Bilingual Donor Relations Specialist
Job Title:
Bilingual Donor Relations Specialist
Location:
Mississauga, ON
Reports To:
Head of Fund Development & Donor Relations
Contract Type:
Competitive | Full-Time
Job Description
Purpose of Position
The Bilingual Donor Relations Specialist plays a key role in delivering an exceptional donor experience and strengthening long-term relationships between Action For Humanity Canada and its supporters.
The position is responsible for day-to-day donor relations activities, including responding to donor inquiries, processing donor requests, maintaining accurate donor records, supporting recurring giving, resolving donation-related issues, and proactively engaging donors to strengthen retention and satisfaction.
The Specialist will also be responsible for supporting the administration and donor-facing components of AFH Canada's Orphan Sponsorship Program, serving as a key point of contact for sponsors and helping ensure sponsorships, donor communications, updates, and records are managed accurately and compassionately.
As a bilingual position, the Specialist will provide donor support and stewardship in both English and French, ensuring AFH Canada provides accessible and high-quality service to donors across Canada.
Key Responsibilities
1. Donor Relations & Donor Care
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Serve as a primary point of contact for donors through phone, email, and other approved communication channels.
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Assist donors with donation-related requests, including updating contact information, payment methods, recurring donations, communication preferences, and other account information.
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Investigate and resolve donor concerns, complaints, payment issues, and general inquiries while maintaining a positive donor experience.
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Provide donors with appropriate information regarding AFH Canada programs, campaigns, appeals, and their giving history.
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Process requests relating to donation confirmations, tax receipts, refunds, cancellations, and account changes in coordination with Finance and other relevant departments.
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Ensure donor interactions, requests, and outcomes are appropriately documented within the CRM.
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Identify opportunities to strengthen donor relationships and increase long-term engagement with AFH Canada.
2. Regular Giving & Donor Retention
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Support the administration and stewardship of AFH Canada's monthly and recurring donor portfolio.
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Monitor recurring giving accounts and identify failed, declined, or interrupted payments requiring follow-up.
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Proactively contact donors regarding failed payments and support them in updating their payment information where appropriate.
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Conduct donor retention and stewardship outreach, including thank-you calls, welcome communications, renewal conversations, and re-engagement activities.
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Process recurring gift amendments, cancellations, upgrades, and other donor requests accurately and promptly.
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Identify recurring donors at risk of lapsing and conduct appropriate retention outreach.
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Provide regular reporting on recurring giving performance, failed payments, cancellations, retention activity, and donor feedback.
3. Orphan Sponsorship
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Serve as a primary donor relations contact for supporters participating in AFH Canada's Orphan Sponsorship Program.
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Support the onboarding of new orphan sponsors and ensure donors receive appropriate confirmation and program information.
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Maintain accurate sponsorship records within AFH Canada's CRM and relevant orphan sponsorship systems.
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Respond to sponsor inquiries regarding their sponsorship, payments, updates, and program processes.
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Coordinate with relevant internal and international teams to obtain information required to respond to sponsor inquiries.
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Ensure sponsors receive available orphan updates, reports, correspondence, and other approved program communications in a timely manner.
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Monitor orphan sponsorship payments and identify failed or interrupted sponsorship payments requiring donor follow-up.
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Contact sponsors regarding failed payments and work to prevent unnecessary sponsorship cancellations.
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Process sponsorship cancellations, changes, and other requests in accordance with AFH Canada policies and procedures.
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Support the reassignment or transition of sponsorships when an orphan exits the program, or sponsorship circumstances change.
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Work collaboratively with Programs, Finance, Fund Development, and international teams to resolve sponsorship-related issues.
4. Donor Stewardship & Engagement
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Conduct proactive donor stewardship through thank-you calls, emails, welcome communications, and other relationship-building touchpoints.
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Contact donors following significant gifts or milestones to acknowledge their support and strengthen the relationship.
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Assist with donor reactivation campaigns targeting lapsed or inactive supporters.
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Identify recurring donor and orphan sponsor feedback, concerns, or trends and communicate insights to the Head of Fund Development.
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Help ensure donors understand the impact of their contributions through approved impact stories, updates, reports, and program information.
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Identify donors who may require additional stewardship or relationship management and escalate opportunities appropriately.
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Support seasonal donor care requirements during high-volume campaigns such as Ramadan, emergencies, Qurbani, and year-end giving.
5. CRM, Data & Administration
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Maintain accurate and complete donor records within AFH Canada's CRM.
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Record donor interactions, preferences, requests, complaints, payment issues, and follow-up activities consistently.
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Ensure donor and sponsorship records are updated promptly following interactions or changes.
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Assist with donor data quality initiatives, including identifying duplicates, incomplete records, incorrect information, and other data issues.
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Follow established procedures for donation processing, receipting, donor communications, and data management.
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Support reconciliation and investigation of donation discrepancies in collaboration with Finance and relevant teams.
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Produce regular reports relating to donor inquiries, recurring giving, failed payments, orphan sponsorship, cancellations, retention, and other donor relations activities.
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Ensure donor information is handled in accordance with Canadian privacy requirements and AFH Canada policies.
6. Bilingual Donor Support
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Provide professional donor service in both English and French through written and verbal communication.
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Respond to French-language donor inquiries and ensure French-speaking donors receive the same level of service and stewardship as English-speaking donors.
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Review and support donor-facing French communications where required.
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Assist with the adaptation of donor communications to ensure they are appropriate for French-speaking Canadian audiences.
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Support AFH Canada's ability to effectively engage donors across Canada's bilingual communities.
Job Requirements
Education
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Post-secondary education in nonprofit management, communications, business administration, international development, customer relations, or a related field is preferred.
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Equivalent professional experience within donor relations, customer service, fundraising, or nonprofit administration will also be considered.
Experience
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Minimum 2–3 years of experience in donor relations, donor care, customer service, fundraising administration, or a similar relationship-management role.
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Experience within the charity or nonprofit sector is strongly preferred.
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Experience managing recurring donors, sponsorship programs, or donor retention activities is considered an asset.
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Experience working with CRM/database systems and maintaining detailed constituent records.
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Experience handling sensitive donor inquiries and resolving service-related concerns.
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Experience working within a humanitarian or international development organization is considered an asset.
Skills
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Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills with a strong donor-service mindset.
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Strong verbal and written communication skills.
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Ability to communicate with empathy, professionalism, discretion, and cultural sensitivity.
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Strong attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy.
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Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, donor requests, and follow-ups simultaneously.
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Ability to handle difficult or sensitive donor conversations professionally.
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Strong problem-solving skills and ability to independently resolve routine donor issues.
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Comfortable working with CRM systems, databases, Google Workspace/Microsoft Office, and other digital platforms.
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Ability to analyze donor information and identify trends relating to retention, cancellations, failed payments, and donor satisfaction.
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Ability to work collaboratively across Fund Development, Finance, Programs, Marketing, and Operations.
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Strong alignment with AFH Canada's humanitarian mission and organizational values.
Languages️
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Fluency in written and spoken English – Essential
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Fluency in written and spoken French – Essential
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Arabic or another language relevant to AFH Canada's donor communities is considered an asset.
Other
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Ability to maintain strict confidentiality when handling donor, financial, and beneficiary information.
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Flexible approach to work during high-volume fundraising periods such as Ramadan, emergency appeals, Qurbani, and year-end.
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Commitment to AFH Canada's safeguarding, privacy, financial, and donor care policies.