Senior Manager of Development and Communications

Ernestine's Women's Shelter is seeking an experienced Senior Manager of Development and Communications to join our leadership team and take Ernestine's from a +$700K community fundraising base to a diversified revenue strategy with year-over-year growth. Reporting directly to the Executive Director, you will shape the fundraising strategy, cultivate transformational donors, and build sustainable revenue that directly changes the lives of survivors of gender-based violence. Investments helps survivors fleeing violence access emergency shelter, housing support, counselling, children's programming, legal advocacy and long-term safety. The Senior Manager of Development and Communications plays a critical leadership role in ensuring Ernestine's can continue expanding these life-saving services.

Our Story

Since 1983, Ernestine’s has helped over 15,000 individuals and children rebuild with dignity and independence. Today, we serve over 700 survivors each year.

In the early 1980s, a group of fierce advocates came together to create a safe haven for people experiencing gender-based violence. Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter was one of the first shelters in Toronto to support women and their children together. What started as a grassroots response to gender-based violence has grown into a multi-service organization. Ernestine’s provides life-changing and life-saving supports for survivors and their children who are experiencing, or at risk of, gender-based violence. Ernestine’s offers wraparound support that works to break the cycle of violence, for good. These supports include housing, legal, financial, childcare, immigration services, mental health counselling, safety planning, system navigation, child-centered programming, and more. These are the building blocks of long-term safety and stability.

In 2025, our community donors generously supported Ernestine’s with contributions totaling over $722K that directly impacted the lives of survivors.

Our Vision

Transforming lives beyond violence.

Our Mission

Ernestine's provides advocacy, crisis intervention and shelter to adults and children experiencing violence, including women and Two-Spirit, trans, non-binary and gender diverse individuals.

Our values

Compassion: We cultivate a practice of empathy, kindness and hope.

Respect: We work to be a diverse and inclusive community where all feel welcome and can thrive.

Equity & Liberation: We declare that every person is inherently worthy and has the right to flourish with dignity, love, and compassion.

Autonomy: We affirm and support each person’s unique journey and experiences and their right to make their own choices.

Our Team

Ernestine’s’ mission is executed by a team of highly committed individuals in three distinct program areas: Direct Service; Engagement & Development; Finance & Administration. The Direct Service Team consists of dedicated staff that provides programs and services in our 35 bed shelter, as well as community outreach programs.

The Position

Ernestine’s is seeking a strategic and active Senior Manager of Development and Communications to lead Ernestine's comprehensive fundraising, donor engagement, and communications strategy. As a member of the senior leadership team, with 2-3 direct-reports, you will develop and execute innovative fundraising initiatives that diversify and grow revenue through individual giving, major gifts, foundations, corporations, and in-kind contributions.

The Senior Manager will be responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding investments while building long-term relationships with major donors, monthly donors, corporate partners, foundations, and community stakeholders. You will lead the organization's major gifts program, proactively investigating and securing new revenue-generating opportunities that advance Ernestine's mission and long-term sustainability.

You will provide strategic leadership for development-related communications, including oversight of digital media (social media, website, e-newsletters), events promotions, announcements, preparing compelling proposals and ensuring timely reporting. You will also oversee fundraising campaigns and events including International Women’s Day, Stand Up for Ernestine’s and Summer Brew for Ernestine's, and communications initiatives that elevate Ernestine's profile, strengthen community partnerships, and deepen public investment in our mission.

The successful candidate is a visionary fundraising leader with a proven ability to build meaningful relationships, inspire philanthropy, and secure significant investments that enable Ernestine's Women’s Shelter to expand its impact and support survivors fleeing violence.

Key Accountabilities

Fundraising and Revenue Growth

• Grow annual fundraising of + $700K base through a diversified mix of individual giving, major gifts, foundations, corporate partnerships and government funding.
• Lead a strategic stewardship plan that ensures timely and meaningful recognition, ensuring dedicated personalized relationship building with major and high-potential donors and supports long-term retention.
• Develop and implement a donor engagement calendar to ensure timely execution of stewardship tasks, including communications, reporting, recognition activities and engagement touchpoints
• Execute plans and strategies to acquire and retain corporate donors.
• Proactively identify and engage high-potential prospects across individual, foundation, and corporate audiences through research, networking, referrals, and relationship development.
• Build, manage, and grow a portfolio of donors, foundations, corporations, sponsors, and institutional funders.

Donor Communications and Recognition

• Develop stewardship communication templates and guidelines, including custom acknowledgement letters and donor-specific reports, to ensure consistent, personalized donor communications.
• Work with the Donor Services Coordinator to maintain accurate donor records in Raiser's Edge (RE) for donor engagement, communication and recognition.
• Draft and oversee donor-targeted communications including personalized proposals, impact reports, and newsletters.
• Contribute to organization’s communication activities including appeals for support, annual reports, website, social media and other activities, when required.
• Prepare compelling funding proposals, donor presentations, briefing materials, and stewardship reports.
• Represent Ernestine’s at meetings, conferences, events and in media.

Leadership and Reporting

• Develop and manage annual department budgets and report on variances.
• Develop the strategic direction for the department and the design of policies and procedures to support those directions, aligning with Ernestine’s long term strategic plan objectives.
• Develop annual fundraising plans, revenue forecasts, and prospect opportunities.
• Collaborate with management team to gather relevant information for reports to funders and donors.
• In collaboration with the Executive Director, create and run an annual Board Directors fundraising orientation, so that every Director understands what is expected of them in cultivating new relationships for Ernestine’s, warm introductions and in attaining their personal giving goals.
• Serve as the staff lead to the Board's fundraising efforts. Equip Directors with prospect lists, briefing notes and talking points, to support their individual Board giving and outreach goals.

Key Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years of progressively senior fundraising leadership experience.
• Demonstrated success leading annual fundraising programs with year-over-year growth.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully solicit investments, managing a portfolio of individuals, designing and implementing cultivation strategies, building relationships, and ensuring follow-up activities and stewardship.
• Demonstrated success securing major gifts, sponsorships and philanthropic investments ranging from five- to six-figure commitments.
• Experience working directly with Board Directors and Executive leadership.
• University degree in business, communications, public policy, nonprofit management, marketing, or related discipline.
• A developed analysis of gender‐based violence and broader social justice issues.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to provide information concisely and effectively to any audience or supporter.
• Comfort working with a communications team on digital campaigns (using platforms such as LinkedIn, X, YouTube) to reach target audiences.
• Direct experience implementing fundraising solicitation applications including: mass direct mail; email; and online fundraising technology.
• Ability to travel across the GTA occasionally.
• CFRE designation or equivalent fundraising training is considered an asset.

What Your First Year Will Look Like:

• Proposing and securing approval for a multi-year diversified fundraising and revenue growth strategy, with clear annual targets, priorities and measures of success;
• Building the systems, processes and team capacity needed to strengthen major gifts, donor stewardship, grants, corporate partnerships and Board engagement;
• Developing and strengthening key donor, corporate, foundation, and community relationships on behalf of Ernestine’s, with a focus on building a strong pipeline of transformational funding opportunities.

Job Details:

Job Type: Full-Time Permanent

Hours of Work: 35 hours per week

Salary Range: $95,000 to $110,000 annually

Work Arrangement: Onsite, with possibility of hybrid after 3 – 6 months

You will benefit from:

Competitive compensation

Paid vacation and sick benefits

RRSP benefits

Employer fully paid Group Insurance benefits

Career growth and professional development opportunities

How to Apply

If this opportunity resonates with you, please send your resume and cover letter outlining how your experience aligns with the role to humanresources@ernestines.ca.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and racialized individuals are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Ernestine’s we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. If this role aligns with your passions but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

If contacted, please advise if you require accommodation at any juncture of the recruitment and/or hiring process.

Application deadline: October 30th, 2026 by 5PM