Associate Director, Philanthropic Advising

About Us

Climate Lead empowers philanthropic leaders everywhere to take immediate and far-reaching climate action. Climate Lead equips new climate philanthropists with the information and insights they need to drive transformative solutions by serving as an impartial guide. We cut through the complexity by curating roadmaps in partnership with a diverse network of experts to help philanthropists make a bold impact on climate from day one.

Summary

The Associate Director, Philanthropic Advising, is the architect of Climate Lead’s donor support ecosystem. This role leads the team of Philanthropy Project Managers who serve as the critical backbone for our Relationship Managers. Your first mission is to transition the organization from a variable-support model to a unified donor service engine as we grow.

The Associate Director serves as a high-level coach, force multiplier, and strategist, ensuring that every project manager has the skills, tools, and leadership required to deliver elite support to our Relationship Managers (also known as Advisors). By bridging the gap between team performance and donor outcomes, you will ensure our Advisors have the capacity and high-caliber deliverables required to secure transformative climate gifts.

Managerial Responsibilities

This role has 4 direct reports to start - a team of philanthropic project managers that will grow alongside the relationship management/donor advisory team.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Talent Development (50%)

• Serve as the primary mentor for a team of Project Managers, shifting from task supervision to coaching that fosters independent problem-solving.
• Define, implement, and continuously refine guidelines for donor support to ensure a consistent, high-quality experience for Relationship Managers and donors, regardless of which Project Manager is assigned to the portfolio.
• In partnership with the People Team, develop and maintain a clear competency framework and growth paths to ensure team members acquire new skills and have the tools and support needed to map and lead their own growth and development.
• Lead the design of a robust training program that equips new project management hires with a deep understanding of climate philanthropy, internal systems, and donor-stewardship best practices.
• Dynamically manage team assignments to balance workloads, ensuring that high-priority donor "big bets" have the necessary support while preventing burnout.
• Drive annual individual goal-setting to support the achievement of each team member’s highest potential; deliver performance reviews that unlock continuous growth, development, and improvement.

Strategic Relationship Manager Partnership (50%)

• Strengthen existing post-production reviews and feedback structures with Relationship Managers and key internal partners throughout the organization to inform the growth and evolution of the project management function, ensuring the group's direct contribution to the broader Philanthropy Team’s success.
• Partner with Philanthropy leadership to align team capacity with organizational ‘Key Results.
• Oversee the evolution of donor deliverables (outreach plans, roadmaps, etc.), ensuring they remain market-leading and impactful.
• Act as the primary implementation partner for key cross-functional team members and partners; translate best practices and feedback loops into the daily team operations; help evolve organizational practices and playbooks.
• Collaborate with Operations to ensure Salesforce and project management tools are utilized to provide data-driven insights into team productivity and donor progress.
• Collaborate with the Communications and the New Donor Strategy team to define and further evolve project managers’ roles in events and events strategy.

Success Criteria

Leading: creates an environment where others feel supported, empowered, and able to contribute fully by

• Ensuring growth and development, as demonstrated by high team morale and a measurable increase in the independence and strategic contribution of direct reports.
• Balancing individual growth with collective urgency.
• Adapting communication so others understand and engage more easily.
• Creating space for others to be themselves and fully contribute to climate work.
• Modeling healthy, balanced, and effective work practices in a high-stakes environment.
• Collaborating: builds bridges across individual differences to multiply our collective impact, creating connections that strengthen our whole ecosystem by
• Shaping a consistent experience: Relationship Managers and cross-functional partners report reliable, high-quality support.
• Facilitating conversations rather than dominating them.
• Helping team members build their own cross-functional relationships.
• Translating between different perspectives and working styles.

Driving Results: balances urgency of climate solutions with sustainable, human-centered progress by

• Delivering quality: internal and external stakeholders recognize donor-facing materials as consistently accurate, professional, and strategically aligned.
• Unlocking fundraising velocity: the donor-support engine reduces the administrative burden on Relationship Managers, directly increasing the time they spend in front of donors.
• Helping team members connect daily work to climate impact.
• Making difficult prioritization decisions with transparency.
• Protecting the team from unnecessary urgency while maintaining focus.
• Being the expert: sharing knowledge generously while staying curious and humble by
• Teaching through powerful questions and mutual learning.
• Connecting team to learning opportunities.
• Modeling continuous learning in a rapidly evolving field.

Required Experience

• 7–10 years of experience in philanthropy, donor relations, or high-touch client service operations.
• 5-10 years of experience leading a small, hybrid, and distributed team, with a proven track record of managing a number of individual contributors or project managers with similar roles.
• Demonstrated ability to support team members in finding their professional development paths.
• Deep understanding of the principal gift development cycle and the nuances of stewarding high-net-worth individuals.
• Experience building or growing support functions within a growing organization; finding economies of scale while maintaining high staff engagement and high-quality work.
• High proficiency in Salesforce, project management best practices, and project management software (e.g., Asana).
• Exceptional ability to translate complex climate strategies into clear, persuasive donor communications.
• Experience working internationally or with European colleagues preferred.

Salary Range: $169,000 - $188,000

Work Environment

Climate Lead is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. This position operates in a hybrid environment and is based in our San Francisco, CA, office. Staff in the San Francisco Bay Area currently work in the office Tuesday through Thursday each week and typically work from home the other days.

At the Climate Lead, we value diversity and always treat all employees and job applicants on the basis of merit, qualifications, competence, and talent. We do not discriminate on the basis of or traits historically associated with race, color, religion, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status), domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.