Manager, Institutional Relations, Asia Pacific

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.

Position summary:

Working as part of an international team of fundraising professionals, the Manager, Institutional Relations, Asia Pacific is responsible for fundraising with institutional donors for Rainforest Alliance Programme priorities in the region.

The Manager, Institutional Relations, Asia Pacific, will be responsible for writing and editing concept documents, proposals and reports, maintaining effective communication with Rainforest Alliance staff based in other geographies, and contributing to overall fundraising strategy. Maintaining a strategic portfolio of institutional donors and donor prospects, they will develop and regularly update a region-wide engagement plan, ensuring timely follow-up actions, and helping to further strengthen relationships with key institutional donor and partner contacts in the region. The incumbent will work closely with senior program staff to develop compelling proposals, build creative funding partnerships, and support reporting and donor stewardship. They will engage staff from across the organization, such as programs, global compliance, markets, themes and sectors, and finance staff in the development of detailed funding proposals at the six- and seven-figure level. They will be expected to directly cultivate potential new funder relationships and pursue creative solutions to bring to bear new partnerships with donors and companies, cultivating an understanding of Rainforest Alliance’s strategic priorities and programmatic capabilities with relevant donors.

The focus of this position will be institutional donors, mainly bilateral and multilateral funders with a presence in Asia, and secondarily corporations and foundations. This role is part of both the Asia Pacific regional team and the global Institutional Relations team, and will report to the Senior Director, Asia Pacific with a matrixed reporting line to the Senior Manager, Institutional Relations.

Responsibilities:

• Other responsibilities as assigned.
• Serve as a key point of contact between the Institutional Relations team, which is based globally, and technical staff based in Asia, collaborating closely with both on a day-to-day basis;
• Conduct research to identify new revenue streams;
• Work closely with regional managers, especially in Indonesia but also in the rest of Asia, to coordinate on the identification of private sector opportunities and follow through on the elaboration of proposals;
• Work closely with colleagues globally to coordinate, write, adapt and edit proposals and concept notes for field projects primarily in Indonesia, as well as other Asian programs;
• The Rainforest Alliance’s Core Values are Impact, Change, Collaboration, Openness and Trust and as such they form the basis of the behaviours we demonstrate;
• Build awareness by representing Rainforest Alliance at relevant conferences and events; and
• Ensure that fundraising data for Asia Pacific Program is up to date and accurate within donor database;
• Serve as a point of contact between Rainforest Alliance and key institutional donors in Asia, representing the organization through in-person meetings, phone calls, and written communications to advance funding opportunities;
• Support development of reports for selected institutional donors, ensuring consistency with funder requirements and high level of content and language quality;
• Proactively identify new funding resources consistent with the organization’s revenue goals for restricted funding and strategic priorities, working closely with the Senior Manager, Institutional Relations to do so;
• Coordinate closely with Institutional Relations staff based in the United States and Europe, as well as program staff throughout Asian countries, to ensure effective alignment of fundraising strategies with technical country strategies and successful execution of donor cultivation strategies;
• Manage selected proposal development processes, including development of workplans, budgets, and coordination and participation in technical design as needed;

Qualifications:

• Strong research and computer skills required (Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), as well as (preferably) experience with Salesforce or similar databases.
• Must have excellent English fluency including business writing skills and be able to create content for different audiences; Bahasa a plus;
• Able to work well under tight time constraints and with colleagues in different time zones;
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, as well as be an effective team member;
• Experience in a fast-paced work environment, preferably within a global organization;
• Bachelor’s Degree required; Master’s Degree preferred;
• Experience working with budgets and financial reports;
• Demonstrated ability (5 years’) experience in programmatic fundraising, with a consistent track record of securing government grants;
• Experience of working with logical frameworks and theories of change;
• Ability to work regularly and collaboratively with colleagues who are based in a different geography;
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship building skills;
• Knowledge and understanding of agricultural, markets-based programmes, conservation and climate change mitigation and adaptation approaches is strongly preferred;

• Notes: Only candidates authorized to work in Indonesia will be considered
• Job Level: 3
• Salary: Commensurate with experience.