National Director, Philanthropy & Communications

Employment Type: Full-time, permanent

Reports to: President & CEO

Location: Toronto, ON (Yonge & Eglinton) – Hybrid work arrangement

Website: www.easterseals.ca

Start Date: January 2027

Level: Senior leadership

Salary Range: $130,000 - $150,000 annually; hiring range $130,000 - $140,000

Posting open until: Tuesday, November 24, 2026

ORGANIZATION:

Easter Seals is a trusted industry leader and Canada’s largest local provider of programs, services, issues leadership and development for the disability community. Since 1922, we have worked to enhance the quality of life, self-esteem and self-determination of Canadians living with disabilities. Serving a broad range of individuals with varying physical, cognitive, sensory and learning disabilities, Easter Seals helps to ensure that all Canadians living with disabilities have access to the equipment, technology, programs, services and support they need to make the most of their abilities and participate fully in society.

Easter Seals operates as a federated organization: Easter Seals Canada works alongside provincial affiliates across the country, each with its own staff, donors, programs, and community relationships.

POSITION:

Easter Seals Canada is building a stronger, more sustainable leadership structure to support its next stage of growth. The National Director, Philanthropy & Communications is a leadership role reporting to the President & CEO. This role brings national fundraising and communications together under one leader, so that brand, donor communications, and revenue generation work as one integrated function.





The National Director will serve as a strategic thought partner to the CEO and will lead a small, growing team. The role is central to a renewed vision for national philanthropy: National as a hub of best practice, shared resources, and collaboration that strengthens both national capacity and provincial success – a rising tide that lifts all ships. Easter Seals Canada will lead the nation-wide partnerships that need one coordinated approach, build new sources of recurring, non-designated revenue, and pass relationships and opportunities to provincial affiliates where they are best held locally.

This is an opportunity for an experienced fundraising and communications leader who thrives on building and growing, excels at working with a broad range of stakeholders, and brings the strategic thinking, diplomacy, and sound judgment needed to navigate competing priorities, diverse perspectives, and shared goals.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

National philanthropy strategy and leadership

- Lead the development and execution of a multi-year national philanthropy and communications strategy aligned with Easter Seals Canada’s mission, organizational priorities, and federated operating model
- Act as a strategic thought partner to the CEO, taking ownership of fundraising and communications priorities and bringing forward clear recommendations
- Set annual revenue goals and budgets,



and report performance to the CEO, Board of Directors, and National Development Committee
- Clearly distinguish designated and undesignated revenue in planning and reporting, and help leadership and the Board understand the role of philanthropy alongside non-philanthropic revenue sources, such as the Access2 program
- Establish systems and reporting practices that support pipeline management, donor engagement, succession planning, and decision-making

National hub for the provinces

- Position national philanthropy as a centre of excellence that shares best practices, tools, templates, case-for-support materials, and learning opportunities with provincial affiliates
- Lead and steward the National Development Committee as the primary forum for coordination with provincial fundraising leaders
- Recognize, elevate and learn from the deep fundraising expertise held within provincial affiliates, building trust as a peer and collaborator
- Coordinate multi-provincial opportunities, prospect clearance, and the hand-off of relationships and prospects to provinces where they are best stewarded locally
- Support a consistent donor experience and brand across Canada while respecting local context, relationships, and strengths
- Navigate competing priorities and varying national and provincial perspectives with diplomacy, transparency, and a partnership mindset

National partnerships and major gifts

- Steward and grow nation-wide and multi-provincial corporate partnerships that require a coordinated, national approach
- Identify, cultivate, and secure recent national corporate, foundation, and major gift partners
- Work

📌 National Director, Philanthropy (Toronto)
🏢 Easter Seals Canada
📍 Toronto