Posted on November 18, 2012

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Director of Partnerships

The world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, was formed in February of 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to capture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. As it approached the 21st century, Rotary worked to meet society’s changing needs, expanding its service efforts to address such pressing issues as environmental degradation, illiteracy, world hunger, and children at risk. A global fight to end Polio has been a recent key focus and Rotarians continue to make strides to close the final gap to entirely eradicate the disease. The Rotary motto Service Above Self conveys the humanitarian spirit of the organization’s more than 1.2 million members in 34,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographic areas. Meaningful community and international service projects characterize Rotary worldwide. Rotary clubs are open to people of all cultures and ethnicities and are not affiliated with any political or religious organizations.

The Rotary Foundation enables Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. The Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of a better world.

Rotary's Areas of Focus: Rotary clubs serve communities around the world, each community with unique concerns and needs. Rotarians have continually adapted and improved the way they respond to those needs, taking on a broad range of service projects. The most successful and sustainable Rotary service tends to fall within one of the following six areas:

• Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
• Disease prevention and treatment
• Water and sanitation
• Maternal and child health
• Basic education and literacy
• Economic and community development

Since 2002, The Rotary Foundation has partnered with six academic institutions to provide either a master’s degree or a three-month professional certificate course in peace studies and conflict resolution. To date, more than 600 Peace Fellowships have been awarded. This program, the Rotary Centers Program, is The Rotary Foundation’s number one educational priority. A fundraising campaign to endow this program at a cost of US$95 million is currently underway.

The Opportunity: Director of Partnerships:

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer and General Manager of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, the Director of Partnerships is responsible for providing oversight of all partnerships, alliances, and sponsorships for the entire organization, including the coordination of all interaction with Rotary’s representatives at the United Nations; and serving as the chief liaison between Rotary and USAID to best support the Water Alliance. This is a new senior position that will work collaboratively with senior Rotary leaders, Trustees, Directors, volunteers and staff to strategically plan, develop and implement a corporate and foundation relations program. The Director of Partnerships will be the lead staff member responsible for developing and implementing strategy to position Rotarians’ affinity programs with current and potential partners in order increase the organization’s revenue stream. This position will be located suburban Chicago (Evan ston), IL at Rotary International headquarters.

The goals for the role of Director of Partnerships include:

• Establishing a greater awareness and ensuring credibility in the national and international community regarding Rotary International’s opportunities for partnerships and sponsorships.
• Bringing to the Board for consideration sponsorship proposals to assist in underwriting international meetings such as the Convention and/or Assembly.
• Encouraging current partnerships to grow in breadth and scope to support Rotary International’s mission and international programs.
• Increasing the involvement of current leadership, as well as explore additional volunteer structures, to uncover additional opportunities for partnerships and sponsorships.
• Increasing financial contributions to support Rotary International’s mission and services by stewarding relationships with strategic partners.

The Qualified Candidate: The successful candidate will have demonstrated skills for engaging corporate and foundation leaders in strategic partnerships. S/he will be self-motivated, results-oriented, creative, resourceful, entrepreneurial, highly energetic and intelligent, with exceptional interpersonal, communication and organizational skills. S/he will represent Rotary International with the utmost integrity and professionalism. The Director of Partnerships must have the ability to build and manage strong relationships internally with Rotary’s fund development officers, legal services, programs, and finance departments, and senior Rotary leaders/volunteers; and externally with corporate and foundation leadership, including CEOs, COOs, chief marketing officers, Board members, foundation chairs; non-governmental organization leadership, and donors.

Specific Requirements Include:

• Passion for Rotary International’s humanitarian mission and ability and willingness to promote the mission.
• Bachelor’s degree required in business, marketing, fundraising, communications or other related field, with advanced training, certification or degree preferred.
• A Minimum of 8-10 years of successful management of corporate and foundation fundraising practices and partnership development within a complex nonprofit organization, preferably one that is international in scope and focus.
• A traceable record of identifying, cultivating, soliciting and closing successful 6-figure, nationally and/or internationally focused sponsorships and partnerships.
• Ability to build and manage highly productive staff teams.
• Experience in developing and enhancing relationships with volunteer fundraisers and Board members.
• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communications skills.
• A communication and management style that exhibits the principles and values of Rotary International, as well as fosters team relationships and effectively communicates information.
• Knowledge of US charitable tax laws as applied to corporate philanthropy; familiarity with other countries’ charitable tax incentives.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and fundraising databases/software.
• International business experience and language skills, as well as experience working with an international board are preferred.

This position offers a competitive salary with generous benefits.

Rotary International is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other occupationally irrelevant criteria. Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V

To Apply: The search is being managed by Laura Weinman, Senior Consultant at Alford Group Executive Search. To apply, candidates should submit their cover letter and resume and complete the online application at http://ag-es.kintera.org/applicant. No applications will be accepted via email. Questions may be addressed to Whitney Wade at wwade@alford.com

Alford Group Executive Search (www.ag-es.com) is a retained search firm dedicated to providing recruitment services of exceptional quality and strengthening the not-for-profit community through professional staffing solutions.