Senior Specialist, Grants and Donor Stewardship

Windmill Microlending is a registered Canadian charity that empowers skilled immigrants and refugees by offering affordable loans, coaching and mentorship to restart their careers in Canada. Since 2005, we have provided over 15,000 loans, helping newcomers triple their incomes.

We are proud to be Great Place to Work certified, boasting an 85%+ average employee engagement score driven by a culture of inclusivity, exceptional teamwork and strong leadership.

Windmill Microlending is seeking a highly skilled, and results-driven Senior Specialist, Grants and Donor Stewardship to join our national Development team. Reporting to the National Director, Philanthropy and Campaigns, this role operates at the critical intersection of high-stakes fundraising, complex corporate/institutional compliance, and impact storytelling.

The successful candidate will serve as the lead writer for major proposals, complex institutional grant reporting, and advanced donor journeys. Acting as a critical partner to senior development staff, you will manage complex project work, execute deep prospect research, and design sophisticated stewardship frameworks that protect and grow Windmill’s philanthropic revenue.

• Draft, edit, and project-manage complex, high-quality proposals, business cases, and customized funding applications for foundations, corporations, and government funders.
• Lead the creation of intricate, customized impact and financial reports for major donors ($10K+), private funders, and institutional partners, translating data into compelling narratives.
• Collaborate closely with program, finance, and client success teams to gather, verify, and accurately report on outcomes, complex budgets, and impact data.
• Build and maintain a sophisticated, centralized repository of standardized language, case studies, metrics, and outcomes to optimize proposal and reporting efficiency.
• Rigorously track complex reporting obligations and milestones to ensure 100% timely submission of all deliverables.

• Design, implement, and optimize a comprehensive donor recognition and stewardship strategy aimed at increasing retention and donor lifetime value across major gift and corporate portfolios.
• Develop and evaluate structured, high-touch stewardship journeys for corporate partners, foundations, and leadership donors.
• Partner with the marketing and communications team to capture client success stories and elevate high-impact donors across digital channels and stewardship materials.

• Support senior development staff by using research tools to identify, vet, and profile potential new individual, foundation, and corporate prospects.
• Align research and proposal development with Windmill's diverse priorities, identifying prospects with an interest or linkage to operating needs, capital campaigns, or the Community Bond program.

• Maintain meticulous records within Salesforce, tracking donor engagement metrics, reporting requirements, and moves management timelines.
• Audit and recommend system enhancements to improve donor experience data, segmentation strategies, and overall fundraising effectiveness.

You are an analytical strategist and a master storyteller rolled into one. You see stewardship, complex reporting, and the creation of compelling grant proposals for corporate and foundation partners as critical mechanisms for deepening trust, securing renewals, closing campaign goals, and driving business development. You possess the emotional intelligence to collaborate across technical program or finance teams, paired with the professional polish required to write for institutional gatekeepers and high-net-worth investors.

Highly organized and data-informed, you thrive on managing overlapping timelines and delivering flawless, high-stakes outcomes.

• Proven track record of drafting successful proposals for multi-year investments of $10,000 to $500,000
• Proven track record of creating and…