Associate Director Partnerships Jobs

About Windmill Microlending:

Windmill Microlending enables immigrants and refugees to build careers in Canada while reducing poverty and labour shortages. We do this by offering affordable loans along with career assessment coaching, financial literacy training, and mentorship for newcomers who lack access to mainstream credit.

Since 2005, Windmill has provided over 9,000 loans to clients in healthcare, IT, financial services, law, engineering, and many other fields to triple their incomes as a result of our affordable loans and support. Windmill is a registered Canadian charity supported by donations and community bonds from the private sector and grants from the public sector.

Position Description:

Windmill's national Partnerships Team is tasked with growing our network of external partners amongst learning institutions, regulatory bodies/associations, corporations and other non-profits/charities. This individual’s primary focus will be on leading and cultivating a team to identify new partnership opportunities, negotiate mutually beneficial agreements, and foster strong working relationships with partners to grow our number of clients nationwide.

The Associate Director, Partnerships, is a new business development role in Ontario focusing on training, developing and managing the team to build our pipeline of partners in the most efficient manner. The top candidate will be a tenacious relationship builder, with demonstrated research skills identifying organizations that can provide beneficial services or products for our clients. Reporting to the National Director, Partnerships and Client Success, the role is a key strategic contributor to Windmill’s broader Partnerships and Client Success department, as part of a dynamic and committed management team.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Partner Development: (40%)

• Seek and develop opportunities for Windmill to demonstrate leadership and credibility in relevant immigration support sectors across Canada
• Engage directly with key partners, potential clients, and broader audiences through meetings, public presentations and by attending major events and conferences
• Stay updated on industry trends, competitor activities, and emerging opportunities in the market
• Leading the development and execution of Windmill’s strategy to engage key partners to develop and grow our footprint across Canada to meet our loan targets

Team Leadership and Development: (30%)

• Identify team members' strengths and areas for improvement, and provide coaching and support to help them achieve their potential
• Develop and implement strategies to enhance team performance, productivity, and efficiency
• Provide strong leadership to the team, setting clear expectations, and communicating the organization's vision and objectives
• Motivate and inspire team members, fostering a positive and collaborative work culture

Meet Client Acquisition Targets: (20%)

• Help to leverage data and AI to automate small partners
• Work closely with the marketing and communications team and the broader partnerships team to ensure alignment with organizational messaging and seek support to successfully deliver the outreach message
• Drive loan applications to support Windmill’s set loan targets
• Monitor and track the performance of partnerships, providing regular reports and analysis to the National Director
• Address any issues or conflicts that may arise and proactively find solutions to maintain positive relationships

Cross-functional Collaboration: (10%)

• Engage with the data team to explore opportunities and product integrations with partners to improve our loan experience within the company's capabilities and resources
• Collaborate with various internal teams to ensure seamless integration and execution of partnership initiatives
• Work closely with the marketing team to create joint marketing campaigns and promotional activities to highlight big partnership wins and build brand visibility

Ideal Candidate:

You will have an ambitious growth mindset and relish the prospect of playing a key role in the evolution of a dynamic, entrepreneurial, high-impact charity. You share our passion for helping skilled immigrants prosper, for reducing poverty in Canada, and for helping to create inclusive prosperity. You share our values of passion, empowerment, simplicity and results. As the ideal candidate, you are a talented and energetic relationship builder, experienced in sales and business development. You are a strategic thinker who can create a plan and set priorities for yourself and your team. You are an excellent manager who works collaboratively with your colleagues and direct reports, and acts as a role model and mentor through your professionalism, work ethic, collegiality and warmth.

In team meetings, you are comfortable articulating and defending a point of view that your colleagues and supervisor do not share, and having your thinking challenged and stretched by them. You are a great listener and an excellent communicator in meetings and can support decisions unreservedly, whichever way they go. You relish the opportunity to work with a National Director who shares your enthusiasm and energy for partnership development and works closely with you to support a partnership-oriented approach.

Personal Attributes:

Being a successful member of Windmill’s management team means you are a positive and motivating individual who always challenges yourself and your team to be the best. Highly driven and results-oriented, you bring solutions based on analytics and creative thinking. You have a track record as a great team player, mentor, and friend. You are empathic and supportive as well as results-oriented. Your experience has given you the ability to embrace others’ ideas and evaluate what ideas will have the most impact for the organization. Your maturity, self-awareness, diplomacy, and emotional intelligence will be powerful assets in a role that represents Windmill’s best internally and externally.

Core Competencies and Characteristics:

• The ability to prioritize opportunities according to their potential value; utilizing strong organizational and execution skills
• Excellent English writing, speaking, and presentation skills; in person and on digital platforms. French language skills an asset.
• A roll-up-your-sleeves team player, eager to embrace and execute new ideas in an entrepreneurial environment.
• Technically literate; experience working within a CRM database, and capable of enhancing team member’s training
• Strategic thinker with strong planning and logistical skills; motivated by ambitious targets for growth
• A partnerships and sales professional with 5-plus years of experience and a track record in business development, sales or fundraising
• Highly motivated to address labour market integration challenges internationally trained/educated immigrants face.
• A skilled communicator who engages and motivates partners, donors, volunteers, staff, board members, and investors.
• Strong affinity for, and a commitment to Windmill’s values – Passion, Empowerment, Simplicity and Results
• Experience building and managing a partnerships or sales pipeline with a proven ability to initiate, develop and enhance key relationships that create measurable outcomes
• Two years of management experience and an aptitude for managing, motivating, and inspiring a small staff team.

Qualifications and Knowledge:

• Intermediate to advanced MS Office skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint and Outlook)
• Personal or professional knowledge of the immigrant experience
• Minimum 5 years’ building relationships, securing new business relationships (sales experience, relationship/account management experience)
• Not-for-profit experience and/or experience as a volunteer within the immigration sector

Working Conditions:

• Flexibility to work outside of regular business hours due to committee and other meetings, events, emergencies
• Hybrid work environment (minimum 2 days in office) – Toronto
• Full-time (40 hours/week)

Salary:

• Windmill offers an attractive compensation package including a competitive salary, health/wellness, GRSP and vacation benefits.
• Starting range $105,000- $115,000

If you meet the criteria above and are interested in applying for the position, please send your resume to [email protected] (reference: Associate Director, Partnerships). We are actively recruiting for this position, so to ensure you are given due consideration for this opportunity, interested candidates should send their resumes, including a cover letter and salary expectations, as soon as possible. The successful candidate will be required to provide a Police Clearance Certificate. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those considered for an interview will be contacted directly.

Windmill Microlending is an equal employment opportunity employer. Adhering to Canada’s Human Rights Code, Windmill grants equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons regardless of race, creed, colour, gender identity or expression, disability, sexual orientation, family status, marital status, citizenship, ancestry, ethnic origin, age or place of origin. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Information on Windmill Microlending - http://www.windmillmicrolending.org