Senior Partnerships Officer, Foundations - London, UK

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.

In disaster, in hardship, in more than 30 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions

into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.

Now, and for the future.

Foundation Partnerships Team

A part of the wider Development Team, the Foundation Partnerships team manages Mercy Corps’ fundraising relationships with major European and US Foundations, working to develop strategic partnerships that support social impact at scale in our priority areas including economic and market development, food and water security, climate change, peacebuilding and emergency response, creating lasting impact with and for the local communities with whom we work.

We build meaningful partnerships through outstanding relationship management and partner services, connecting our partners to the work we do. We work across many teams at Mercy Corps, including the wider Development team, programmes and country-based colleagues around the world, marketing and communications team and the executive office. The Foundations team based in Europe works as part of a wider CFT (Corporate and Foundations) team based in the U.S., splitting portfolios by geography whilst working collaboratively to pursue strategic objectives, marketing and communications team and the executive office.

The Position

The Senior Partnerships Officer will be responsible for the account management of the existing and growing portfolio of foundation partners within Europe. A key focus of the Senior Foundation Partnerships Officer will be to provide a high standard of proactive relationship management and stewardship so that partners are motivated to continue and increase their support to Mercy Corps’ work through increased funding values and deepened partnerships. This includes responsibility across the portfolio for grants management – including proposal and agreement review, compliance and finance coordination, award kick-off, reporting and tracking budget vs actual spends. They will also support the Director of Strategic Partnerships (Europe) to raise funds from new trust and foundation partners that have been highlighted as a priority through new business acquisition. This will involve frequent coordination across teams to find the strongest in-roads to cultivate 6, 7 and 8-figure funding opportunities with strategic prospects and build strong relationships that result in fruitful solicitations.

Essential Responsibilities

Relationship Management/Stewardship

● Lead on the account management of agreed partners within the Foundations portfolio in Europe, ensuring that each partnership is backed by a strategic plan for development.

● Find strategic ways to enhance and steward relationships within the Foundations portfolio to encourage increased giving levels and alignment with Mercy Corps’ priorities.

● Formulate and implement individual strategies for developing key partnerships and initiatives around programmatic priorities.

● Act as a point-person for partners and donors in response to outreach, questions and wider collaboration opportunities.

Grant Management

● Lead on coordination with desk teams, finance, compliance, country and programmatic teams to conduct agreement reviews, address internal/external compliance concerns, ensure timely grant reporting, track budget vs actuals and file official grant paperwork.

● Ensure account-related records are accurate and accessible and that up-to-date information is recorded on Raisers’ Edge and appropriate internal and global drives. Ensure that relevant teams understand and adhere to funding requirements and donor expectations so that the objectives of CFT grants are fully met.

● Maintain understanding of key foundation partnerships to be able to represent foundation strategies to internal stakeholders.

● Deputize key accounts when the Director of Strategic Partnerships (Europe) is unavailable.

Business Development

• Lead portfolio expansion efforts through strategic evaluation of most aligned, most likely funding opportunities, that align with the organisation’s strategy.
• Proactively pursue leads and in-roads based on strong alignment with Mercy Corps - from cold to warmer prospects. Cultivate new or lapsed donors to keep them engaged with Mercy Corps’ work and solicit for funds.
• Support cross-team efforts relating to open call opportunities when they arise.
• Review, edit and/or project-manage the development of concepts, proposals, reports, pitch decks, updates and stewardship materials according to strong donor knowledge.
• Work closely with global, regional and desk programmes teams to remain up to date of MC priorities, programmes and global impact.
• Input into cross-team workstreams related to new-business mapping; global event and conference research and preparation.

Representation

• Act as an internal expert on the philanthropic landscape, and channel the perspective of foundation partners in developing proposals and ideas with programmatic team members.
• Act as an advocate for the CFT team through regular collaboration and update meetings with programmatic and technical teams to collaborate on funding opportunities and gain knowledge on our programmes to share with the team. Support country and programmatic teams in raising their profile and sharing prospect/partner strategies for internal alignment.
• Effectively represent Mercy Corps to partners and external audiences for both fundraising and profile elevation.

Supervisory Responsibility

N/A

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Director, Strategic Partnerships (Europe)

Works Directly With: Corporate and Foundations Officer; Director Strategic Partnerships; Global support teams (awards management, finance, technical, programmes).

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

● Minimum 4 years demonstrated experience in private fundraising (ideally Foundations) or proven experience in partnership development working in the international development/humanitarian sector.

● Demonstrated experience in stewarding donors resulting in the growth of 6-7+-figure partnerships and persuading larger giving values

● Demonstrated experience in cultivating prospects from cold to warm and banking new business opportunities.

● Demonstrated experience in building long-term strategic partnerships with deepened value, e.g., incorporating profile-raising opportunities, leveraging partner expertise, etc.

● Strategic thinking related to engaging and soliciting existing and new donors to mobilise them to provide funding - e.g., finding relevant in-roads for relationships that are most likely to commit funding.

● Excellent writing skills and experience of proposal and report writing for a corporate audience, and the ability to write compelling funding proposals and donor communications.

● Excellent verbal communication skills, able to present the organisation and discuss opportunities for collaboration with a diverse range of actors.

● Experience working with a variety of teams to enhance internal collaboration towards a common goal.

● Excellent attention to detail.

● IT-literate with good knowledge of Microsoft Office and databases, particularly experience managing complex trackers.

● Experience of using/managing relationship databases, ideally Raiser's Edge (desirable)

Success Factors

The ideal candidate will demonstrate strategic thinking, with a long-term outlook on what makes partnerships successful and lead them to growth. They must be a collaborative team worker - comfortable working across a number of different teams and geographies towards one goal. This entails strong communication and organisational skills to maintain effective internal and external relationships, and the ability to be forward-looking/anticipating.

An often overlooked part of this role is creativity - to be able to find interesting angles to engage our partners and maintain and build strong trusting relationships that encourage donors to see Mercy Corps as a partner of choice.

Being successful in this role therefore also depends on being highly motivated as well as proactive both with external partners (donors) and internal teams.

At times, portfolios and priorities need to adapt and shift, or where we are fundraising in emergency situations, it is helpful to be able to cope with changing priorities.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in London and may involve occasional national and international travel, though not frequently.

Team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a short-term assignment or trip to country offices. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect Local Laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all Mercy Corps locations. Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps' vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment. Candidates must have the right to work in the UK at the time of appointment.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Team Engagement and Effectiveness

Achieving our mission starts with how we build our team and collaborate. By bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, we strengthen our ability to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. We foster a culture of trust and respect, where every team member is valued for their contributions, empowered to reach their full potential, and motivated to do their best work.

We recognize that building a strong and effective team is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and growing together.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline ([email protected]).