The Role

The Philanthropy Coordinator plays a key role in supporting Black Dog Institute’s growth and expanding support of Institute programs. The Philanthropy Coordinator supports the Philanthropy team in nurturing close relationships with existing and prospective high value supporters.
Key components of this role are to coordinate funding opportunities, write funding proposals, produce impact reporting and supporter communications, and provide events support.
Additionally, this role also assists in undertaking thorough research, to develop a database of prospects who are aligned with the work and values of the Black Dog Institute.

Duties & Responsibilities

Strategic

• Support the strategic growth in income from major donors, trusts and foundations and support Black Dog Institute’s overarching fundraising and development strategy.
• Monitor upcoming philanthropic grants to identify new opportunities on a weekly basis.
• Maintain repository of Institute research project information for future funding opportunities in preparation for research project weekly meetings.
• Develop a strong understanding of the Institute work and programs and also be able to articulate these clearly to external stakeholders.
• Build fundraising knowledge to ensure best practice delivery of major gifts and trusts & foundations programs.
• Closely liaise with the Research Development and Support (RDS) team to ensure research processes are followed in philanthropic funding applications.
• Collaborate with the RDS team to communicate new philanthropic funding opportunities to researchers and understand funding gaps.

High Value Donors

• Support Philanthropy Managers in the stewardship of high value donors and in building new relationships.
• Research prospective high net worth individuals and families to develop a pipeline of opportunities and to build on the existing knowledge base.
• Attend to outbound calls, e.g. to thank people for donations and/or to update them on the Institute’s work.

Event Support

• Support the Event Coordinator in organising events within the Partnerships and Philanthropy team e.g. Research Showcase, Foundation events and Major Donor events
• Arrange tours of the Institute as directed and proactively seek engagement activities with supporters looking at opportunities within the Institute.
• Source appropriate ambassadors and lived experience speakers for events and other initiatives.

Writing and Communications

• Work closely with colleagues from the Research and Research Translation & Commercial Services directorates to receive briefings on funding requests.
• Assist with the development and writing of proposals, funding applications, grant applications and acquittal reports to donors in liaison with the RDS team.
• Coordinate the development of donor stewardship and cultivation plans, communications and content.
• Ensure website content pertaining to Philanthropy remains current and regularly update to appropriately thank donors contributing to our research and programs.
• Coordinate the development of collateral and content as needed.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Database

• Maintain up-to-date records in the database including grant opportunities, actions, attachments, supporter information and monitor upcoming actions to ensure timely delivery.
• Assist with extracting donor data for communications, events, data analysis and KPI tracking.
• Comply with data protocols, privacy policy and data collection and storage procedures at all times.
• Ensure all communications (meeting, phone notes, emails, contacts) are recorded accurately and consistently within the CRM database.
• Maintain up-to-date records of processes and procedures on directorate wiki.

General Responsibilities

• Stay informed about the Institute's activities, programs and funding priorities.
• General administration tasks that support the wider Philanthropy team e.g. manage the shared inbox, answering first line enquires etc.
• Track and monitor incoming donations, outstanding payments from funders and ensure accurate receipting.
• Pursue development opportunities through attendance at events and conferences and share learnings with the team.
• Ensure all communications (meeting, phone notes, emails, contacts) are recorded accurately and consistently within the CRM database.
• Assist the Philanthropy & Partnerships team in uploading and extracting data.

Work, Health and Safety

• Ensure self and all staff comply with all WHS legislation WHS Policy and Procedures.
• Report any WHS hazards and significant issues to the Head of Operations, People & Culture or delegate.
• Work in a safe manner, applying a duty of care.

Note: the list of responsibilities is not exhaustive, and the Institute may change or request additional activities to meet the operational needs of the business.

Skills & Experience Required 

Essential Criteria

1. Tertiary qualification in Marketing, Business, Law or other relevant degree and/or up to two (2) years’ experience in a related role.
2. Strong writing skills that can be applied to diverse purposes and audiences, including funding proposals, impact reporting and supporter communications.
3. Excellent interpersonal and relationship skills, with a warm manner and a high degree of empathy.
4. Outstanding organisation and administrative skills, with proven experience in managing multiple relationships and projects simultaneously.
5. Ability to comprehend and digest complex topics and articulate these to a diverse stakeholder group.
6. Proven time management skills and able to juggle competing deadlines while maintaining quality.
7. Track record in keeping prospects database records up-to-date and clean, ideally with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge software.
8. Strong administrative and IT skills with the ability to quickly learn and adapt to different systems, ideally with experience in digital editing tools (e.g. Canva, Campaign Monitor, Funraisin).

Desirable Criteria

1. Alignment to mental health and wellbeing and genuine commitment to a career in the non-profit sector.
2. Experience in competitive grants, funding proposals and/or working in a research or higher education setting.
3. An understanding of high-net-worth populations, financial industry sectors and philanthropy.
4. Experience in event management or design.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
We actively welcome applications from candidates of underrepresented backgrounds and recognise that not all candidates will have had equal opportunity to gain experience in the past. If you’re excited about this opportunity but feel you don’t meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply as your unique perspective and experiences matter.

How to Apply

To become a part of the Black Dog Institute team, follow the link to ELMO to apply and submit your most up to date resume. If you are shortlisted for the role, we will call you and let you know you are successful. Please do not respond to any suspicious emails requesting you to upload your ID or personal details. We are a 2022 Circle Back Initiative Employer and commit to respond to every applicant.

Please note: All offers of employment are subject to background checks, which may include police checks, reference checks, and verification of qualifications, as relevant to the role’s requirements.