About the position
Our Client is looking for a Senior Fundraising and Partnerships Manager to join their team
Location: Sandton, Johannesburg Metro, South Africa
Key Outputs & Responsibilities
The Senior Fundraising and Partnerships Manager will work closely with South African, regional, and global teams to identify, establish, and nurture private, public, and corporate donor-based impact partnerships.
This will include, inter alia
- Grant prospecting and proposal development – Identification of potential private, public, and corporate donors; drafting of clear and persuasive proposals; and copywriting and proofreading.
- Budget & financial alignment – Preparation and refinement of budgets in collaboration with the Operations and Finance teams, ensuring alignment between proposal narratives, activities, timelines, human resources, and financial allocations.
- Monitoring, evaluation, and integrated learning – Preparation and refinement of results frameworks in collaboration with Operations and Impact Insights teams, including project-specific Theories of Change, Log Frames, and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning frameworks.
- Knowledge management & process coordination – Development and maintenance of proposal and reporting templates and boilerplates; coordination of proposal and reporting processes; preparation and presentation of fundraising and partnership reports as required, including regular Board reports.
- Analytics – Maintenance of a live database of global and regional private, public, and corporate donors within the organisation’s focus areas, including tracking philanthropy trends to inform fundraising strategy.
- Compliance – Ensuring compliance with organisational policies regarding funding sources, confidentiality, and data handling.
Competencies
- The Senior Fundraising and Partnerships Manager is expected to demonstrate a very high work ethic and level of commitment, remain consistent, professional, and diplomatic, and integrate effectively into a diverse, multi-cultural team.
- The role requires a highly organised, proactive, and adaptable individual with the ability to manage multiple donor relationships and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
- A successful fundraising track record is essential, including a well-established donor network and the ability to raise over R50,000,000 per annum within three years.
Specific skills required include
- Excellent communication, influencing, and presentation skills, with high-level proficiency in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.
- Strong strategic thinking with a results- and impact-driven approach.
- Excellent project management and cross-functional collaboration capability.
- Strong financial literacy with proven budget oversight experience.
- Strong monitoring, reporting, and impact measurement experience.
Personal Attributes
- Professional and well-presented.
- Confident public speaker.
- Diligent, tenacious, self-disciplined, self-motivated, and driven.
- Highly organised with the ability to manage multiple campaigns simultaneously.
- Proactive, adaptable, and deadline-driven.
- Collaborative and comfortable working across teams.
- Passionate about social and environmental impact and working within a not-for-profit environment.
Previous Work Experience & Requirements
- Minimum of a Bachelor’s or Honours degree in a relevant field.
- At least 5 years’ experience in proposal development and grant writing across public, private, and corporate funding streams.
- Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills.
- Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and coordinate interdisciplinary teams.
- Solid understanding of donor requirements, compliance standards, and proposal formats.
- Demonstrated passion for community-based work and conservation.
Desired Skills:
- Senior Fundraising
- Head of Fundraising
- Director of Fundraising
