About Ocean Conservancy

Ocean Conservancy works to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together with our partners, we create evidence-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it.

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Position Summary

The Foundation and Government Support team has enjoyed great success and currently manages approximately $20 million in revenue from foundation and government donors. Ocean Conservancy is increasingly global in nature, with this portfolio being a mix of U.S.-based and international funding that contributes to both restricted and unrestricted support from family foundations and government agencies (including bilateral and multilateral donors). The Foundation and Government Support team is a fast-paced, mission-driven group of professionals with expertise in all aspects of portfolio management and new business generation.

The Senior Portfolio Manager advances Ocean Conservancy’s philanthropic partnerships with foundations and government agencies, playing a key role in managing the team’s $20 million portfolio and ensuring successful management and operation of their own portfolio. This position will provide comprehensive management for a docket of U.S.-based and international foundation and government donors, including assembling and submitting grant proposals and reports, establishing and maintaining relationships with donors, conducting prospect research, and maintaining donor records. Reporting to the Senior Director of Foundations and Government Support, this position will work across Ocean Conservancy’s fundraising, programmatic, finance, and communications teams to meet tight document submission deadlines and facilitate direct communication between funders and program staff.

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Primary Responsibilities

• Leads all aspects of portfolio management for a robust docket of and foundation and government funders. Includes staying current on a dynamic body of program work and effectively communicating this work and its impact to funders as well as coordinating the contributions of multiple teams.
• Works with the Director to develop fundraising strategies, especially as part of the annual revenue projection process.
• Develops compelling cases for support in ways that convey the impact and imperative of Ocean Conservancy’s programmatic initiatives. This includes but is not limited to preparing proposals, letters of inquiry, grant reports, email correspondence, presentations, and acknowledgment letters. Responsibilities include drafting original copy, synthesizing content from various internal and external documents, copyediting and proofreading, and formatting documents.
• Collaborates with finance staff and program staff to prepare project budgets and financial reports to submit to funders.
• Researches and identifies new funder prospects for grant opportunities as needed. This includes developing research briefs as well as preparing senior staff for meetings and phone calls with foundation staff.
• Contributes to other written materials that serve the organization’s mission and conservation agenda as needed.
• Ensures continuity in and accountability for relationship management by maintaining systems and files to track funder contacts, funder profiles, proposal and reporting deadlines, and philanthropic commitments in Raiser’s Edge and hard-copy files. Also responsible for tracking proposal and report preparation assignments with program staff.
• Advances efforts to streamline grant management processes and procedures.

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Required Skills/Qualifications/Experience

• Minimum of five years of experience in grant writing, editing and related work (with proven track record of successful grant awards);
• Strong preference for experience working at a nonprofit organization, especially either domestic or global policy advocacy groups and/or conservation-related groups;
• Experience reviewing budgets and financial reports preferred;
• Strong written communication skills;
• Strong grammar and editing skills (knowledge of AP style a plus);
• Strong computer skills, including experience with prospect research tools, Excel and funder databases (Raiser’s Edge experience a plus);
• Attentiveness to details and strict adherence to deadlines and deliverables;
• Ability to work flexible hours (i.e., occasional evenings and weekends) demanded in a deadline-driven position;
• Ability to work independently and problem solve, as well as translate complex program content and maintain consistent high-quality work.
• Excellent interpersonal and verbal communication skills; and
• Highly collaborative with an appreciation of the benefit of a multi-disciplinary team approach.

Education/Training

Bachelor’s Degree in relevant field (degree in English a plus) or related experience.

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Compensation

Ocean Conservancy is committed to fair and equitable compensation as a foundation for fostering a diverse, inclusive, and thriving workplace where every employee feels valued and empowered. It has established pay structures informed by market data and ensures accountability through ongoing monitoring and reporting of its progress toward achieving more equitable pay practices.

The minimum starting salary for this position is $94,102 annually. Final compensation offers will be determined at the end of the recruitment process based on factors such as the candidate’s location, qualifications, background, experience, and internal pay equity considerations. To ensure alignment, candidates are encouraged to share their salary expectations early. This allows for meaningful discussions about compensation and helps ensure alignment and equity before a final offer.

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Hybrid Work Environment

Ocean Conservancy embraces a hybrid work environment, which allows our staff the flexibility to work virtually and in-person while building strong connections across the institution.

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To Apply

If you think you’d be a great fit for the job and are interested in joining Ocean Conservancy’s team, please apply here. Please include a resume and cover letter in one file on your application.

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Equal Opportunity Employer

Ocean Conservancy provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

We encourage applicants who have a diverse level and range of relevant skills and experiences to apply. A 100% match is not required. We want to support employees’ career growth and in return, our employees help Ocean Conservancy grow into a stronger, more inclusive organization.

If you are a person with a disability and need help applying, please contact us at jobs@oceanconservancy.org.