Executive Director

About The Upside Foundation

The Upside Foundation enables founders of early-stage, high-growth Canadian companies to build social responsibility into their business by pledging equity to the charity of their choice, and join a community of like-minded founders. Over 360 companies have pledged to give back through us so far, including Wealthsimple, Borrowell, Hopper and Wattpad. After they pledge, founders become part of the Upside community, where we work to support their success by connecting them with like-minded leaders and building social responsibility into their brand & culture. When they experience a liquidity event, we donate their Upside to charity. So far, we’ve donated $3M to 26 charities.

The Role

We are looking for an Executive Director who will be responsible for the leadership and operations of The Upside Foundation, as well as building the strategic direction, and policies alongside the Board of Directors. This is a rare opportunity to lead a small team working to make an outsized impact. 

You will be joining at a time of exceptional momentum. You will build an incredible network through working directly with startup founders, venture capitalists, and tech community leaders. Most importantly, your work will have a long lasting, exponential impact for Canadians and Canadian business culture.

This role is perfect if you are an entrepreneurial leader interested in tech, innovation and social impact, looking for a meaningful role with a lot of freedom and responsibility. You will own the most senior functions at Upside. You will develop strategies, processes and plans to grow the foundation, engage with the existing network, and own administration and operations. Strategic input and oversight will be provided to you by the Board of Directors.
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Details

• Hybrid/Flexible but must be able to travel to downtown Toronto for events, as well as across Canada
• Salary: Commensurate with experience
• Full time, permanent role
• 40 hours a week, flexible working hours
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Responsibilities

• Work with the Board of Directors to update, enhance and implement a vision and strategic plan for the Foundation.
• Seek out new funding opportunities, work with the board to implement fundraising strategies, write proposals, and report on progress.
• Design and execute programming and events for Members, prospective Members, partners and the broader startup community, providing networking, mentorship opportunities, and resources.
• Drive Upside’s brand awareness, member acquisition, and grow Upside’s reputation within the technology ecosystem, with support of a dedicated Membership Director
• Attend events, participate in community activities and thought leadership to establish a personal and Foundation profile.
• While the Foundation engages independent bookkeeping and financial professionals, it is important to maintain current knowledge of pertinent CRA regulations , ensure appropriate disbursement policies, and issue of tax receipts.
• Manage contract and permanent staff and participate in all hiring activities
• Look for, and enact on, initiatives where the Foundation can play an aligning lead role within the community, developing partnerships to support Upsides’ work
• Ensure that the general admin and operating activities are carried out effectively
• Prepare quarterly reports for the Board of Directors, ensuring information requirements are provided in a timely and appropriate manner to stakeholders
• Design and execute the Foundation’s communications & marketing strategy across all platforms for all stakeholders to continue to build its brand as the social responsibility leader in the Canadian startup community including compelling stories about our Members.

Qualifications

• Experience in fundraising, and generating consistent and sustainable revenue streams
• Experience working with C-suite or senior executives within philanthropy and/or tech startup ecosystem and managing a portfolio of projects / clients / functions
• Experience leading or participating in strategic and annual operational planning to improve the vision, mission and mandate of an organization
• Progressive leadership experience, preferably in a not-for-profit, charity or early-stage startup

Characteristics

• Highly independent, driven, and disciplined, with a self-motivated mindset.
• Comfortable taking ownership of multiple organizational functions and driving them forward towards objectives
• Able to flex between high-level strategic work and rolling your sleeves up to get it done- this is a very small organization where you need to be able to operate equally well at strategy and execution
• Exceptionally well organized, detail and process oriented; thrive in a fast paced environment with lots of moving pieces
• Creative and self-assured, with the confidence to suggest new approaches
• Familiar with the start-up community a plus
• High degree of comfort learning and using new tools (Webflow, Active Campaign, etc.)
• Friendly, warm, energetic- a great people person
• Driven by the opportunity to make a positive social impact
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Perks

• Flexible work hours and location
• 3 weeks vacation + winter break
• Healthcare Spending Account
• Professional Development spending account
• Opportunities to attend industry events and conferences
• A MacBook laptop and phone allowance

Diversity and Inclusion

At Upside, we are committed to better understanding the role we play in broader social and economic systems that are lacking in diversity, and do not provide equitable opportunities for all. We continuously strive to improve the diversity of our team, ensure that founders from diverse backgrounds have an opportunity to benefit from the Upside community, and to leverage our position in the industry to advance thinking about how we can be anti-racist and anti-oppressive. We are committed to operating an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment and selection process, and encourage candidates of every race, gender, age, religion, identity, and experience to apply for this position.

DEADLINE TO APPLY: AUGUST 18