Nonprofit Leadership

Position: VP, Development & Philanthropy
Organization: Birds Canada
Location: Remote in Ontario, with occasional travel to offices, events, donors (see below)

Birds Canada is a national organization dedicated to bird conservation. Every day, our thousands of caring donors, passionate staff, and 74,000+ outstanding volunteers are taking action to help us better understand, appreciate, and conserve birds and their habitats. Together, we are Canada’s voice for birds.

A $15 million non-profit, charitable organization, Birds Canada was built on the enthusiastic contributions of thousands of caring members and volunteer Citizen Scientists. Data (observations) collected by Citizen Scientists, alongside targeted research projects, are used to identify significant bird population changes and help direct conservation planning.

Our national headquarters is located in Port Rowan, Ontario, connected to the historic Long Point Bird Observatory.

Birds Canada works to conserve birds through sound science, on-the-ground actions, innovative partnerships, public engagement, and science-based advocacy. We believe the most effective conservation results arise from a multifaceted approach which addresses the needs of habitats, people, and species.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the Vice-President, Development and Philanthropy (VP) is a senior leader responsible for driving Birds Canada’s fundraising vision and strategy. This role leads the Development and Philanthropy team with clarity, decisiveness, and accountability, ensuring all fundraising aligns with the organization’s mission and Strategic Plan. The VP transforms data into actionable insights, turns results into compelling stories, and champions innovation to push beyond the status quo, growing both Unrestricted and Restricted funding to strengthen organizational impact and sustainability.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• A fundraising, professional with proven ability to design and implement comprehensive fundraising strategies (e.g. capital campaigns, major donors, individual donors, legacy giving, corporate, grants, etc.), making evidence-based decisions about where to invest human resources
• Track-record of securing large (6 & 7 figures) gifts from individual donors and corporations, including building relationships with high-net-worth individuals
• Adept at carrying own portfolio of prospects while leading and mentoring the team
• Results-driven, with a proven track record of setting and achieving ambitious and achievable fundraising targets, and of adjusting approaches when results fall short
• Demonstrated evidence of scaling fundraising revenue
• Proven track record of raising Unrestricted funds
• Solid grasp of fundraising tools and processes including donor databases & CRMs (currently the Blackbaud suite), charitable compliance, prospect research, digital marketing and conversion, etc.
• Demonstrated ability to develop major fundraising campaigns over $1M
• Experience and an affinity for managing and mentoring a team of professional staff; experience reporting to senior-level staff and Boards
• While existing environmental sector networks are an asset, the demonstrated ability to develop new relationships and networks is more important than prior sector experience
• Ability to work directly with technical program staff to develop fundraising cases, and to be able to articulate programmatic impact back to funders

Assets

• Bilingualism (English-French)
• Capital Campaign experience

Education

• Studies and/or other extensive professional development specific to fundraising
• Recognized professional certification/credential specifically designed for fundraisers (e.g. CFRE), an asset

Location & Travel

• This position can be held remotely with occasional travel (4 – 5 trips/year) to Birds Canada headquarters in Port Rowan, Ontario and other regional offices and events
• It will require some travel throughout Canada to meet with donors as well

WHAT BIRDS CANADA OFFERS IN RETURN

• Base salary $120,000 to $128,000, commensurate with experience
• RRSP Contribution Matching up to 5% of annual salary after 12 months of service
• Flexible work schedule and in-office/Remote work arrangements: Work primarily in a home or Birds Canada office, with the possibility of offsite meetings in a similar environment, including meetings with potential or existing donors
• Opportunities for Professional Development

Non-Salary Benefits

• 4 weeks/20 days of vacation per year to start
• 3 additional paid days of vacation between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day
• 12 Personal Health Days per year
• Extensive primarily employer-paid benefits available after 3 months including extended Health and Dental Coverage, Basic Group Life Insurance, Vision, ADD&D, Short and Long Term Disability Coverage, and Group Out-of-Province Travel Insurance and Employer/Family Assistance Program

Birds Canada is committed to improving levels of diversity among its volunteers, membership, staff, and board to reflect the diversity of Canada. In an effort to do so, it is actively tracking and seeking to improve its ability to reach all candidates with job advertisements. Applicants belonging to racialized groups; who identify as Indigenous, LGBTQ+; or who have differing abilities are therefore invited to self-identify in their cover letter.

APPLICATION DETAILS

This search is being conducted on behalf of Birds Canada by crawfordconnect, a search firm specializing in recruiting non-profit and charitable professionals for Canada’s non-profit sector.

The key contact for this search is Liz Latimer, Senior Search Consultant, crawfordconnect.

Qualified applicants are invited to email their resume and letter of interest directly to Liz Latimer at liz@crawfordconnect.com , in confidence. The deadline for applications is January 19, 2026.

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We thank all applicants for applying; however, only qualified candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

If someone you know may be interested in this position, feel free to forward this information - we'd be pleased to connect with them.