Job Posting

The Opportunity

Telefilm Canada created the Talent Fund in 2012 to support the discovery and development of emerging Canadian filmmakers. As a private donation fund, the Talent Fund draws on the financial support of private companies, industry partners, as well as on the generosity of individual donors.

Telefilm Canada is seeking a bilingual development program leader and experienced major gift fundraiser for the new role of Director, Talent Fund. In this leadership role, the Director will contribute to the significant growth of Telefilm Canada’s Talent Fund by fostering, building, and managing strong relationships with individuals, corporations, associations, and foundations, as well as with key volunteers. The new incumbent will recruit and lead a small team of staff members, and will be responsible for activities related to donor prospecting, cultivation, gift solicitation, and ongoing stewardship of benefactors, corporate partners, and other industry stakeholders across the nation.   

Reporting to the Executive Director of Telefilm Canada, the new Director will work closely with the Director, Public and Government Affairs, as well as with the Director, National Promotion and Communications. They will also engage and work with members of Telefilm Canada’s Board of Directors, as well as with the Chair and members of the Talent Fund Advisory Committee, who assist with fundraising and cultivation strategies to secure unprecedented investment and gifts for the Fund.

This is a rare and unique opportunity for a driven, experienced, and entrepreneurial development leader to play a pivotal role in the desired growth and expansion of the Talent Fund. The platform for success has been established and the new Director will bring together diverse groups of internal and external stakeholders to build on these accomplishments by continuing to develop important relationships with new and existing patrons, partners and supporters. 

The ability to work effectively in both official languages is required for this position. The role will entail pan- Canadian travel and occasional travel to the USA. This position can be based in either Montreal or Toronto, and is part of Canada’s Federal Public Service. 

• To view the full Executive Brief, please visit: http://kciphilanthropy.com/lang/en/#panel-2-b1

 

About Telefilm Canada And The Talent Fund

A crown corporation comprised of some 200 professionals passionate about Canadian content, Telefilm Canada works to finance, develop, and promote the Canadian audiovisual industry of today and tomorrow. Our driving goal is to stimulate demand for and access to Canadian productions – in Canada and everywhere, from big screens to those still being invented, and every platform in-between. The audiovisual industry is undergoing a period of tremendous change, and Telefilm is determined more than ever to provide support for the Canadian ecosystem, to give voice to under-represented filmmakers that reflect Canadian diversity, to achieve gender parity, to increase export potential, and to position the country as a digital powerhouse.

Telefilm is dedicated to the cultural, commercial and industrial success of Canada’s audiovisual industry. Through funding and promotion programs, Telefilm supports dynamic companies and creative talent at home and around the world. Telefilm also makes recommendations regarding the certification of audiovisual treaty coproductions to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and administers the programs of the Canada Media Fund.

Telefilm Canada established the Talent Fund in 2012 as a new way of diversifying the industry’s sources of financing. Since then, the Fund has raised more than $16 million to support the discovery and development of emerging content creators. The Fund draws on financial investment from private companies and industry partners, along with the generosity of individual donors, who wish to support the great artistic talent and creative minds of many of our filmmakers from across the country, and who value the film industry and its contribution to helping build a strong and vibrant Canadian cultural identity.

The Fund promotes the discovery and development of talent in three ways:

1. Funding of First Feature Film

The Talent Fund supports the production of first feature films and narrative web series through Telefilm’s Talent to Watch Program (formerly the Micro-Budget Production Program). The program helps to ignite the career of emerging talent, focusing in particular on creators from Indigenous and official-language minority communities. The program has been especially successful in its support of women.

2. Recognition for Projects of Merit

Feature film and narrative web projects of merit that demonstrate in an exemplary way Telefilm’s fundamental objective of “Inspired by Talent. Viewed Everywhere.” are selected from across the country.

3. Support for the Promotion of Canadian Content and Talent

The Talent Fund promotes Canadian content and talent by encouraging the use of innovative marketing and multiplatform distribution strategies. The Fund’s support also helps to establish new initiatives that focus on creating awareness for Canadian talent, and Telefilm’s social media platforms serve to reinforce these efforts.

The Talent Fund is strategically important for the future development of the Canadian film industry. It has helped nurture talented creators from all regions of the country, who have delighted audiences around the world. To date, the Fund has supported the production of some 100 projects that have garnered over 200 awards, including Canadian Screen Awards, as well as prizes at such prestigious international festivals as the Berlin International Film Festival and TIFF, that have led to critical success and theatrical distribution deals. 

Telefilm Canada is pleased to have an Advisory Committee of Canadian business leaders and distinguished Canadian philanthropists, with a mandate to help maximize exposure for the Talent Fund. The role of Committee members is to champion the Talent Fund with potential donors, encouraging them to donate to support promising, emerging, and established filmmakers achieve their full potential both in Canada and abroad. Members of the Advisory Committee have guided the activities of the Talent Fund in its launch phase. This same committee continues to remain in effect to oversee the next phases of development. In addition, Karine Vanasse, an award-winning film and TV actress, supports the Talent Fund’s initiatives in her role as Talent Fund Ambassador by raising the profile of the Fund overall and the talented creators it supports.

 

Additional Background and Resources

• For more information about the Talent Fund please visit: https://thetalentfund.ca/
• 2016-2017 Report on the Talent Fund: https://thetalentfund.ca/the-fund/2016-2017/
• Telefilm Canada: https://telefilm.ca/en/

 

Ideal Candidate

The Director, Talent Fund will be an accomplished major gifts strategist and fundraiser, adept at planning, implementing, and managing a comprehensive development strategy to achieve ambitious annual goals and objectives. With proven tactical abilities and organizational expertise, the successful candidate will be equally comfortable in planning strategy as in its execution. 

Demonstrating a high level of creativity and an entrepreneurial approach, the new incumbent will recognize potential opportunities and respond with leadership, diplomacy, resourcefulness, and energy in developing existing and new avenues for strategic partnerships and major gift support. The Director will possess knowledge of fundraising best practices, and will further establish processes and operations for effective identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major donors and partners.  

The successful candidate will have a professional or personal affinity with the cultural sector and the Talent Fund’s mission, and will share this enthusiasm in an articulate and authentic way. A proven relationship-builder who has encouraged the involvement of others as ambassadors and worked successfully with senior volunteers, the new Director will have superior interpersonal skills and be a clear and effective communicator. The ideal candidate will present an exciting vision and convincing ideas and plans, along with best practices and innovative approaches to engage and inspire senior corporate executives, key partners and high net-worth individual donors in various markets and regions, nationally and internationally.

Possessing a successful track record in meeting expectations, the new Director will be a driven, action-oriented catalyst who will bring the Talent Fund to new heights. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated experience and ability to recruit, lead, and motivate a small staff team, while ensuring an environment that fosters diversity, inclusion, and respect.

Understanding of the complexities and nuances of working within a crown corporation, the successful candidate will balance the needs and expectations of a variety of stakeholders and will demonstrate openness, excellent judgement, integrity, and transparency in partnering and collaborating productively and proactively with others to achieve results and common goals.

 

Key Areas of Responsibility

This position includes five key areas of responsibility:

1. Revenue Generation;
2. Development and fostering of relationships with strategic partners and major donors, including key stakeholders such as members of the Talent Fund’s Advisory Committee;
3. Planning, organization and management of Talent Fund development programs, activities and events;
4. Setting of annual priorities and action plans, in collaboration with Telefilm Canada’s Executive Director;
5. Management of human, financial and material resources related to the Talent Fund’s activities, and reporting progress and results.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Telefilm Canada, the Director, Talent Fund will:

Revenue Generation  (approximately 60%)

• Develop relationships and strategies to ensure that Telefilm Canada maximises all available opportunities for funding the Talent Fund.
• Forge and strengthen ties, and implement tactics, to reinforce the engagement of new and existing donors, partners and stakeholders, in order to attract new and increased investment to the Talent Fund.
• Develop the annual Fundraising Plan and implement segmented fundraising initiatives for the cultivation, solicitation, recognition and stewardship of prospects, donors and partners.
• Monitor and evaluate all fundraising activities to ensure that financial goals are met and that activities are delivered cost-effectively, following trends and best practices.
• Provide support to the Executive Director of Telefilm Canada in their day to day responsibilities and activities related to the Talent Fund.
• Strategically engage, support and work in close collaboration with volunteer members of the Talent Fund Advisory Committee and other key stakeholders, to ensure the successful execution of fundraising and stewardship activities
• Proactively manage a portfolio of current and potential major donors and corporate partners. 
• Ensure a professional, strategic, and coordinated approach to donor identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities.
• Monitor philanthropic trends and adapt fundraising strategies as necessary.
• Ensure compliance with fundraising standards and principles.
• Ensure compliance with privacy and confidentiality standards and CRA rules and regulations related to the treatment of donor information and donations.

Communications and marketing (approximately 30%)

• Working with external advisors, and in close collaboration with the Director, National Promotion and Communications, develop and coordinate the execution of the Talent Fund’s marketing plan and ensure its complementarity with Telefilm’s strategic areas of focus.
• Ensure the Talent Fund’s visibility and impact with various audiences of strategic value, in coherence with Telefilm’s communication goals and plans.
• Act as the Talent Fund’s main spokesperson and participe in various public relations activities to raise the Talent Fund’s profile as needed and agreed upon by the Executive Director and/or the Director of National Promotion and Communications.
• Stay informed and actively involved within the Canadian philanthropic community, particularly with those sectors demonstrating a particular interest for the Talent Fund.
• Hire external advisors and freelance professionals, and manage business relations with them.

Administration and management (approximately 10%)

• Review and implement the Talent Fund’s strategic plan.
• Prepare the budget and monitor its financial management in collaboration with Corporate Services.
• Ensure compliance with, and application of Telefilm’s administrative and financial policies, in accordance with the organization’s code of ethics.
• Evaluate direct reports according to Telefilm’s current practices.
• Upon request, produce various reports on the attainment of results and the advancement of projects based on agreed KPIs and dashboard.
• Ensure that effective systems, processes and required fundraising operations are in place to support the Talent Fund’s Fundraising Plan.

 

Qualifications and Competencies

• Signficant fundraising experience with a proven track record of success in the area of major gift and strategic partnership development at the $100,000 level and above.
• Experience leading, growing and managing a fundraising development program with demonstrated success.
• Thorough knowledge of fundraising principles and processes and demonstrated experience in developing creative winning fundraising and stewardship strategies.
• Superior interpersonal skills to develop and maintain a broad range of relationships as well as engage and inspire stakeholders both internally and externally.
• Experience recruiting, engaging and supporting senior volunteers for fundraising.
• Proven event planning and organization experience related to the cultivation, recognition and stewardship of donors and corporate partners.
• Proficient communication abilities in English and French are required as are superior presentation skills.
• A strong aptitude for team work and collaboration.
• A high degree of personal integrity, transparency and adherence to ethical fundraising principles.
• A university degree is required or a related mix of education and fundraising experience.
• Flexibility to work select evenings and weekends as well as availability to travel regularly within Canada and occasionally to the USA.

 

For More Information

KCI (Ketchum Canada Inc.) has been retained to conduct this search on behalf Telefilm Canada. For more information about this leadership opportunity, please contact Sylvie Battisti, KCI Vice-President, Search and Talent Management by email at TalentFund@kciphilanthropy.com or by phone at (438) 820-3496.

• To view the full Executive Brief, please visit: http://kciphilanthropy.com/lang/en/#panel-2-b1

All inquiries and applications will be held in strict confidence. 

Please send resume and letter of interest to the email address listed above by October 22, 2018.