Senior Director of Philanthropic Partnerships

Job Summary

The (Senior) Director of Philanthropic Partnerships is a senior frontline fundraiser whose primary mandate is to build IPA’s philanthropic pipeline and close major gifts. The role personally manages a portfolio that spans major gift relationships in the $25,000+ range and principal gift prospects with the capacity to make six- and seven-figure commitments for unrestricted and core institutional funding priorities. The role carries explicit responsibility for opening new philanthropic markets and identifying, qualifying, and cultivating new prospects to grow IPA’s long‑term revenue base.

This role is also central to IPA’s multi‑year campaign, Building Evidence‑to‑Impact Ecosystems, which will fund the organization’s next phase of growth, including Embedded Evidence Labs and IPA’s broader strategic priorities through 2030.

This is both a builder and closer role. The successful candidate will bring an established track record of personally closing gifts in the six‑ and seven‑figure range and will apply that experience both to grow IPA’s major gift revenue and to personally close major gifts. New market focus areas include artificial intelligence (including AI company founders, executives, and aligned foundations), family offices, finance and hedge fund philanthropy networks, effective giving and evidence‑aligned communities, and the major donor philanthropic market in the United Kingdom.

The role works closely with the Chief Partnerships and Philanthropy Officer (CPPO) to advance and close high‑value gifts in the personal portfolio. The CPPO is the primary interface with the Executive Director on principal gift strategy and serves as the partner‑closer on the most strategic relationships. The (Senior) Director plays a lead role in the execution of IPA’s capital campaign, partnering with the CPPO on campaign strategy, donor identification and qualification, and the cultivation and solicitation of campaign‑level gifts.

The (Senior) Director leads, develops, and holds accountable two direct reports: a manager responsible for philanthropy operations and a manager responsible for the mid‑level and planned giving program. Together this team executes IPA’s mid‑level fundraising, planned giving, and philanthropy operations functions, while the (Senior) Director carries personal accountability for major and principal gift fundraising.

Frontline major and principal gift fundraising (approximately 50%)

• Lead the full donor cycle for portfolio relationships: identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, closing, and stewardship of donors in the $25,000+ range.
• Personally solicit and close gifts across the portfolio, with measurable annual revenue targets set jointly with the CPPO.
• Partner with the Chief Partnerships and Philanthropy Officer (CPPO) to advance and close principal gifts in the personal portfolio, including coordinating briefings, donor strategy, and meeting roles.
• Carry a meaningful portion of IPA’s $15 million capital campaign goal, with a personal portfolio aligned to campaign priorities and a multi‑year cultivation and solicitation plan.
• Move qualified prospects from the major gift range into the principal gift range over time, building IPA’s long‑term revenue.

Prospect and market building (approximately 25%)

• Lead IPA’s prospect identification and qualification efforts, building a forward‑looking pipeline of new individual and family foundation donors aligned with IPA’s strategic priorities with a focus on unrestricted and core institutional funding priorities.
• Build IPA’s presence in priority new philanthropic markets, including artificial intelligence (AI company founders, executives, and aligned foundations), family offices, finance and hedge fund philanthropy networks, effective giving and evidence‑aligned communities, and the major donor philanthropic market in the United Kingdom.
• Position IPA’s evidence base for relevance to emerging philanthropic priorities in AI, including responsible deployment of AI in low‑ and middle‑income country development, and translate IPA’s research portfolio into propositions that resonate with AI‑sector funders.
• Build the…