Director of Development
External
Lawzero · Montreal, CanadaFull-timeOn-site1mo ago
CRMCross-functional CollaborationForecastingLeadership
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Responsibilities
- Donor Pipeline & Opportunity Management
- Identify, research, and track prospective philanthropic partners, foundations, institutional funders, and high-net-worth individuals aligned with LawZero's mission and strategic priorities.
- Maintain a structured and highly organized donor pipeline, ensuring visibility into relationship status, next steps, timelines, and strategic priorities.
- Proactively surface opportunities, gaps, and follow-up needs to senior leadership.
- Executive Partnership Support & Coordination
- Prepare briefing documents, presentations, tailored outreach materials, and strategic engagement assets for donor meetings and executive conversations.
- Coordinate follow-ups and ongoing communication with prospective and existing philanthropic partners.
- Support leadership in managing complex, high-touch stakeholder relationships with professionalism, discretion, and strong attention to detail.
- Donor & Foundation Relationship Stewardship
- Help design and execute a thoughtful donor stewardship and cultivation strategy tailored to a small portfolio of high-value international partners.
- Develop engagement plans to maintain strong long-term relationships and encourage continued philanthropic support.
- Ensure donors receive timely, personalized, and high-quality communication throughout the relationship lifecycle.
- Impact Reporting & Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Coordinate with Finance, Operations, and Scientific teams to gather relevant information and prepare compelling donor reports and updates.
- Translate complex organizational initiatives into clear and accessible communication materials for external stakeholders.
- Ensure reporting requirements and partnership deliverables are consistently met.
- CRM & Operational Excellence
- Maintain the CRM as the central source of truth for donor activity, relationship history, engagement tracking, and forecasting.
- Establish rigorous processes to ensure information accuracy, transparency, and operational continuity across fundraising activities.
- Help bring structure and scalability to a rapidly evolving development function.
Requirements
- Around 10+ years of relevant experience with at least 7+ years in fundraising, philanthropy, partnerships, donor relations, account management, strategic relationship management, or related functions.
- Experience supporting executive stakeholders and managing high-touch external relationships in fast-paced or high-stakes environments.
- Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and ensure consistent execution.
- Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with strong emotional intelligence and professional maturity.
- Ability to build authentic, trust-based relationships with sophisticated external stakeholders across philanthropy, academia, policy, or technology ecosystems.
- Strong written communication and presentation skills, including experience preparing executive-facing or donor-facing materials.
- High level of discretion, ownership, reliability, and follow-through.
- Comfort operating in a fast-growing, highly collaborative, and evolving organization.
- Professional fluency in English and French is required.
- International and cross-cultural communication experience is strongly preferred.
- Candidates may come from nonprofit, philanthropic, academic, public-interest technology, partnership development, or relationship-driven commercial environments.
Benefits
The chance to contribute meaningfully to a globally critical initiativeComprehensive health benefits (including mental health and wellness management account)20 days of vacation per year upon startEmployer contribution of 4% to your retirement savings, with no required employee matchAdditional compensation totaling 8% of your salary to apply towards additional retirement savings or bonuses (independent of group and individual performance)A team of passionate world-class experts in their fieldA collaborative and inclusive work environment in our vibrant office space in the heart of Little Italy, in the trendy Mile-Ex district, close to public transportationAbout LawZeroLawZero is a non-profit organization committed to advancing research and creating technicHealth insurancePaid time offPerformance bonus
Additional Information
LawZero is seeking a Director of Development to help scale and operationalize its international philanthropic strategy. Reporting to the VP of Development & Operations, this person will manage and advance relationships with major institutional foundations and high-net-worth individuals globally. Positioned at the intersection of relationship management, donor stewardship, and executive support, this highly collaborative role serves as a strategic partner to senior leadership. The Director will drive structured pipeline growth, coordinate high-stakes fundraising initiatives, and equip executive and scientific stakeholders to engage effectively with leading philanthropic and technology ecosystems.
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