THE OPPORTUNITY

The Vice President, Philanthropy is a key member of The Royal Foundation’s leadership team. Reporting to the President & CEO of the Foundation, the VP provides strategic leadership for the Foundation’s philanthropy program—advancing major, leadership (mid-level), and planned giving to support The Royal’s vision of lives reclaimed from mental illness and addiction.

Through the cultivation of meaningful relationships with donors and volunteers, the Vice President helps realize The Royal’s mission to advance specialized care and strengthen our region’s capacity to help people with mental illness and addiction through treatment, research, and education.

An experienced fundraiser and people leader, the Vice President oversees a team of fundraisers as well as fundraising operations and support staff, ensuring a coordinated, data-informed, and high-performing approach to donor engagement. The role provides strategic direction, mentorship, and operational oversight for all philanthropic activity within its areas of accountability, including campaign implementation and volunteer engagement related to leadership, major, and planned giving. With an understanding mindset, the ideal candidate will bring a joyful, inspiring energy and a passion for further building inclusive, collaborative and high-performing teams.

This is a truly exciting time to join The Royal Foundation team as we prepare to publicly launch a historic, comprehensive fundraising campaign in support of the priority needs of the Hospital and Research Institute. The Vice President is a critical member of the campaign team in advancing our campaign strategy and priorities, and is responsible for developing, managing, delivering, and evaluating all aspects of the campaign in partnership with the Foundation President & CEO, Hospital leadership, the Foundation leadership, staff and volunteer teams.

Working collaboratively across The Royal, the Vice President ensures the Philanthropy team’s fundraising strategies and outcomes are aligned with organizational priorities and contribute to a stronger, more accessible and effective system of mental illness and addictions care. A consummate relationship builder with experience working with internal and external partners, the Vice President will be a considerate, influential and resourceful leader with experience navigating change and multiple priorities in a complex and multi-stakeholder environment.

The Royal Foundation offers a competitive compensation package including base salary, incentive pay, health benefits, and participation in the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP). The hiring salary range for this role is $160,000 - $185,000 plus incentive compensation of up to 10% annually.

This position is based at the Foundation offices at 1145 Carling in Ottawa. The Foundation currently offers a hybrid work environment with Tuesday, Thursday, and one other day per week in office, or as required subject to business needs. Please note that the role requires willingness and availability to work flexible hours, including some after-hours work and weekends from time to time.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

In collaboration with the President & CEO of The Royal Foundation, the Vice President, Philanthropy will:

Philanthropy Leadership

• Strategic Direction: Provide leadership and oversight for all fundraising activity within leadership giving ($1K-$25K), major giving ($25K+), and planned giving.
• Fundraising: Maintain a personal portfolio of 60-100 strategically significant prospects and donors, advancing them through the fundraising cycle to achieve assigned goals.
• Team Leadership: Guide, coach, and evaluate fundraisers to ensure effective strategies, goal achievement, and professional growth.
• Performance Management: Establish clear fundraising goals and activity expectations for all members of the Philanthropy team, tracking progress and results.
• Financial Oversight: Oversee annual budgeting, forecasting, and financial performance metrics for Philanthropy to ensure effective resource allocation and return on investment.
• Equity & Inclusion: Ensure fundraising strategies and donor engagement approaches reflect principles of inclusion, equity, and reconciliation.

Campaign & Volunteer Leadership

• Campaign Execution: Lead campaign implementation and performance within the areas overseen by Philanthropy, collaborating with colleagues on the broader campaign strategy led by the President & CEO.
• Volunteer Engagement: Partner with the President & CEO to recruit, engage, and activate the Campaign Cabinet and other volunteer fundraisers.
• Clinical Engagement: Support the President & CEO in engaging hospital and clinical leadership on priorities for philanthropy.
• Board Relations: Collaborate with board members and volunteer committees to foster engagement, ensure alignment, and equip them to serve as ambassadors for The Royal.

People & Culture

• Coaching: Lead, coach, and develop Philanthropy staff to achieve individual and collective goals.
• Team Culture: Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team culture aligned with the Foundation’s Culture Code and values.
• Respect & Equity: Model and uphold The Royal’s Respectful Workplace policy and commitment to health equity and inclusion.

Donor Insights & Pipeline Management

• Prospect Research: Oversee prospect identification, research, and analysis to inform strategies and strengthen the donor pipeline.
• Pipeline Management: Direct prospect clearance, moves management, and portfolio activity across Philanthropy to ensure balanced capacity and continuous movement through the donor cycle.
• Systems & Reporting: Partner with Operations to maintain CRM accuracy, reporting, and operating procedures that enable effective portfolio and pipeline management.
• Program Support: Ensure the Donor Insights & Pipeline function supports all fundraising programs by providing high-quality data, analysis, and tools that drive informed strategy and performance.

Collaboration Across the Foundation

• Leadership Collaboration: Work with the Foundation’s leadership team to implement the strategic plan and align Philanthropy activities with organizational priorities.
• Communications & Donor Experience: Partner on donor experience, recognition, stewardship, impact reporting, proposal writing, fundraising tool development, and donor communications to ensure consistent and meaningful engagement.
• Community Partnerships & Events: Collaborate with the CP&E team to support the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of select sponsors; engage volunteer leaders and donors in key event opportunities; and coordinate stewardship events and donor gift announcements.
• Operations: Partner on CRM data integrity, reporting, operating procedures, grant management, and risk management to ensure accuracy and compliance.
• Executive Partnership: Partner with the President & CEO on the Foundation’s strategic and operating plans, campaign advancement, and top prospect and volunteer engagement.

Risk, Compliance & Continuous Improvement

• Compliance: Ensure adherence to legal, regulatory, and donor agreement obligations, including CRA requirements and ethical fundraising standards.
• Risk Management: Partner with Operations to identify and mitigate risks related to donor agreements, privacy, and major gifts.
• Innovation: Stay informed of philanthropic trends and innovations, integrating best practices that enhance performance and donor experience.
• Ambassadorship: Represent the Foundation in the community, cultivating relationships with civic, corporate, and community leaders to advance philanthropy. 

QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES

• Passion and enthusiasm for the mission, vision, and strategic direction of The Royal and The Royal Foundation.
• Progressive fundraising leadership experience, with proven results in delivering successful donor development strategies and programs, ideally within a hospital, education, or other complex setting. 
• Demonstrated track-record of success is required in cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual, corporate, and foundation prospects and donors of Major gifts and Planned gifts at the 6-figure level or higher.
• Knowledge and demonstrated experience with mid-level giving strategies and programs. 
• Experience in the successful execution of major fundraising campaigns is a strong asset.
• Experience developing budgets, forecasts, and tracking and reporting against goals.
• Demonstrated success in building and retaining a high-performing team including recruiting, developing, managing, and inspiring staff.
• Experience providing leadership, supporting, and mobilizing senior volunteers.
• Exceptional interpersonal and relationship building abilities.
• Excellent communication skills including superior verbal, written, and presentation skills; language abilities in French will be considered an asset.
• University degree or equivalent experience and education. 
• Knowledge of financial, legal and regulatory requirements of a non-profit organization.

Qualities and Behaviours

• Strategic and analytical with a creative mindset.
• Data-driven in strategy development and decision making.  
• A leader who is able to motivate and inspire groups and individuals.
• Ability to understand and articulate complex health care fundraising priorities to prospects and donors.
• Committed to the highest standard of ethical fundraising practice.

ABOUT THE ROYAL

The Royal is a hospital specializing in the treatment and study of mental illness and addiction. Through care, research, education, and partnerships, we improve access, strengthen treatment, and help change how mental illness and addiction are understood and treated everywhere.

The Royal’s primary role is to serve people 16 and older living with complex and persistent mental illness. For most of our programs, patients in need of the highly specialized care we provide are referred by physicians or nurse practitioners in our community.

Most of The Royal’s patients receive care without ever walking through our doors. The majority of our patients live in eastern Ontario, but some of our specialized programs reach into northern Ontario, Quebec, and Nunavut. 

The Royal has two campuses located in Eastern Ontario:

• Ottawa: A 210-bed state-of-the-art mental health facility and a 96-bed facility (32 recovery beds and 64 long-term care beds).
• Brockville: A specialized mental health facility with 163 inpatient beds, including 63 in the Forensic Treatment Unit and 100 in the Secure Treatment Unit.

The Royal has other facilities located across the region, including:

• The Community Mental Health Program, located in Carlingwood Shopping Centre, with additional community clinics around the region, including Brockville and Ottawa.
• Two Operational Stress Injury Clinics in Arnprior and Kingston. These programs provide care for clients of Veterans Affairs Canada, members of the Canadian Forces and the RCMP and their families.

The Royal works with its many partners in the community to build their capacity to care for their patients. We also educate and train thousands of health care professionals each year and work to increase the systems capacity to deliver high quality mental illness and addiction care. 

The Royal lives by its Values – “iCARE”:  Innovation, Collaboration, Accountability, Respect and

Excellence. The iCARE values guide how we treat one another, care for our patients and serve our community.

Research at The Royal

Research conducted at The Royal aims to transform understanding of the brain and mental illness, and use evidence-based discoveries to inform care, improve outcomes, and drive system and social change. Through dedicated research focused on incubating innovation, improving treatment interventions, and advancing prevention strategies, we are helping to bring hope to people living with mental illness and addiction.

Researchers at The Royal specialize in complex and treatment-resistant mental illness, and conduct innovative work that is leading to the development of more personalized and alternative treatment options, to help improve patient care locally and globally. 

The Royal’s researchers are tackling important mental health questions in a number of different areas, including depression and anxiety; trauma and stress-related disorders; severe and complex mental illness; addiction; suicide prevention; sleep disorders; military mental health; and equitable mental health. 

The Royal is home to a number of dedicated research facilities including the Brain Imaging Centre and the Sleep Research Laboratory, which are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies that enable researchers to study the brain and mind in new and innovative ways. 

Affiliated with the University of Ottawa and as a member of the Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario (CAHO), researchers are ideally positioned to translate cutting-edge discoveries into transformative mental health care for individuals at The Royal and beyond. 

The heart of The Royal is our people:

• 88 full and part-time medical professional staff (most are psychiatrists). 
• 1,725 nursing and health professionals, researchers, administrative professionals and leaders.
• 50 psychiatry residents, 300 nursing students, 80 health professionals and up to 200 medical residents further their education with us every year. 
• 300 volunteers who contribute over 18,000 hours of volunteer time each year. 

SPARQ:  The Royal's New Royal’s Strategic Direction 2025 - 2028

The Royal’s new three-year strategic plan is our roadmap for moving forward - thoughtfully, strategically, and with people at the heart of everything we do. Our strategic plan is built around five priorities: Sustainability, People, Access, Research, and Quality. SPARQ for short. These pillars represent our commitment to being a responsible steward of public resources, creating a healthier workplace culture, reducing barriers to care, advancing life-changing research, and delivering excellence every day. Most importantly, they reflect our promise to the patients and families we serve, to provide compassionate, evidence-based care that meets them wherever they are in their recovery journey.

ABOUT THE ROYAL FOUNDATION

The Royal Foundation raises awarness and inspires philanthroy to help The Royal help more people reclaim their lives from mental illness and addiction.

As a not-for-profit arms-length fundraising organization governed by a dedicated and skilled volunteer Board of Directors, we:

• Focus on helping The Royal provide better care to more people living with mental illness or addiction
• Communicate with donors openly, honestly and transparently
• Demonstrate integrity in how we manage and grant donor funds

Our passionate team of 18 works in close partnership with colleagues across The Royal’s hospital and research institute, alongside many committed volunteers. 

In 2024-25, The Royal Foundation raised $9.1 million in donations from 3,091 supporters through a comprehensive fundraising program that includes major gifts, corporate partnerships, leadership (mid-level) giving, legacy giving, annual giving, community fundraising and events.

The Foundation is leading the most ambitious fundraising campaign in its history - supporting The Royal’s highest priorities to help more people access better care. Our Philanthropy team plays a critical role in achieving The Royal’s vision by deepening relationships with existing donors and engaging new supporters to drive major and transformational gifts.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• About The Royal
• The Royal's Strategic Plan 2025-28
• Foundation's Strategic Plan 2024-27
• Foundation’s Financial Statements 2025
• Hospital’s Financial Statements 2025
• Annual Impact Report Fall 2025
• Annual Report 2024-25
• Annual Research Report 2025
• Events & Initiatives
• Programs, Clinics & Services Directory
• Research at The Royal

FOR MORE INFORMATION

KCI Search + Talent has been retained to conduct this search on behalf of The Royal Foundation. For more information about this opportunity, please contact Sylvie Battisti, Senior Vice President, KCI Search + Talent by email at TRF@KCITalent.com.

Although the application submission deadline is December 1, 2025, interested candidates are encouraged to submit resume and letter of interest to the email address early as applications will be considered on a rolling basis and candidates may be invited to interview before the deadline.

The Royal Foundation offers a competitive compensation package including base salary, incentive pay, health benefits, and participation in the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP). The hiring range for this role is $160,000 - $185,000 plus incentive compensation of up to 10% annually.

The Royal Foundation is committed to equity and inclusion in the workplace. Our commitment is rooted in the belief that a diverse workforce enhances the quality of care and organizational strength. We encourage applications from members of equity-deserving communities and welcome individuals from all backgrounds. Upon request, accommodations due to disability are available throughout the recruitment process.