Senior Associate, Research

Position summary: Reporting to the Manager, Research Revenue Operations, the Senior Associate, Research will be part of a well-established and successful team of operations professionals that support revenue growth for Rainforest Alliance’s Development and Corporate Engagement teams. With ambitious funding goals and an ambition to deepen public-private partnerships, Rainforest Alliance is seeking a full-time professional Research Associate to provide deep research into public sector donors (bilateral and multilateral), private and corporate foundations, individuals and new giving vehicles as identified. Responsibilities:   RESEARCH The Senior Associate, Research, will conduct multi-source research, capture and analyze donor landscapes, and understand and monitor the public commitments to RA-aligned impact priorities made by public sector donors (bilateral and multilateral), private and corporate foundations, individuals and new giving vehicles as identified.

• Create and maintain detailed donor and prospect profiles that include research and analysis of the prospect for use by the development department, global programs team, executive leadership, Board of Directors, and other relevant RA staff;

• Develop thematic reports related to topics that are of particular interest for fundraisers in order to get a better understanding of donor landscape and interests;

• Conduct due diligence on potential new corporate foundations partners and provide risk analysis;

• Evaluate and scope the funding landscape to identify potential opportunities for Rainforest Alliance and contribute to building a solid prospect pipeline that contributes to the achievement of Development’s funding goals;

• Support research on multiple streams of funding including publicly reported corporate ESG commitments, institutional donor agendas, professional and family foundations, DAFs and newly created philanthropic/pre-competitive industry funding vehicles;

• Support the follow- up and tracking of donor funding trends, global commitments, and pledges (from institutional donors) and ;

• Periodically track relevant opportunities for Institutional Relations team and maintain the Monthly Grants report updated with main findings and

• Support other ad hoc research requests to support an informed fundraising process for Development Account Managers.

DATA DISSEMINATION, PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION With direction from the Research Manager, the associate will compile and present research findings to the Development team to support informed fundraising processes. The associate will structure findings in a clear and organized fashion.

• Maintain organized document repositories and templates;

• Support Research Manager in Portfolio Management;

• Map events that are relevant to our organization and were account managers can find networking opportunities; and

• Provide background information for the preparation of Event Books and donor Strategy Meeting Reports.

Qualifications:  

• Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations, International Development, Social Sciences;

• Minimum of 2 years’ experience, in prospect research, non-profit fundraising, and knowledge of public and private sector donors;

• Knowledge and understanding of institutional donor trends, particularly in relation to the work of Rainforest Alliance (conservation; regenerative agriculture; economic development; sustainable supply chains);

• Strong analytical skills, ability to structure and synthesize data from multiple sources into actionable insights;

• Excellent organizational skills, ability to work independently as well as in a team environment, assess priorities and multi-task with strong attention to detail; 

• Self-starter that can work independently to manage own workload with minimal supervision and work effectively as well as part of a team; 

• Computer Skills: Proficient in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook with a demonstrated experience utilizing Salesforce CRM and online philanthropic research tools and databases;

• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to interact culturally, linguistically, and diplomatically with diverse internal and external stakeholders;

• Proactive, creative, self-motivated, resourceful, detail-oriented, ability to hold confidential donor information, and strong attention to detail and

• Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal) with fluency in English required, Spanish desirable.

Job Level: 4

Salary: For USA based candidates only:  

• National Salary range (Excluding NY and DC) - $52,441- $74,916

• New York Salary Range - $62,306- $89,009

• Washington DC Salary Range - $60,307- $86,154

Deadline: 28 June 2024 Notes: Only candidates authorized to work in the US will be considered. If you have any questions about the job vacancy, please contact the HR department: Who we are: The Rainforest Alliance is creating a more sustainable world by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities. To achieve our mission, we partner with diverse allies around the world to drive positive change across global supply chains and in many of our most critically important natural landscapes. Our alliance spans 70 countries and includes farmers and forest communities, companies, governments, civil society, and millions of individuals. Together we work to protect forests and biodiversity, take action on climate, and promote the rights and improve the livelihoods of rural people. As an international nonprofit organization with more than 30 years of experience in sustainability transformation, we understand that the social and economic well-being of rural communities is tightly connected to ecosystem health. This knowledge has shaped our rigorous programs to advance sustainable land-use and commodity production. At the Rainforest Alliance we combat climate change, protect forests and biodiversity, promote human rights, and improve livelihoods. The enormity of the social and environmental challenges we are facing requires working together in a broad alliance. This is why we bring farmers, forest communities, companies, and consumers together to change the way the world produces, sources, and consumes. Why To protect nature and improve lives it’s becoming increasingly urgent that we approach the way we use our land and produce food and other products in more sustainable ways. For this to succeed we need to fundamentally change the way that businesses operate and source, and the choices we all make as consumers. How Our growing global alliance aims to transform our relationship with our natural resources and each other, to create a better future for people and nature together. The Rainforest Alliance encourages diversity and inclusion across the global organization. With this commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ages, disability and any other protected group.