Director/associate Director, Impact and Grantmaking

**Director / Associate Director, Impact and Grantmaking**

The Director/Associate Director, Impact and Grantmaking will lead ACF’s impact-focused efforts to ensure that our work building knowledge around key issues and deepening relationships with our network of experts and social impact partners delivers meaningful, measurable, and lasting change. This includes oversight of ACF’s grant advisory services, grants management, and collaborative funds. Crucial to the work is building and strengthening relationships with social impact partners, donors, and field experts to co-create funding strategies and ensure strong implementation.

Reporting to the CEO, the Director/Associate Director will play a critical role in the design, implementation, and evaluation of impact-driven projects, providing thoughtful guidance to ensure that advisory services are impactful and aligned with a donor’s funding objectives and ensure effective and efficient management of ACF’s grant-making and impact fund management. This role will also oversee the development of a Regional Advisory Council to deepen issue-area expertise and embed community knowledge into our work.

This leadership role requires a strategic thinker and seasoned practitioner with deep knowledge of social impact in Asia, a strong understanding of philanthropic trends, and the ability to build trust with a wide range of stakeholders and lead an impact-driven team of professionals.

**Key Responsibilities**:
**1. Grantmaking Operations**
- Oversee the full grantmaking lifecycle for both individual donor portfolios and institutional initiatives — including due diligence, proposal review, disbursement, compliance, and reporting
- Oversee systems and processes for efficient and responsible grants administration, ensuring high standards of governance, documentation, and impact tracking
- Maintain strong relationships with grant partners, fostering transparency, learning, and mutual respect
- Develop feedback mechanisms to learn from grantees and improve ACF’s practices over time

**2. Collaborative Impact Fund Management**
- Lead the team in the development, launch, and ongoing management of issue-based collaborative funds, including weekly team meetings
- Work closely with internal teams, donors, and external experts to define thematic focus areas, goals, eligibility criteria, and shared metrics
- Convene and manage decision-making bodies (e.g. donor working groups, regional advisors, or selection committees) to guide fund strategy and grant decisions
- Oversee learning and evaluation frameworks for each fund, working with partners to identify and track indicators and outcomes, and supporting donor engagement with progress reporting
- Work with colleagues to build visibility and donor engagement around ACF’s flagship collaborative funds, including hosting learning sessions, field visits, publishing insights, and showcasing grantee impact

**3. Advisory Services and Donor Engagement**
- Provide strategic guidance to donors on how to structure their giving around specific issues, geographies, or outcomes
- Work with team and issue experts to coordinate research, landscape scans, and partner mapping to help donors make informed, strategic choices that benefit communities and maximise impact
- Translate complex social issues into clear funding pathways and advise on how to monitor success
- Ensure that advisory engagements are rigorous, values-aligned, and relevant to local context
- Build and maintain strong relationships with DAF holders, understanding their philanthropic goals and values
- Serve as a primary Relationship Manager for a select number of donors (DAF holders)

**4. Ecosystem Building & Thought Leadership**
- Cultivate strong, trusted relationships with nonprofit partners, technical experts, and donor collaborators
- Develop and convene a Regional Advisory Council of issue-area experts and community leaders to guide ACF’s programmatic focus and ensure relevance and accountability
- Work with team and issue experts to prepare high-quality reports, presentations, and proposals for donors, partners, and other key stakeholders, ensuring clarity, impact, and alignment with organisational goals
- Represent ACF in sector dialogues, learning exchanges, and philanthropic forums across Asia
- Identify opportunities for cross-sector collaboration and knowledge sharing among donors and practitioners

**5. Team Development & Organisational Leadership**
- Manage and mentor the Impact and Grantmaking team of programme and grants professionals, providing direction, coaching, and oversight, and fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation and high performance
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate impact strategy across all aspects of ACF’s work
- Contribute to organisational learning and the development of internal tools, policies, and systems that support effective giving and grantmaking

**Experience and Skills**:

- 10+ years of relevant experience in