Job Posting – Campaign Director (Coast Mental Health Foundation)

Coast Mental Health Foundation is the philanthropic fundraising arm of Coast Mental Health, mobilizing philanthropy to support recovery-oriented mental health care in our communities. Coast Mental Health is the largest provider of community-based mental health services in British Columbia and one of Canada’s leading mental health non-profit organizations.  Through donor and community support, the Foundation raises awareness, builds partnerships, and secures charitable funding to advance innovative mental health services, recovery programs, supportive housing, wraparound supports, and major capital initiatives.

Coast Mental Health Foundation is seeking an exceptional, relationship-driven fundraising leader to serve as Campaign Director, helping shape and advance a bold, multi-year comprehensive campaign in support of Coast Mental Health’s mission, vision and long-term community impact.

This is a standout opportunity for a strategic and hands-on fundraiser to help lead a campaign with unusual depth, visibility, and significance: the redevelopment of Coast’s 293 East 11th Avenue site and related programmatic priorities. Working closely with the Foundation’s Interim Executive Director, Cheryl Bosley, together with Coast Mental Health’s CEO Keir MacDonald, Board leadership, and the Campaign Cabinet, the Campaign Director will play a leadership role in advancing campaign strategy, donor engagement, and long-term fundraising success in collaboration with Foundation and community leadership.

The successful candidate will be both architect and catalyst.  They will bring both strategic leadership and hands-on campaign experience, helping advance prospect strategies, mobilize volunteer engagement, coordinate campaign leadership activities, and personally cultivate and solicit major gifts. The role offers the rare chance to build fundraising momentum around a once-in-a-generation project, one designed to reimagine how housing, mental health care, and community well-being can come together to create lasting change across Metro Vancouver.

This is a rare and energizing opportunity for a fundraising leader to:

• Help shape the most ambitious comprehensive campaign in Coast’s history, supporting recovery-oriented mental health care, supportive housing, and wraparound services across Metro Vancouver.
• Build on growing public awareness and support for mental health through a campaign story grounded in dignity, hope, recovery and human connection.
• Play a leadership role in advancing campaign strategy, donor engagement, and long-term fundraising success in collaboration with Foundation and community leadership.
• Translate philanthropy into visible, community impact by helping expand housing, care, and wraparound supports that strengthen stability, belonging, and recovery for individuals and families.

For more information including the candidate brief and a podcast interview with Coast's CEO, please see here.

The Campaign

Coast Mental Health Foundation is preparing to lead a bold and highly distinctive philanthropic campaign centered on the redevelopment of 293 East 11th Avenue in Vancouver.

This project is far more than an affordable housing development. It is an opportunity to create an integrated, recovery-oriented community where people living with mental illness can access stable housing, care and wraparound supports; where seniors can age in place; individuals and families can stay rooted in their neighbourhood; and residents can experience the stability, dignity, and connection that underpin better mental health.

For the right fundraising leader, this is the kind of campaign that comes along rarely: a chance to help champion a new model for how housing, mental health care, and community services can work together in one place. By co-locating housing and support services, Coast aims to spark better outcomes for individuals, reduce isolation, strengthen neighbourhoods, and public systems—while creating a project that is both deeply local and broadly influential.

Campaign Structure

The Foundation is positioning the campaign as a comprehensive fundraising effort that includes new Principal, Leadership, and Major Gifts, including transformational gifts directed to Coast’s ongoing annual operating and programmatic priorities.

Campaign analysis highlights that the greatest funding gap exists at the transformational and leadership levels, where a relatively small number of commitments will determine early campaign momentum.  As a result, the campaign will require an intentional, Board-supported focus on identifying and qualifying top-level prospects early in the quiet phase.

The Foundation is highly invested in the campaign’s success, with a feasibility study already done, and resources like a researcher to support the Director’s work are pending.

Campaign planning and case development will continue to evolve in partnership with Foundation leadership, campaign volunteers, and the successful candidate. Preliminary fundraising priorities currently include: Approximately $15 million supporting Coast’s annual operating and programmatic priorities, including recovery-oriented mental health services, supportive housing and wraparound community supports.

Approximately $20 million in new Principal, Leadership and Major gifts dedicated to the East 11th Redevelopment project, supporting an integrated ecosystem of care that brings together supportive housing, recovery-oriented mental health care, and wraparound community supports under one roof.
$10 million secured from Foundation assets.

The ideal candidate is a relationship-driven leader with a genuine passion for Coast’s mission and a deep understanding that the work is not only about delivering projects, but about the people and purpose those projects serve. They are a natural connector who builds trust easily, demonstrates high integrity and character, and fosters strong relationships with donors, colleagues, and partners.

With significant experience in major gifts and campaign fundraising, the Director brings the strategic perspective and practical expertise required to turn vision into reality. They are comfortable navigating complex conversations and maintain strong ethical judgment and tact.

An effective mentor and leader, the candidate also supports the growth of team members, particularly in strengthening major gifts capacity. They can guide colleagues through challenging conversations with donors, set realistic expectations about timelines and outcomes, and ensure that fundraising efforts remain aligned with the organization’s values and long-term goals.

Qualifications and Experience

• Significant progressive fundraising experience, with a focus on capital or comprehensive campaigns.
• Proven success in securing major or transformative gifts; a deep understanding of the art and science of cultivating and soliciting major gifts.
• Experience executing capital or comprehensive campaigns.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across fundraising, communications, program, and facilities and operational teams.
• Experience working in lean team environments.
• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication abilities.
• Strong relationship-building skills with donors, volunteers, community partners and organizational leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to support and engage leadership volunteers in meaningful fundraising and community engagement activities
• Experience working with donor databases and CRM systems, preferably Raiser’s Edge.

This search is being led by Coast Mental Health Foundation’s search partner, Christoph Clodius at The Discovery Group, at christoph@thediscoverygroup.ca.

If you or someone you know is interested or curious, please be in touch. We welcome questions and enquiries.

All submissions should be received by July 13, 2026.

Please apply to Christoph with a cover letter/expression of interest and resume/CV, together in a single document.  More information can be found in the candidate brief here.

Early applications and enquiries are strongly encouraged and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

The successful candidate can expect a starting annual salary between $120,000 and $140,000.

Benefits include a comprehensive package, including participation in the Municipal Pension Plan; extended health benefits including dental, vision, and prescription coverage; coverage for paramedical services like acupuncture, massage therapy, and physiotherapy services; and four weeks’ vacation plus a modified work week program.

Location

The Foundation offers a hybrid work arrangement, with flexibility to work remotely depending on operational requirements. The successful candidate must be able to commute to the Foundation’s Vancouver head office, located at 293 East 11th Avenue, for donor meetings and events as required.