Institutional Giving Specialist

Institutional Giving Specialist

Location:

NY office, NY office-Hybrid; US-based remote.

Work Schedule:

Full-time

Employment / Job Type: Regular; exempt employee

Internal Job Category:
Specialization A

Department:
Development

Supervisor:
Institutional Giving Director

Salary: USD $75,000 - $80,000 gross annually, non-negotiable

Since 1988, Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) has partnered with Indigenous peoples to protect their rights and their rainforests in the Amazon and Central America. Our purpose is to support Indigenous peoples and forest communities in their efforts to secure their lands, protect their environment, and uphold their rights. The science shows that forests managed by Indigenous peoples are healthier, including nationally protected areas.

RFUS works in partnership with Indigenous communities and their representative organizations to protect tropical rainforests by supporting their efforts to secure rights to their lands, strengthen monitoring and land security, influence laws and policies that protect their resources, and build strong and sustainable community leadership. By investing directly in Indigenous communities, RFUS connects the people rooted in the land with the tools, training, and resources to be effective advocates and protectors of the forests they call home.

RFUS currently operates four country programs in Brazil, Guyana, Panama and Peru, and hosts a number of regional partnerships in Central America, the Amazon Basin and across the tropical belt.

The Institutional Giving Specialist (IGS) manages key grant-related responsibilities: identifying and researching funding opportunities, submitting successful proposals, developing compelling and factual reports, coordinating with program, finance, and communications staff to ensure proper execution of grant requirements, and ensuring all grant-related materials, including deadlines, are properly tracked and recorded. This role includes advanced skills in applying for and managing complex government grant funding.

• Manage stewardship and expansion of a portfolio of institutional donors, such as foundations, NGOs/intermediaries, and government agencies.
• Identify and research funding opportunities aligned with RFUS’s priorities.
• Write and submit compelling, competitive proposals in collaboration with program and finance teams.
• Coordinate complex, multi-stakeholder funding opportunities, including government grants, ensuring adherence to funder requirements.
• Facilitate and lead some donor meetings and build relationships with new and existing donors, engaging relevant staff as needed.
• Coordinate grant award and post-award activities, including acknowledging grants in a timely manner, ensuring smooth handoff to program teams, drafting accurate reports, and monitoring compliance.
• Assist the Institutional Giving Director in tracking and reporting on institutional giving goals and portfolio progress.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Own and maintain institutional giving processes and workflows, including pre-award checklists, kickoff calls, grant trackers, and deadline calendars to ensure efficient and coordinated grant operations.
• Maintain accurate and organized records of all grant-related materials—proposals, budgets, award letters, reports, and key donor communications—ensuring deadlines, proposals, and prospect information are up-to-date in tracking systems and calendars.
• Monitor compliance through the grant lifecycle and raise flags or recommendations to leadership as needed.
• Analyze portfolio performance and provide insights and recommendations to the Institutional Giving Director on funder engagement, prospect prioritization, and strategy.
• Identify opportunities to improve institutional giving processes and implement enhancements to increase efficiency, accuracy, and impact.
• Serve as a cross-departmental liaison, ensuring program, finance, and communication teams are aligned in the submission of proposals and execution of grants and reporting requirements.

• Minimum four years of fundraising experience, with a proven record…