Director of Grants & Partnerships

Altum Consulting is partnering with an international foundation working in climate philanthropy and grantmaking to recruit an Interim Director of Grants and Philanthropic Partnerships for an initial 12-month contract.

The organisation is entering a new strategic period. There is real ambition and donor potential, but also significant uncertainty in the wider external environment. The role will provide senior leadership across grants, partnerships and fundraising while the organisation works through its next stage and future permanent structure.

This is a complex interim leadership role. The organisation has very strong functional leads across grants and philanthropic partnerships, so the successful candidate will need to coach, support and elevate the team rather than over-direct. The role is about bringing grants and partnerships into the senior leadership space, strengthening links between strategy, funding and grantmaking, and helping the organisation make good decisions during a period of change.

The role will report to the Executive Director and sit on the Senior Leadership Team.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Providing interim leadership across grants and philanthropic partnerships
• Advising the Executive Director, SLT and Board on grantmaking, fundraising, donor relationships and risk
• Supporting delivery of the new organisational strategy
• Helping align grantmaking ambitions, fundraising plans, organisational capacity and risk
• Coaching and supporting senior team members across grants and partnerships
• Providing oversight of grantmaking strategy, portfolio risk, due diligence and partner support
• Supporting the grant process review and strengthening grantmaking systems
• Leading on philanthropic partnerships, donor engagement and fundraising strategy
• Helping build and steward strong donor and partner relationships
• Representing the organisation externally with donors, partners and sector peers
• Championing JEDI principles, equitable grantmaking and inclusive leadership

The ideal candidate will bring:

• Senior leadership experience in philanthropy, grantmaking, fundraising, partnerships or international non-profit work
• Strong experience in at least one of grantmaking, donor relationships or fundraising, with enough understanding of the others to lead across the full remit
• Excellent coaching, influencing and stakeholder-management skills
• Experience working with Boards, Executive Directors and senior leadership teams
• Strong judgement and the ability to lead through change and ambiguity
• A collaborative style and the confidence to support high-performing team members
• A strong grounding in JEDI principles and inclusive or feminist leadership approaches

This role would suit a senior interim leader who can bring calm, clarity and credibility, while helping strong teams succeed during a period of transition.

Ideally the candidate will start by latest in mid-August.

Altum Consulting is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from candidates of all backgrounds.