Leadership & Major Gifts Officer

Leadership & Major Gifts Officer

Food Banks Mississauga’s (FBM) vision is a Mississauga where everyone is food secure. Our mission is to lead our agency network to realize a food-secure Mississauga by providing and promoting access to healthy and appropriate food.

Job Purpose

The Leadership & Major Gifts Officer is a relationship-driven and passionate fundraiser focused on building long-term partnerships with individual donors who share our vision for a food-secure Mississauga. This is an exciting opportunity to take full ownership of an emerging and growth-focussed portfolio of middle ($1,000-$9,999/yr) and major ($10,000+/yr, bequests) gift donors and prospects. 

Key Performance Areas

Portfolio Strategic Oversight (40%)

• Singular responsibility to drive the acquisition, engagement, management, and retention of FBM’s middle and major donors to achieve FBM's financial goals.
  
  
  
  • Create individual and segment-level middle/major donor plans. Identify and qualify new major gift prospects through portfolio review, referrals, prospect research, and donor events. Grow a pipeline of prospects and donors to expand the program and secure transformational gifts - six-figures and beyond
  
  
  • Establish and monitor performance metrics for the portfolio (including non-financial metrics) and evaluate effectiveness; create standardized reports (in consultation with Director of Development); propose course correction as needed
  
  
  • Define a sustainable major donor journey, and create the mechanism for monitoring and tracking. Record all moves management in CRM (Raiser’s Edge NXT) and provide recommendations for best practices on data collection and use
  
  
  
  


• Work collaboratively to build a ‘culture of philanthropy’ within FBM, inviting relevant staff such as the Director of Development and/or CEO to participate in qualification, cultivation, solicitation, or stewardship activities, as appropriate


• Work in regular partnership with the Individual Giving & Stewardship Manager in the identification of major gift prospects from the broadbase donor file

Solicitation (35%)

• Personally close gifts – new, upgraded, renewed, and multi-year – and hold full accountability for annual revenue targets.


• Manage relationships and personally carry out the research, legwork, and preparation to identify and qualify your portfolio of prospects and donors.


• Utilize templates and/or develop custom strategic proposals based on short and long-term funding goals of the organization 

Stewardship (15%)

• Execute a stewardship journey to engage donors and bequestors/legacy givers, including events, personalized communications, collateral, and other content 


• Collaborate with colleagues in marketing or other teams to execute your donor communications and provide insight on major donor sensitivity in other FBM communications

Administration & Other (10%)

• Maintain records in the donor database (Raiser’s Edge) related to your portfolio. 
  
  
  
  • Enter contact reports and ensure the next steps are scheduled. Update the prospect tab with proposal information. Run queries/reports as needed
  
  
  
  


• Other duties as required and assigned

Education and Experience

• 5+ years of progressive fundraising experience, with a substantive track record in major gifts at the $10,000+ level. 


• Demonstrated success in raising gifts from individual donors, moves management and asks, assessing capacity through prospect research, and managing donor relations.


• College diploma, university degree, or equivalent professional experience in a relevant field 


• Demonstrated experience with customer management systems (preferably Raiser’s Edge) or other moves-management systems

Skills, Competencies, and Qualities 

• Passion. A passion for mission-driven work and personal values aligned with those of FBM. Concern for and interest in issues of poverty, food security, and/or social justice.


• Proactivity/Enthusiasm/Persistence. Act without being told what to do. Passionate and excited about work. Can-do attitude. Ability to work autonomously while being aware of the importance of accountability. 


• Communication. Speak, listen, and write English in a clear, confident, respectful, thorough, and timely manner using appropriate and effective communication tools and techniques.


• Relationship Building. Internal and external relationship-building skills. Demonstrated ability to work effectively with donors and prospects, staff, volunteers, and other relevant stakeholders. Build trust-based relationships based upon mutual respect, with the ability to maintain confidentiality and discretion.


• Technical. Excellent skills in MS Office and/or Google Apps for business; experience with CRM database, preferably Raiser’s Edge. Ability to learn new systems quickly. FBM is a cloud-based, paperless environment.


• Leadership. Influence, inspire, and motivate others around you to participate and take action. Professional presence, approachable. Self-aware of strengths and weaknesses. Demonstrates integrity.


• Flexibility/Adaptability/Innovation. Flexible, versatile, and/or tolerant in a changing work environment while maintaining effectiveness and efficiency. Adjust quickly to changing priorities and conditions. Cope effectively with complexity and change. Discover, develop, and promote new ideas. 


• Problem-Solving Skills. Assess situations to determine the importance, urgency, and risks and make clear, timely decisions that are in the best interests of FBM.


• Organization. Set goals, implement action plans, document, evaluate, and learn. Committed to exceeding standards. Ability to carry out multiple tasks and meet deadlines.


• Detail-Oriented. Conscientious and high attention to detail. Manage multiple tasks effectively and efficiently, with superior organizational skills and an ability to work under a deadline.
  

Why Work for Us?

• Be proud to work for an organization that leads an agency network to realize a food-secure Mississauga by providing and promoting access to healthy and appropriate food. We’ve been ensuring our neighbours have access to food since 1986!


• Join a fun and open culture where people laugh a lot, pitch in during those “all-hands-on-deck” times, and enjoy celebrating at birthdays, holidays, and team activities. We work hard to live our values of Integrity First, Bold Mindset, Respect For All, and Collaborative Leadership.


• Recognizing that our staff are fundamental to achieving our mission, we are committed to providing competitive, living wages, ensuring that employment at a non-profit supports financial security. Compensation is benchmarked regularly, includes annual cost-of-living adjustments, and offers potential performance bonuses contingent upon the organization's financial success. We offer great benefits, including: 
  
  
  
  • 3 weeks paid vacation in your first year, increasing after 2 years
  
  
  • RRSP contribution matching up to 5% of salary (after 3 months)
  
  
  • Cell phone stipend
  
  
  • Employer-paid health insurance for you and your dependents, including employee assistance, vision, 100% drug coverage, dental, life insurance, and short- and long-term disability
  
  
  • Generous flex days policy (for sickness or personal needs)
  
  
  • Summer and holiday “wellness days” off (woohoo long weekends!)
  
  
  • Funding for professional development
  
  
  • Hybrid work - Max. 3 days/wk remote, plus opportunity for 2 wks/yr fully remote
  
  
  
  


• Our office is a modern, collaborative space, located right beside our warehouse. We prioritize work-life balance and a supportive team environment, equipped with technology for both in-person and remote connections. Plus, enjoy our lunchroom stocked with tea and coffee.


• Food Banks Mississauga is a certified Living Wage Ontario employer, was named a 2025 Top 5 Impact: Toronto Charity by Charity Intelligence, and is accredited by the Food Banks Canada Standards of Excellence. 

Role Details

• Relationship: This position reports to the Director of Development and will work closely with the Individual Giving & Stewardship Manager


• Position Type: Full-time, permanent. Occasional evening and weekend work required (lieu time may be accrued)

As part of its commitment to racial justice and reconciliation, FBM encourages applications from those who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, and other under-represented communities. We welcome applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.