Director of Development

LawZero • Montreal, QC

4d • Onsite

About The Position

LawZero is seeking a Director of Development to help scale and operationalize its international philanthropic strategy. Reporting to the VP of Development & Operations, this person will manage and advance relationships with major institutional foundations and high-net-worth individuals globally. Positioned at the intersection of relationship management, donor stewardship, and executive support, this highly collaborative role serves as a strategic partner to senior leadership. The Director will drive structured pipeline growth, coordinate high-stakes fundraising initiatives, and equip executive and scientific stakeholders to engage effectively with leading philanthropic and technology ecosystems.

Requirements

• Around 10+ years of relevant experience with at least 7+ years in fundraising, philanthropy, partnerships, donor relations, account management, strategic relationship management, or related functions.
• Experience supporting executive stakeholders and managing high-touch external relationships in fast-paced or high-stakes environments.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and ensure consistent execution.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with strong emotional intelligence and professional maturity.
• Ability to build authentic, trust-based relationships with sophisticated external stakeholders across philanthropy, academia, policy, or technology ecosystems.
• Strong written communication and presentation skills, including experience preparing executive-facing or donor-facing materials.
• High level of discretion, ownership, reliability, and follow-through.
• Comfort operating in a fast-growing, highly collaborative, and evolving organization.
• Professional fluency in English and French is required.

Nice To Haves

• International and cross-cultural communication experience is strongly preferred.
• Candidates may come from nonprofit, philanthropic, academic, public-interest technology, partnership development, or relationship-driven commercial environments.

Responsibilities

• Identify, research, and track prospective philanthropic partners, foundations, institutional funders, and high-net-worth individuals aligned with LawZero’s mission and strategic priorities.
• Maintain a structured and highly organized donor pipeline, ensuring visibility into relationship status, next steps, timelines, and strategic priorities.
• Proactively surface opportunities, gaps, and follow-up needs to senior leadership.
• Prepare briefing documents, presentations, tailored outreach materials, and strategic engagement assets for donor meetings and executive conversations.
• Coordinate follow-ups and ongoing communication with prospective and existing philanthropic partners.
• Support leadership in managing complex, high-touch stakeholder relationships with professionalism, discretion, and strong attention to detail.
• Help design and execute a thoughtful donor stewardship and cultivation strategy tailored to a small portfolio of high-value international partners.
• Develop engagement plans to maintain strong long-term relationships and encourage continued philanthropic support.
• Ensure donors receive timely, personalized, and high-quality communication throughout the relationship lifecycle.
• Coordinate with Finance, Operations, and Scientific teams to gather relevant information and prepare compelling donor reports and updates.
• Translate complex organizational initiatives into clear and accessible communication materials for external stakeholders.
• Ensure reporting requirements and partnership deliverables are consistently met.
• Maintain the CRM as the central source of truth for donor activity, relationship history, engagement tracking, and forecasting.
• Establish rigorous processes to ensure information accuracy, transparency, and operational continuity across fundraising activities.
• Help bring structure and scalability to a rapidly evolving development function.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health benefits (including mental health and wellness management account)
• 20 days of vacation per year upon start
• Employer contribution of 4% to your retirement savings, with no required employee match
• Additional compensation totaling 8% of your salary to apply towards additional retirement savings or bonuses (independent of group and individual performance)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed