Senior Manager of Partnerships

Employee Type:

Permanent

Become a changemaker with Islamic Relief Canada! Join our team and work towards our mission to mobilize Canadians to transform more lives around the world in the most trusted manner.

About the Department:

The Programs Department oversees the strategic allocation and utilization of resources for humanitarian and development projects in Canada and abroad, ensuring compliance as a registered charity. This involves aspects of administration, proposal development, project management, remote and in-person monitoring and evaluation, and partnership engagement, to name a few. Program staff excels in proactive problem-solving and stakeholder management, capable of navigating diverse needs and ensuring effective communication.

Job Purpose:

Reporting to the Director of Programs, the Partnerships Manager provides strategic and operational oversight of the organization's international and Canadian programmatic partnerships. This role is responsible for strengthening relationships with institutional donors and strategic partners, overseeing key funding portfolios such as development funding from Global Affairs Canada, ensuring compliance with donor and organizational requirements, and identifying opportunities to expand and strengthen partnerships and programming.

The Partnerships Manager directly manages the team responsible for Gifts-in-Kind programming, institutional funding development, and leads project management for critical donor-funded development projects.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership & Portfolio Oversight

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight on programmatic partnerships, including institutional donors and those for Gifts-in-Kind.
• Lead and support the development of partnership and funding strategies aligned with organizational priorities and contributing to sustainable growth.
• Provide strategic guidance on portfolio performance, emerging opportunities, risks, and areas requiring attention, and make recommendations to senior leadership.
• Identify, cultivate, and maintain strategic relationships that strengthen access to institutional funding, major gifts, partnerships, networks, and other opportunities.
• Ensure effective oversight of projects and partnerships throughout the funding lifecycle, including implementation, reporting, compliance, risk management, and close-out.
• Contribute to departmental planning, priority setting, budgeting, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Team Leadership

• Provide leadership, coaching, and performance management to the partnerships team, fostering high performance, collaboration, and accountability.
• Ensure quality, accountability, and consistency across direct reports in terms of partnership management.
• Promote interdepartmental collaboration between partnerships, finance, marketing, fundraising, and government relations and communications.

• Promote cross learning and knowledge sharing across direct team members and the wider department.

• Identify opportunities to strengthen systems, processes, and cross-functional collaboration to improve efficiency, quality, and impact.
• Support core team functions, such as the development of high-quality funding proposals, partnership agreements, concept notes, and other strategic initiatives, as well as partner identification, assessment, and engagement.

External Relations & Partnership Development

• Provide senior-level representation at internal and external events, including meetings with donors, peer organizations, coordination bodies, and sector networks, as needed.
• Identify and pursue strategic opportunities (e.g. committees, working groups, sector coordination mechanisms, consortiums) for visibility and collaboration, strengthening the organization’s profile, influence, and relationships.
• Participate in relevant programmatic committees, working groups, and sector coordination mechanisms, that strengthen the organization’s profile, influence, and relationships.
• Undertake field and partner visits, as required, to strengthen relationships, monitor implementation, assess partner capacity and performance, identify risks and opportunities, and inform organizational decision-making.
• Work collaboratively with the Government Relations and Communications teams to support research, documentation, storytelling, and other field-based initiatives that strengthen organizational positioning and external engagement.
• Support major gifts engagement by providing programmatic insights, partnership opportunities, and relevant information to strengthen donor cultivation and stewardship.

Perform other duties as assigned in support of departmental and organizational priorities

Qualifications & Competencies

Experience:

• Undergraduate degree and 3-5 years of experience in community, non-profit, or social services-related work, preferably that includes strategic relationship development and management experience. Mix of education and experience considered.

Knowledge, Skills and Attributes:

• Strong interpersonal, collaboration, influencing, and negotiation skills, with the ability to build consensus and navigate complex stakeholder relationships effectively.
• Demonstrated experience in managing teams, including remote individuals, and supporting team development.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound strategic judgement in complex and evolving contexts.
• Experience managing financial resources and associated compliance effectively.
• Grant management experience required.
• Knowledge of program development, management, and evaluation is required, particularly in the humanitarian and development sector.
• Excellent planning, organizational, and time management skills.

Other:

• Willingness to support outside standard working hours, particularly during emergencies or to accommodate funding deadlines.
• Ability to travel within Canada, as well as internationally, as needed.
• Must be eligible to work in Canada.

Hybrid Work Policy:

IRC has a hybrid model where in-office requirements are based on distance from our Burlington headquarters or a regional office (Surrey, Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa). Depending on where you live, this can range from two days a week to one day a month.

Commitment to Accessibility

Islamic Relief Canada is committed to providing inclusive employment opportunities. Accommodation requests are invited at all stages of IRC recruitment, hiring, and employment processes. We make every effort to provide reasonable accommodations in a timely manner. If you have any accommodation requests or questions regarding the hiring process, contact us at careers@islamicreliefcanada.org or 1-855-377-4673.

Starting Salary:

$90,000.00

Please note: The posted starting salary is intended to provide potential candidates with a general understanding of the compensation associated with the position. The actual salary offered will start at this figure, with adjustments possible based on individual qualifications and other relevant factors.

About Us

Islamic Relief works with communities to strengthen their resilience to calamities, and we provide vital emergency aid when disasters occur.