We’re seeking a Senior Business Development Lead (Grants) to help us create extraordinary impact around the world to improve lives and reverse climate change.
Taking Root’s purpose is to accelerate the restoration of the world’s forests. We enable smallholder farmers to grow trees and earn money from the carbon they remove from the atmosphere. Recognised for its best practices by the UN, EU and World Economic Forum, Taking Root is connecting thousands of farmers to the carbon market, improving their livelihoods by restoring forests around the world.
About the role
The Senior Business Development Lead’s primary focus is to accelerate the development and growth of its projects across Latin America in order to restore forests, improve farmer livelihoods and remove carbon. Reporting to the Chief Commercial Officer, this role will create and lead the implementation of a strategy to raise over $5m in grants revenue over the next 2 years to supercharge Taking Root’s project development activities. The Senior Business Development Lead, will spearhead opportunities to raise funds for Taking Root’s scale up, raising funding for the organization’s project, technology, and methodology development activities. The role will be responsible for building and maintaining long-lasting and largescale funding relationships with multi-national grantors and foundations, international development agencies, in-country grantors across Latin America and corporate granting bodies focused on climate change, nature tech and sustainable and livelihood development. This strategic role has significant opportunities for growth as Taking Root expands across Latin America and will have the full support of the C-Suite and commercial team to succeed.
This is a full-time position, and we are open to full-time remote work within Canada. Our office is in Vancouver, BC, and is available for employees who prefer in-person settings. While our preference is for candidates who are located in Canada, we are open to candidates within the western hemisphere.
Our compensation is benchmarked to Canadian metropolitan compensation and based on experience. We work with a diverse set of international partners and especially encourage Indigenous Peoples, members of racial minorities, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+, and members of other underrepresented groups to apply.
What’s it like to work at Taking Root?
We’re a team of purpose-driven individuals, united in our goal to restore the world’s forests. Our workforce is a mixture of hybrid and fully remote, but we make space for connection and collaboration. Sharing pet photos is encouraged, regular organizational updates are the norm, and each fiscal year starts with an all-team in-person event (appropriately named ‘Roots’, because we love tree puns almost as much as we love trees). Employee health is a priority for Taking Root, and we continually strive to build a work environment that fosters growth, compassion, and transparency.
Our organizational values are:
• We do it for nature.
• Be in service of those stewarding the land.
• Always pursue more impact.
• Face the unknown with courage.
• Help each other grow.
Responsibilities:
• Responsible for the development of a grants strategy working closely with the Chief Commercial Officer. The strategy’s goal will be to accelerate the development and growth of Taking Root’s forest carbon programs by raising funds for project, technology and methodology development.
• Identifies and evaluates largescale funding opportunities from multi-national grantors and foundation, international development agencies, in-country grantors across Latin America, corporate grant making bodies focused on climate change, nature tech and sustainable and livelihood development.
• Builds and maintains long-term relationships and a network of high potential funders through their existing personal network, direct outreach, attending industry events, and co-creating inbound campaigns with the marketing team.
• Leads the development and scoping of project funding value propositions/concepts and related sales materials by collaborating with Taking Root’s operations, expansion, technology and methodologies teams and relevant C-Suite members to define potential projects and budget requirements.
• Identifies, recommends and helps build strategic industry partnerships to build project consortiums with local implementing partners, industry associations and service providers for largescale project concepts and proposals.
• Responsible for moving opportunities along the full business development lifecycle including funder discovery, proposal creation and submission with support from the C-Suite, marketing team, sales team, finance team and project related teams.
• Leads reporting of progress against the grants strategy, grants pipeline, including monthly reporting presented to the organizations’ C-Suite and advocates for actions the organization should take to optimize grants revenue
• Oversees timely deliverables for grant agreements by co-ordinating across responsible teams for project deliverables.
Skills, Qualifications, and Experience required:
We especially encourage those with unconventional experience, education, or career paths to apply, even if you may not meet the precise requirements listed in this posting.
• 7+ years experience in fundraising, project financing, or project development
• An existing network and set of relationships with funders within international development, climate, and/or nature tech
• Experience raising funding for international development/climate/nature projects in Latin America is a plus
• Exceptional relationship building skills to create champions and advocates of Taking Root’s model with decision-makers
• A high-level of ambition, combined with discernment, to create large-scale project concepts which fit with the organization’s strategic priorities and local project realities
• Effective presenter, with the ability to pitch the organization and project concepts to potential funders
• Experience overseeing and winning funding proposals for projects which achieve grantor priorities such as technology, livelihood, environmental and/or nature outcomes.
• Experience building project consortiums for funder proposals
• Experience creating and writing compelling and persuasive funding proposals and presentations
• University degree in related discipline or equivalent relevant experience.
• Spanish speaking is a plus
• Strong writing skills is a plus
• Experience working with CRMs is a plus
How to apply
Submit a cover letter and resume via our portal. We value every application; however, only those applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.
Taking Root has a diverse team of talented people across gender and racial spectrums. We have created a culture of innovation, diversity, and inclusivity, striving for open discussions, best hiring and operational practices. We hire and promote based on merit, competence, performance, successful milestones, and business needs. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind, be that based on race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, ancestry, disability, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal or provincial laws.