Senior Director, Philanthropic Partnerships

WHO WE ARE

Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to a fair and just marketplace for all. CR is known for our rigorous testing and trusted ratings on thousands of products and services.  We report extensively on consumer trends and challenges, and survey millions of people in the U.S. each year. We leverage our evidence-based approach to advocate for consumer rights, working with policymakers and companies to find solutions for safer products and fair practices.   

Our mission starts with you. We offer medical benefits that start on your first day as a CR employee that include behavioral health coverage, family planning and a generous 401K match. Learn more about how CR advocates on behalf of our employees.

OVERVIEW

As a non-profit organization and social enterprise, the support we receive from our philanthropic partners is critical to CR’s mission of creating a fairer, safer and healthier marketplace for all consumers. Our philanthropic partners have included the Ford Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation who aided our work on digital privacy and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Energy Foundation who fueled our efforts towards a clean, safe and equitable energy and transportation future. 

The Philanthropic Partnerships team works to secure principal gifts, institutional grants and impact investments in support of its mission, media, enterprise and impact strategies. 

As the Senior Director, you’ll report to the VP, Consumer Impact, working closely with the CEO, executive leaders, and programmatic directors to strengthen CR’s profile and relationships in philanthropic networks, and build the institutional capacity to engage and maintain productive relationships with leading philanthropists and philanthropies. 

The strategic leader we’re looking for is a proactive fundraiser and relationship builder.  You should have deep experience driving new philanthropic relationships and securing significant resources.

If you have the drive and are excited by the prospect of partnering with a legacy brand that advocates and supports consumers, in your cover letter, tell us why you’re the right person to drive the achievement of our investment goals. 

This is a hybrid position. The successful candidate must reside within 75-miles of our Yonkers, NY or Washington, DC office.  You must also have the ability to travel as needed (up to 40%) within the US.  This position is not eligible for sponsorship or relocation. 

How You’ll Make An Impact:

Your efforts will help us create collaborative partnerships that drive change and promote innovation in the marketplace, ultimately empowering consumers to protect themselves. 

As Senior Director, Philanthropic Partnerships you will focus on:

Strategic Fundraising

• Bring creativity and thought leadership to help shape CR’s strategies to optimize impact and attract partners and investments.
• Oversee all activities related to restricted fundraising, setting strategic direction, executing operating plans, and ensuring that fundraising and budgetary goals are met and we are maximizing return on our investment. 
• Collaborate with executive leadership to cultivate  influential, high-net worth philanthropists and institutional funders. Partner with communications experts to raise CR’s profile in philanthropic arenas.
• Prioritize strategies for high value prospects (those with the potential to give six-, seven- and eight-figure commitments), to build long-term sustainable relationships.
• Position CR to receive cy pres awards as appropriate, including raising CR’s profile in the legal community.
• Network through events, newsletters, and other engagement opportunities.
• Help ensure CR’s fundraising policies and practices promote industry best practices, meet the highest standards of ethics and integrity, and protect CR’s brand and reputation.
• Explore how CR as a social enterprise can leverage impact investing opportunities to achieve measurable social and financial benefits.

Leadership & Partnership

• Lead a nimble team to achieve fundraising goals with a focus on creating a diverse, equitable, inclusive, innovative, collaborative, and performance-driven culture. 
• Provide coaching and feedback to encourage and support high performance of team members. 
• Work closely with the Vice President, Consumer Impact to strategically engage President & CEO in fundraising, and report to and engage with the Board of Directors as appropriate.
• Partner with Finance, People & Culture and appropriate programmatic leads to manage restricted funds ensuring that grant deliverables are met, funds are spent, and CR is positioned for renewed support.
• Partner with Finance to create annual, monthly, and quarterly financial projections, ensuring that CR’s moves management system that produces projections is kept up to date in real time.
• Work as a strategic partner to the Chief Marketing Officer to help build a donor narrative, pipeline, and moves management system to move prospects out of CR’s 5 million member file into more substantial giving.

ABOUT YOU

You’ll Be Highly Rated If: 

• You have the required experience. You’ll need a minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in leadership positions in major gift or institutional fundraising and development functions or business to business sales functions or comparable, including strategic planning, principal and major gifts, institutional giving. 
• You have exceptional written and interpersonal and communications skills, with a demonstrated ability to speak, write and present tailored information in a clear, concise and compelling manner, translating complex ideas into powerful, impactful opportunities for potential partners, with the ability to effectively persuade others to listen, commit to, and act on a new approach.
• Your proven track record in principal gift/grant fundraising, demonstrates your ability to create a pathway from cultivation to solicitation to the closing of principal gifts and significant grants. 
• You are a part of the national philanthropic community and have knowledge of trends, the dialogue on consumer issues, and the venues for engagement.
• You are a true team leader-recruiting, developing, and managing diverse and talented staff--helping them translate vision into action. You also have experience overseeing budget, operations and administration.
• You have the ability to travel as needed. This position may require up to 40% of time to travel to in-person meetings with donors/funders, prospects, vendors, and colleagues locally and across the U.S. 
• You are a relationship builder.  You can forge strong working relationships across the organization. 
• You are a change-maker.  You can lead others, inspire risk taking & innovation, leveraging internal and external perspectives.

You'll Be One of Our Top Picks If:

• You have demonstrated creativity in donor/funder stewardship and events. 

FAIR PAY AND A JUST WORKPLACE

At Consumer Reports, we are committed to fair, transparent pay and we strive to provide competitive, market-informed compensation informed by location, as well as the candidate’s particular combination of knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience. It is expected that most qualified candidates will fall near the middle of the posted salary range. We have three locations: Yonkers, NY, Washington, DC and Colchester, CT. We are registered to do business in and can only hire from the following states and federal district: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, DC.

Salary ranges

• NY/California: $230K-$260K annually
• DMW/Massachusetts: $$200K-$226K annually

Consumer Reports is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in employment on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions or lactation), gender identity and expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, military service or veteran status, protected medical condition as defined by applicable state or local law, disability, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.  Consumer Reports will provide you with any reasonable assistance or accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process.