Asia Pacific is a strategic area of growth for our global fundraising efforts. 

Reporting directly to the CEO of GFI APAC, you will be in a senior, frontline fundraising role, building and sustaining relationships with our growing family of supporters, and building a development team as part of the GFI global fundraising framework. Your role will have high responsibility and high impact. Your performance in this role has the potential to make a significant impact on how quickly the world moves to a more secure and sustainable food system. 

Working closely with the GFI global development team, you will be responsible for delivering and executing a fundraising strategy for GFI APAC, fully aligned and integrated with the GFI global fundraising strategy. Your work will include: 

• Setting and achieving ambitious fundraising targets, that are part of our global development strategy. The ultimate goal is to be a net contributor to our global fundraising efforts. 
• Based on the outcome of a landscape analysis being conducted this year, and initial fundraising success, creating and recommending a growth plan for APAC’s development team. 
• Identifying and qualifying new philanthropic prospects. 
• Building strong, meaningful, long-term relationships with major donors and prospects (both individuals and foundations) across Asia Pacific to attract, maintain and expand their support. 
• Helping keep our supporters up to date with our activities and impact. 
• Ensuring accurate, timely and thorough correspondence, acknowledgement and record-keeping at all stages of the donor journey. You will use our CRM system (Salesforce) to manage your portfolio, ensure correct donor data, pull reports, and analyze data. 
• Coordinating closely with global GFI development colleagues, including aligning around donor strategies, participating in regular meetings (these may be outside of regular working hours, with colleagues in different timezones), and providing impact reports for stewardship purposes. 
• Coordinating with and providing support as needed to the global Foundation Relations Team with regard to prospective foundations and soliciting and stewarding grants. 
• Over time, potentially helping to drive GFI’s fundraising growth in the greater APAC region, including setting up development systems in those countries. 
• Coordinating with GFI’s global development operations team to facilitate transnational giving across national borders. 
• Perform other relevant duties as required.

Who we are looking for:

As our Associate Director of Philanthropy, we want you to have:

• A passion for our philosophy and mission. 
• A proven track record (8+ years) of cultivating relationships with major donors and securing significant gifts. Institutional fundraising experience would be an advantage. 
• The ability to persuasively make the case for support for GFI and to represent GFI to our stakeholders. 
• Positivity and a genuine love of working with other people: a passion for building warm, long-lasting relationships with our family of supporters, motivating them to maintain and increase their support. 
• Positive energy, a can-do attitude, bringing solutions rather than seeing constraints, thinking outside of the box, creative, and a pro-active mindset. 
• Conscientiousness and attention to detail in recording and tracking interactions with donors and prospects: comfort with the ‘science’, as well as the ‘art’, of fundraising. 
• Comfort working remotely in a rapidly-growing and evolving organisation: the ability to work well independently and under pressure, manage multiple projects simultaneously, and meet deadlines.  
• A very strong work ethic and self-motivation; a sense of ownership and responsibility to drive outcomes and get things done. 
• The ability to work in an organised and structured manner. 
• A willingness to travel throughout APAC in pursuit of philanthropic opportunities. 
• Ability to manage a non-traditional schedule as needed between travel and accommodating meetings with international colleagues. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. Fluency in Mandarin, Cantonese, or another regional language would be an advantage. 

We want the best people and we don’t want biases holding us back. We strongly encourage people of every race, orientation, age, gender, origin, and ability to apply. Because we value a diverse workplace, we prioritise an inclusive climate absent of discrimination and harassment during the application process and after you join the team. 

The fine print

• Terms of employment: Full-time 
• Reports to: CEO, GFI APAC 
• Location: Singapore preferred, but open to Hong Kong SAR 
• Benefits: Flexible working arrangements, including hybrid working from home and one weekly office day; flexible working hours; a competitive leave and benefits package; the opportunity to create meaningful impact; collaboration with supportive colleagues and respectful managers; and a yearly in-person retreat. 
• Salary: Annual salary between SG$125,000 – SG$145,000 based on locations, qualifications, and experience 
• Application deadline: 28 June

Application process

• Please complete this application form and upload your CV. 
• Screening call (by Impact Ops): An initial conversation for both parties to ask general questions and learn more about the role. 
• Two separate interviews with GFI APAC team members: Focused on organisational and team fit, as well as deeper expertise questions. 
• Attend a work trial, where you’ll spend the day meeting the team and completing strategic assessments. 
• References: Provide referees who can comment on your strategic and operational capabilities.  

Please note that this process may be adjusted if we determine that a different approach would better support the selection process.

Any questions? If you have any questions about this role, please do reach out to us at apacjobs@gfi.org. If you’ve read this far but decided not to apply, please feel free to share this job description with someone else in your network who you think might be a good fit for the role! Thank you!