Manager, Institutional Relations

Who We Are:

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a 501(c)(4) organization, is the premier coalition of more than 230 organizations that promotes and protects civil and human rights in America. The Leadership Conference has coordinated national lobbying efforts on behalf of every major civil rights law since 1957. To learn more about The Leadership Conference, please visit www.civilrights.org.

The Leadership Conference Education Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization, builds public will for federal policies that promote and protect civil and human rights in the US. Founded in 1969 as the education and research arm of The Leadership Conference, the Education Fund’s campaigns empower advocates to push for progressive change in the US. To learn more about the Education Fund, please visit www.leadershipconferenceedfund.org.

About the Role:

The Manager, Institutional Relations will execute and refine a foundation fundraising strategy for The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (c3) and The Leadership Conference Education Fund (c4). This will include managing the full funder lifecycle from identifying new prospective funders, to cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and renewals. This includes tracking grant deliverables, collaborating with finance and program staff to monitor grant spending plans, and meeting all reporting and proposal deadlines. The Manager, Institutional Relations will also support the corporate fundraising strategy as needed. The ideal candidate is a strong ambassador of our organization’s mission and values, a highly organized grant manager, and a committed collaborator. The right person for the role will also bring strong grant-writing skills and motivation to support revenue growth through strategic relationship management and thoughtful funder engagement. Successful candidates may be requested to submit a writing sample.

This position will report to the Director, Institutional Relations & Dev Ops, and is part of the collective bargaining unit.

What you will do:

50%: Institutional Donor Relationship Management

• Work closely with the Director, Institutional Relations & Dev Ops, and the Senior Manager, Foundation Relations to help execute a foundation engagement strategy, with an emphasis on developing new relationships to develop new revenue opportunities.
• Act as primary relationship manager for a portfolio of current and prospective funders, including developing cultivation, stewardship, and solicitation strategies, tracking moves, preparing meeting briefings, collaborating with programmatic and finance staff, and communicating directly with funders.
• Make recommendations that will add value to our strategic partnerships and raise unrestricted revenue and key programmatic support.
• Provide support to the corporate relations program as needed and as determined by the pace of growth of that program.

40%: Grants Management

• Work closely with programmatic staff to draft and ensure the timely submission of well-researched, well-written concept papers, grant proposals, reports, proposal budgets, and supporting documents.
• Collaborate with staff across the development team to support and maintain systems for tracking funder and prospective funder portfolios and Moves Management systems in NXT and Monday.com.

10%: Operations and Administration

• Provide input on the annual budget, team goals, stewardship and solicitation strategies, and inter-department planning.
• Manage special projects and perform other duties as assigned.
• May supervise seasonal interns.

What you will bring:

• A minimum of 3 years of institutional relations experience is required, and in nonprofits is preferred.
• A Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent in education and experience.
• Proficiency in utilizing CRMs (e.g., Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce) and Microsoft applications.
• Commitment to the mission and values of The Leadership Conference and The Education Fund.
• Familiarity with foundation-giving trends.
• Excellent fundraising writing skills, attention to detail, communication skills, and interpersonal skills.

What We Offer:

The Organizations offer its staff a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision coverage, and generous personal leave and vacation time.  Staff members can also take advantage of Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) and a retirement savings account.

Salary Range – $86,197 – $90,560, dependent on years of related experience.

To apply, please visit our Career Center and submit your resume and cover letter. Cover letters are required and should be attached. 

Office Re-opening Statement

Currently, staff has the option to work from the office or home while we determine our long-term policy on remote and hybrid work. Please note this position is not permanently remote and over time the person filling this role may be required to work on occasion or regularly from the Washington, DC-based office.

Our Commitment to an Inclusive Workplace

The Leadership Conference and The Education Fund are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all staff members and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability.