Mastercard Foundation

Director, Partnerships

Mastercard Foundation

full-time

Posted on:

Location Type: Office

Location: Toronto • Canada

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Job Level

Lead

About the role

  • Lead efforts to identify, cultivate, and secure strategic partnerships with governments and philanthropic organizations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, corporate foundations, and other funders.
  • Work closely with internal teams to align partnership strategies with organizational priorities and ensure seamless integration of partner contributions.
  • Develop joint funding strategies and collaborative initiatives.
  • Convene and facilitate multi-stakeholder discussions to align priorities and resources for collective impact.
  • Serve as the primary liaison for strategic partnerships, ensuring clear communication and mutual accountability.
  • Design and implement frameworks for public-private partnerships and philanthropic collaboratives.
  • Develop shared governance models and agreements for co-funded projects.
  • Monitor and evaluate partnership outcomes to demonstrate impact and inform future strategies.
  • Provide thought leadership on emerging opportunities for collaborative funding and systems change.
  • Represent the organization in high-level meetings, conferences, and working groups with government and donor partners.
  • Prepare and deliver presentations, proposals, and reports that articulate the value of collaboration.
  • Collaborate with program leads to identify opportunities for joint funding and partnership development.
  • Maintain accurate records of partnership activities and agreements in CRM systems.
  • Adjust resources, roles, job structures, accountabilities, processes, systems, etc. to ensure organizational alignment.
  • Oversee all the financial accountabilities for the cluster as per DOA including program proposal approvals to board level; opex budgeting and management etc.

Requirements

  • 15+ years of experience in philanthropy, government relations, or strategic partnerships.
  • Proven track record of building cross-sector collaborations and managing multi-million-dollar initiatives.
  • Familiarity with public funding mechanisms, grantmaking processes, and philanthropic networks.
  • Possess excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to articulate information to a variety of constituents across cultures.
  • Experience in coalition building with multiple stakeholders.
  • French language and/or local language skills are an asset.
  • Proven track record of building and managing strategic partnerships.
  • Strong understanding of higher education systems or health systems, particularly in Africa.
  • Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • Innovative and entrepreneurial individual who can develop new or creative approaches to problems while inspiring others on the team.
  • Drive to continually experiment and innovate, building and leveraging best-in-class expertise and learnings.
  • Commitment to the value of co-creation, employing deep listening and authentically inclusive approach.
  • Demonstrated success in building and managing high performing teams.
  • Knowledge of philanthropic trends, major foundation practices, and donor engagement strategies.
  • Expertise working with development, political and social issues across Africa.
  • Demonstrated financial management experience including preparation and management of budgets and contracts.
  • Skilled communicator and influencer, from executive through to technical levels and external constituencies, know how to navigate ambiguous environments and are comfortable at managing up and beyond hierarchy.
  • Ability to build and engage teams.
  • Effectively develop, lead, and provide strategic direction to a diverse team of leaders across multiple countries.
  • Commitment to equality, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • Fosters a positive spirit of collaboration in a complex environment.
Benefits
  • Completion of satisfactory business references and background checks are essential conditions of employment.

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard skills
financial managementbudget preparationgrantmaking processespublic funding mechanismspartnership developmentcoalition buildingstrategic partnershipsevaluation of partnership outcomespresentation skillsCRM systems
Soft skills
communicationcollaborationleadershipinnovationentrepreneurial mindsetteam buildingcultural competencycommitment to diversityinfluenceproblem-solving