Managing Director, Partnerships (Fundraising)

Namati

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Namati advances a fairer, more sustainable world by building a movement of people who know, use, and shape the law. We work deeply in seven countries—from Myanmar to the United States—and we convene the world’s largest network of justice defenders, with members in 185 countries.
In the face of grave threats to democracy and our planet, we are getting creative and going big. Recent wins include the abolition of a decades-old discriminatory ID system in Kenya and a re-write of the global rules governing carbon projects. This year we’re launching the Grassroots Justice Network Academy, with a goal of strengthening movements in 100 countries.
We are looking for a visionary, strategic, and collaborative Managing Director, Partnerships to lead our global resource mobilization (RM) efforts and help ensure Namati’s long-term sustainability and impact.
This is a senior leadership role charged with driving Namati’s fundraising strategy, managing a high-performing team, and owning a portfolio of high-stakes relationships with philanthropic foundations, bilateral institutions, and individual donors. The Managing Director will work closely with the CEO, COO, program leads, and external partners to align organizational strategy with revenue strategy and to sustain and grow Namati’s $15M+ annual budget.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in non-profits, including at least 5 years in a leadership or senior management role with significant fundraising and staff management responsibilities.
• Proven track record of securing multiple 7- or 8-figure gifts from institutional funders and/or individual donors.
• Strong people management skills and experience overseeing high-performing teams with humility and empathy.
• Ability to pair big-picture strategy with strong execution, both through your own work and by enabling excellence in your team.
• Exceptional relationship-building and communication skills that allow you to write and speak with clarity, humanness, and moral force.
• Cross-cultural competency and experience working across diverse teams, themes, and geographies.
• Candidates must already be legally eligible to work in the United States to be considered for the role; Namati cannot sponsor visas.

Nice To Haves

• Experience driving capital campaigns or building social enterprise is a significant asset.
• Prior experience in legal empowerment, human rights, or international development.
• Experience living in or fundraising for organizations in Africa, Asia, and/or Latin America.
• Experience leading teams through periods of change and/or growth.

Responsibilities

• Lead the execution of Namati’s current multi-year fundraising strategy, ensuring consistent progress on goals and data-informed decision-making.
• In close collaboration with organization leadership and the RM team, drive the long-term evolution of the fundraising strategy by analyzing internal data, monitoring external trends, and incorporating team learning from across the organization.
• Partner closely with Namati’s finance team to set clear revenue targets, forecast future resource needs and revenue scenarios, and help ensure that Namati is positioned for long-term financial health.
• Contribute to long-term sustainability through strategic experimentation with new sources of revenue - for example, digital fundraising to grow our grassroots donor base and earned revenue through the Grassroots Justice Network Academy.
• Contribute to overall organizational strategy and planning as a member of the senior leadership team.
• Lead a growing team (currently three fundraisers and two operations specialists), providing clear direction, coaching, and performance feedback.
• Monitor key pipeline health metrics and actively guide relationship owners to optimize fundraising outcomes.
• Oversee RM team operations, ensuring strong coordination and adherence to the team’s operating principles, processes, and systems.
• Promote a culture of learning, excellence, and joy both within the RM team and across teams.
• Partner with relationship owners, program leads, and finance to ensure both proposals for new funding and reporting on existing grants are timely and of the highest quality.
• Act as a principal relationship lead for 10-15+ key funders and prospects, stewarding them through the fundraising lifecycle from identification to reporting to renewal.
• Engage funders with confidence, clarity, and heart to represent Namati’s vision and strategy in multi-program and organization-wide fundraising efforts.
• Develop and iterate thematic fundraising roadmaps, and advise relationship owners and program leads based on those roadmaps, to drive revenue growth across Namati’s priority themes (democracy/human rights/rule of law, land/environmental/climate justice, and the Grassroots Justice Network Academy).
• Serve as a senior spokesperson and thought leader for Namati’s mission: shape sector conversations, elevate the organization’s visibility, and strategically position Namati with current and prospective funders through compelling public writing, speaking engagements, and relationship-building.
• Coach program leads to strengthen their external presence and donor engagement, including preparing for funder-facing events.
• Collaborate with the Strategic Engagement team to ensure consistent, creative, and compelling donor-facing communications.

Benefits

• Health insurance: we pay 80% of the base plan premium for employees, and 50% for dependents.
• Paid time off: new staff have 12 sick days and 3 personal days, and accrue 15 days of paid vacation (increasing to 20 after two years). Namati closes its offices organization-wide for “winter break” from December 25 to January 1.
• Additionally, we provide six weeks of paid parental leave.
• 401(k) retirement planning: Namati contributes 5% of your salary plus matches your contribution up to an additional 5%.
• Professional development: We value – and set aside a professional development fund toward – staff having access to external professional development opportunities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees