Strategic Partnerships Lead

Systemic Justice is looking for a new colleague who can help us fundraise and advance our strategic partnerships to meet our ambitious fundraising goals in support of racial, social, and economic justice across Europe. This an exciting opportunity for an early to mid-career fundraiser to grow along with a young and expanding organisation with an ambitious vision for systemic change, driven by communities who are resisting injustice.

This role is ideal for someone who has previously held roles with titles such as Officer for Philanthropic Partnerships, Fundraising Officer, Partnerships and Grants Officer, Philanthropy Officer, Trusts and Foundations Fundraising Officer.

If this sounds like you, read on to see if your profile matches what we are looking for and join our upcoming information call to learn more.

About Systemic Justice

Systemic Justice works to radically transform how the law serves communities campaigning for racial, social, and economic justice. We believe that those most impacted by systemic injustices should be at the centre of efforts to dismantle them. That’s why we partner with communities to co-create and co-implement litigation strategies and litigate cases that challenge the structures perpetuating inequality and harm.

The role

• Position type: full-time (4 days per week, 32-hour work week)
• Duration: 12 months with possibility of extension
• Location: Remote, based within the European Union
• Compensation: Annual gross salary up to EUR 52.500 + up to 10% pension contribution.

The Strategic Partnerships Lead is responsible for leading and expanding our fundraising efforts at Systemic Justice. The organisation has an ambitious growth and development plan and is looking for a dedicated professional to consolidate and deepen our existing fundraising relationships and support us in securing new pathways for funding support – always in a values-aligned way.

This is the first ever dedicated fundraising position at Systemic Justice and hence a critical step in further developing the organisation’s fundraising approach. This is a great opportunity for an up-and-coming fundraiser to join the team, shape this role and our fundraising approach. Successful fundraising brings the opportunity to expand the fundraising function and grow a fundraising team.

Our ideal candidate embodies strategic thinking, an understanding of community-driven approaches, and a passion for justice. They will be able to build on a clear vision of the European philanthropic landscape, enhance the foundations we’ve already put in place, and develop effective fundraising strategies and tactics that will help us achieve our goals.

Key responsibilities

Below are the key responsibilities of the Strategic Partnerships Lead, including indicative percentages of the time anticipated to be spent on each element once the role is fully up and running. As the first 6 months will be focused on setting up and establishing the administration, workflows and processes supporting Systemic Justice’s fundraising, there will be an increased focus on those components during that timeframe.

Proposal and partnership development – 10-15%

• Oversee the full grant application process, from initial concept note to full proposal ensuring alignment with funders’ needs; and work collaboratively with respective teams to produce high quality funding proposals in a timely and organised manner.
• Manage and oversee current donor compliance and reporting obligations, maintaining a calendar of reporting and restrictions, and work collaboratively with respective teams to produce high quality donor reports.
• Build and nurture strategic partnerships that align with the organisation’s mission, values, and funding needs to grow our exposure to target audiences, and help us receive in-kind value to meet operational needs.

Donor relationship management – 20-25%

• Develop a clear strategic approach for building new and sustaining existing donor relationships.
• Through networking and research, have up to date knowledge on the funding community and trends in the philanthropic sector, including existing donors, to direct our fundraising efforts, advising the organisation on most impactful ways to engage with donors.
• Use knowledge and information on the funding community, trends and individual funding institutions/organisations to enable Systemic Justice to effectively communicate our work to the donor community.
• Represent Systemic Justice at funding forums, donor roundtables, and networking events to elevate our profile within the funding community, including securing Systemic Justice speaking opportunities.
• Work cross-organisationally to have the best information and outputs to support fundraising efforts (e.g. legal and communications teams to produce stories of change and new narratives to depict our work effectively).

Strategy development – 15-20%

• Work with the Executive Director and the senior leadership team to develop a fundraising strategy and operationalise it to enable Systemic Justice to meet the aspirations of its next strategic plan, including diversifying our funding base in the current funding climate.

Donor prospecting and pipeline development – 40-45%

• Review and improve on current pipeline process and develop a clear approach to managing the donor pipeline.
• Grow the organisation’s donor prospect list bringing on board new donors, particularly in the current priority audience of philanthropic foundations and corporate partners. There is scope to bring in a student researcher to support the research activities.
• Analyse donor data to identify how it aligns with Systemic Justice’s work and funding priorities; and develop a system for priority setting.
• Develop different versions of Systemic Justice’s value proposition to reach a broader donor base.
• Develop a clear strategic approach for donor engagement and cultivation to guide prospects through the fundraising journey (from prospect to prioritisation to pipeline), as well as managing renewals of current grants.

Fundraising knowledge information systems and processes – 5%

• Document and manage organisational donor information, both historical and current.
• Work with our new CRM system to update and input data, and define progress and tracking reports needed.
• Map existing fundraising systems, processes, tools and products and identify any gaps.
• Operationalise a plan to ensure gaps in the systems and processes are filled to facilitate, accelerate, and optimise fundraising efforts.

What we hope you’ll bring

• Strong fundraising experience with private philanthropic organisations including ability to nurture funding relationships from prospects to strategic partnership.
• An entrepreneurial energy and keenness to innovate, take risks, and create opportunities.
• Strong programme and project management skills, including planning, delivery, and risk management.
• Strong networking skills, knowledge and experience of the European funding sector.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritise and balance multiple tasks.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills, with experience of facilitating collaboration across diverse stakeholders.
• Financial management skills, including monitoring budgets and preparing reports.
• Knowledge of monitoring, evaluation, and learning methods and their application in programme delivery.
• Understanding of community-driven approaches to social justice and litigation.
• Awareness of structural racism, discrimination, and systemic injustice, and their impact on marginalised communities.
• Ability to translate Systemic Justice's foundational values into fundraising practice.
• Fluency in written and verbal English.
• Excitement about social justice.

Anticipated impact in first six months

1-2 months

• Develop a clear and deep understanding of the organisation's mission, funding needs, and existing funding and donor relationships.
• Document and manage organisational donor information, both historical and current.
• Work with our new CRM system to update and input data and define progress and tracking reports needed.
• Map needed and existing fundraising (including for proposal development and reporting) systems, processes, tools, and products.
• Review and improve on current pipeline process and develop a clear approach to managing the donor pipeline.
• Conduct a funding landscape analysis to identify key philanthropic and institutional funding opportunities; constitute a long list of prospective donors, qualification criteria and a subsequent shortlist for prioritisation.

3-4 months

• Based on donor analyses, produce a set of Systemic Justice’s value propositions to broaden our donor base and generate internal communication outputs to better position ourselves within the donor community.

• Strategic approach for building new and sustaining existing donor relationships in place.

• Strategic approach for donor engagement and cultivation to guide prospects through the fundraising journey (from prospect to prioritisation to pipeline) in place.

• Orchestrate outreach to warm leads, engaging team members wherever deemed of added value.

• Initiate renewal and upgrade conversations with existing donors in accordance with their funding cycle.

• Secure at least two exploratory meetings with new major institutional donors or potential philanthropic partners.

• Submit at least one high-value funding proposal aligned with organisational priorities.

• Develop a priority list of key fundraising events or donor roundtables for leadership to attend and begin securing speaking engagements to increase exposure to relevant donor audiences and deepen engagement.

5-6 months

• Build a pipeline of at least five potential funders, with active relationship-building efforts in place.
• Secure at least one new funding commitment (grant, major gift, or partnership).
• Develop a comprehensive multi-year fundraising strategy to meet our annual and long-term funding goals, to support the development of the organisation and the delivery of our mission.
• Present a mid-year fundraising report and the fundraising strategy to senior leadership.
• Operationalise a plan to ensure gaps in the systems and processes are filled to facilitate, accelerate, and optimise fundraising efforts.

Conditions

Position type: full-time (4 days per week, 32-hour work week)

Duration: 12 months with possibility of a permanent contract after the initial 12-month period, based on funding and organisational needs.

Compensation: Annual gross salary up to EUR 52.500 + up to 10% pension contribution. The salary may be adjusted down based on the cost of living in the country of the applicant, which means the salary may be lower (but not higher) than the advertised rate. Systemic Justice relies on EUROSTAT to determine cost of living rates in Europe.

Location: Candidates must be based in the European Union and have the right to work in their country of residence.

Travel: Periodic travel across the Council of Europe region to engage with communities, partners, and team members is required.

Staff meet-ups: Our team meets in person three times a year to discuss strategy, organisational development, team well-being, and more. In addition to this, individual team members meet bilaterally or in smaller groups when needed.

Contract and payroll: While Systemic Justice is registered in the Netherlands, our team is employed on local employment contracts in the jurisdictions they live and work. Payroll is also run locally.

Application process

Key dates

• Application deadline: Sunday 18 January 2026 at 23:59 CET.
• First interviews (online): 22 January 2026
• Second interviews (in person): 5 February 2026

We are organising an information call, where anyone interested in applying can join and learn more about our organisation, the role, and the process. The call will take place on 14 January 2026 at 17:30 CET. You can register here.

How to apply

Your application should consist of your CV, and – instead of a traditional cover letter – a written response to these three questions (max 300 words per answer):

• Looking at the expectations for the role over the first 6 months, please outline your approach for, first, getting started into the work, and then, ensuring you meet the listed deliverables.
• What are the fundamental practices or principles that underpin a successful fundraising strategy for an organisation like Systemic Justice?
• Our work is rooted in our foundational values of anti-oppression, intersectionality and justice. How do you envisage this shaping our strategic partnerships on a practical level?

Our work is rooted in our foundational values of anti-oppression, intersectionality, and justice. We invite anyone who does not have lived experience with systems of oppression to reflect on their suitability for this role before applying, and to address this as an introduction to their responses to the above questions if they choose to apply.

A note on AI: Systemic Justice does not use AI in its recruitment processes. As an organisation which recognises how AI can harm marginalised communities, we ask the same of our candidates.

Re-advertisement: Please note there is no need for you to apply for this position if you applied for our most recent (October/November) Strategic Partnerships Lead position – your previous application will be considered as part of this recruitment process.

Equal opportunities statement

Systemic Justice is deeply committed to building an organisation that reflects the communities we work with. We understand that creating transformative change requires bringing together diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise. When we say we want to transform how the law works for communities fighting for justice, we mean transforming who has access to legal careers as well.

Decisions related to hiring, compensation, training, evaluating performance, and termination are made fairly and transparently. We provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified candidates and employees. This commitment to equity extends across every aspect of our employment practices and organisational culture.

We strongly encourage applications from people with lived experience of the injustices we work to address, as well as people who examine their positionality and take responsibility for creating diverse, equitable, inclusive work environments.

SDG Impact