Account Manager, Institutional Philanthropy & Partnerships

Reports To: Senior Manager, Corporate Partnerships
Job Type: Full-time
Region: United States
Location: Cambridge, MA or US Remote
Start Date: Immediately
Contact: Please apply using the company site.

About Root Capital

Agriculture is the key to unlocking a better future for billions of people. But while rural families sustain the world, they struggle to sustain themselves. Root Capital is a nonprofit social impact investor that puts its money where others don't – in underserved agricultural businesses.

We provide financing and business training to agricultural enterprises in the "missing middle" - those that are too big for microloans but too small for commercial lenders. As these agricultural businesses succeed and scale, they become engines of impact that help farming families, communities, and economies to flourish.

Founded in 1999, we are the largest social investor in agricultural businesses. As both a lender and a nonprofit, our unique model allows us to go where other financiers don’t and support agricultural enterprises so they can succeed and grow. Our world-class team of experts identifies, partners with, and invests in exceptional agricultural entrepreneurs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Over 23 years, Root Capital has invested $1.8 billion in more than 750 agricultural enterprises, proving these under-served businesses are bankable and investable. We have shown that access to finance helps these enterprises succeed and fuels the economy. Root Capital’s investments and essential business and finance training have impacted 10 million farming families through job creation, financial security, and climate resiliency. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, we currently have offices in Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Ghana, and Kenya.

Summary

The Account Manager, Institutional Philanthropy & Partnerships (IPP) will work with an assigned IPP Primary Relationship Manager (PRM) to support the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship for a defined portfolio of Root Capital prospects and donors. This will include collaborating with the PRM on generating and producing written content for funding concept notes, pitches and proposals, as well as donor reports and communication.

The Account Manager will monitor contribution budgets, interim and end-of-grant reports, on-going communication, and information management for the PRM’s portfolio. The Account Manager will also be responsible for some key administrative functions of the IPP team, including serving as internal liaison with the Development Operations team, Grants Management team, and Finance, as well as coordinating the IPP team’s communications calendar and event opportunities. The Manager will support the PRM in the rigorous use of databases and approvals processes.

The Account Manager will also plan and manage the full fundraising cycle of cultivation and solicitation for a small number of institutional prospects and supporters who give or have the capacity to give at the $100,000+ level.

The Account Manager, Institutional Philanthropy & Partnership, reports to the Senior Manager, Corporate Partnerships. The Manager is a critical member of the Development team who will help Root Capital optimize cultivation and stewardship activities. This role offers a dynamic growth opportunity for someone eager to advance to front-line fundraising.

Responsibilities

Fundraising Support (70%)

• Collaborate with an assigned IPP PRM on executing strategies for institutional donors and prospects within the PRM’s portfolio.
• Provide communications that support the PRM’s interactions with portfolio donors or prospects, including general and targeted communications, concept notes, proposals, presentations and reports, from drafts through to final line-editing and formatting of finalized material.
• Prepare and contribute materials, agendas and briefings for external prospect and donor meetings and for internal strategy meetings.
• Support the involvement of the PRM, Senior Director of IPP and other Root Capital staff (including the CEO), in high-level funder solicitations and relationship management with briefing materials, agendas, background research and appropriate follow-up.
• Support the involvement of Root Capital’s Board members in relationship-building and funder management activities.
• With the assigned PRM, monitor each institutional funding partner within the portfolio, including budget, evaluation, and reporting.
• Coordinate information flows between IPP PRM, prospects/donors and program staff.
• Track the internal drafting and approval processes necessary for proposals, reports, and budgets.
• Ensure delivery of high-quality funder acknowledgement and stewardship letters.
• Ensure accurate recognition of funders in Root Capital materials.
• Provide support in managing the data integrity and quality of information in the database for PRM’s portfolio.
• Monitor and analyze corporate resource mobilization trends, including philanthropy, impact investing, blended capital and ESG approaches to supporting social change, so that market opportunities may be capitalized on, ensuring that Root Capital’s proposition remains compelling and competitive.
• Support PRM in completing funder follow-up tasks, as requested.

Fundraising (20%)

• Identify and develop a small portfolio of prospects and funders at the $100k+ level.
• Design and implement creative and comprehensive outreach, solicitation and management strategies for funders within the portfolio, leading on identification, cultivation and solicitation.

Interorganizational Collaboration and Team support (10%)

• Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with External Relations colleagues and Root Capital program and support staff globally to increase communication, coordination, and efficiency to achieve IPP’s internal and external objectives.
• Provide strategic administrative support for the IPP team including initial fielding of inquiries as needed.
• Undertake special assignments, as directed.

Willingness to travel nationally and internationally, when and if conditions allow. Expected travel: 10% - 20% of time under normal circumstances.

Skills & Experience

Required

• Minimum 5 years account/project management experience gained in either a development/ fundraising office, nonprofit program context, or within a client-service focused for-profit company.
• Knowledge of multi-/cross-sector partnerships, especially those involving corporations, with an understanding of the particular issues affecting these types of partnerships.
• Exceptional written communications skills and solid verbal presentation skills.
• Highly developed project management skills with the ability to work on own initiative, accurately to tight deadlines, and to prioritize between conflicting demands.
• Sophisticated understanding of the role of written communications in building and maintaining complex individual and institutional relationships.
• Understanding of, and experience working with, complex CRM databases (Salesforce preferred), including data entry, usage, reporting and analysis functionality.
• Comfortable working with quantitative and qualitative data and information, with the ability to construct and understand relevant narratives arising from their analysis.
• Ability to identify and create processes necessary to support effective partnerships.
• Ability to respond quickly to changes in short-term work priorities.
• Ability to analyze and interpret financial data.
• Commitment and passion for mission based international development.

Preferred:

• Experience in a vibrant development office/fundraising environment
• Root Capital is a bi-lingual organization. Spanish proficiency (written and spoken) is a plus but not critical to the role.

Salary

Commensurate with experience.

Applications

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States.

More information about Root Capital is available at www.rootcapital.org. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Candidates are encouraged to apply using the form below as soon as possible, making sure to include a resume and cover letter that describes your interest, qualifications, language abilities, salary requirements, and how you learned of the position. Finalist candidates will be required to provide at least three work-related references.

Root Capital provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, active military or veteran status, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, and breastfeeding and expressing breast milk), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. Root Capital is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that upholds our leadership principles of: empowerment, equity, integrity, service, and transparency.