Director, Impact Labs

Meet Benevity

Benevity’s award-winning corporate purpose software empowers companies and their people to take social action on the issues and causes they care about. Through giving, volunteering, grantmaking and positive actions, we help 940+ clients (and counting!) build better cultures and engage their employees and customers to create greater social and business impact. We’re also one of the first B-Corps in Canada, meaning we’re as committed to purpose as we are to profits.

This new role will advance and accelerate the mandate of the Benevity Impact Labs by leading the company’s corporate purpose strategy and contributing to strategic initiatives that support Benevity’s continued category creation efforts.

As Benevity’s own corporate purpose leader, you will lead the development and execution of our internal strategy, helping to embed ethical, sustainable and equitable practices in our culture and business with the aim of helping Benevity to maintain its position as a leader and innovator in this space. You will work closely with a cross-functional team to elevate our ESG, social impact, DEI&B, climate and ethics pillars, including community investment and crisis response.

As a senior leader in the Lab, you will act as a key contributor to the ongoing development and evolution of Benevity’s category creation efforts. With an eye to the future, you will focus on identifying valuable opportunities to drive Benevity’s vision as an impact platform, incubating new ideas and opportunities through select initiatives and partnerships. You will be a key player in defining Benevity’s vision and disruption in the community investment and grants space.

In this role, you will support the Chief Impact Officer’s and Labs’ mandate by building internal proficiency on corporate purpose topics, act as a subject matter expert in topical areas and support thought leadership, research, community-building, executive engagement and evangelism internally and externally to drive Benevity’s differentiation and growth objectives. You will support our go-to-market teams in supporting key sales and client opportunities.

You are a natural relationship-builder and change leader who can get work done through influence. You are equally adept at developing vision and strategy and executing tactics independently, while inspiring and holding cross-functional team members accountable. You have deep knowledge and experience in the impact space and go beyond traditional approaches to get at the heart of true change, but also operate swiftly and responsively recognizing that change can’t wait.

The Role:

Guide Benevity’s own corporate purpose strategy, including all work related to our social impact, climate, DEI&B, ESG and ethics & values.

• Develop a holistic corporate purpose strategy that positions Benevity as an innovator and leader in our peer set that drives meaningful change
• Set goals and KPIs and regularly measure the progress and success of our investments across all facets of corporate purpose
• Engage internal and external stakeholders in the development of our strategy, programs and initiatives to ensure that we are driving positive business and social impact
• Partner with key roles across the People, Risk & Compliance and Marketing teams to ensure that we think holistically and execute our work in an integrated manner
• Lead cross-functional team to inform, execute and report on Benevity’s corporate purpose strategy and results
• Develop key decision-making frameworks to assist Benevity in making business and policy decisions in line with our ethics and values (e.g. crisis activation/response, cause eligibility guidelines), engaging knowledge holders across the business
• Develop, manage and maintain an updated repository of messaging related to Benevity’s corporate purpose efforts and stats for other teams to leverage as part of their work (e.g. RFPs, recruitment, media, etc.)
• Oversee ESG reporting for all investors and prioritization of actions resulting from assessments alongside broader goals within the portfolio
• Manage Benevity’s pledges and certifications, ensuring that we remain compliant and best-in-class where it matters
• Develop and maintain measurement strategies and processes to ensure that we are tracking short-term and long-term progress on our investments
• Work closely with the People team on surveys to glean sentiment and direction from Benevity-ites as it relates to our corporate purpose work
• Identify and manage external partnerships with nonprofits and other associations as it relates to our corporate purpose (e.g. ACCP membership, CECP affiliation, key nonprofit partnerships, etc.)
• Support the work and needs of the Benevity Impact Board committee as it relates to our corporate purpose investments and progress
• Lead communications and storytelling strategies related to this work to both internal and external audiences, including the publication of Benevity’s own impact, DEI&B and ESG reports
• Identify, select and manage external consultants and experts, and related budgets, to advance this work as needed

Contribute to the Development and Execution of Benevity’s Category Creation Strategies & Initiatives

• Develop concrete objectives and plans to help Benevity realize its aspiration of becoming an impact platform with input from the executive team, Marketing and Product
• Identify, assess and articulate the business and social value of identified strategic initiatives, potential partners and focus areas to help grow and evolve the category
• Incubate and accelerate approved initiatives in collaboration with cross-functional teams, including articulating the overall vision, developing a concrete strategy, developing a plan, and executing to incubate new ideas and potential vectors for Benevity
• Represent Labs at Go Group meetings as a stakeholder on key initiatives and product launches to ensure that product strategies and designs meet the long-term objectives of the company as it relates to our category and to embed purpose into our thinking
• Act as a subject-matter expert in trends and evolutions relevant to the social impact and corporate purpose categories (i.e., community investment/grants, impact measurement, ESG), supporting the education and enablement of Benevity-ites on these topics
• Represent Benevity at external-facing events and speaking engagements to evangelize our vision and drive differentiation, awareness and affinity for Benevity
• Collaborate with Social Data Science Lead, Product and external partners to develop relevant data and research to understand potential value and position Benevity as a thought leader
• Develop strategies to create community and coalitions to drive market acceptance and momentum of Benevity’s vision related to impact and feed insights back into relevant teams to inform vision, strategy, positioning and communications

Support the Chief Impact Officer Advancing the Lab’s Mandate and Portfolio

• Act as a partner to the Chief Impact Officer, providing coverage, execution support and representation across the Lab’s portfolio
• Stay on top of current trends and updates related to the changing regulatory environment as it relates to ESG and impact reporting and keep internal teams up to date so they can speak to these topics, internally and externally
• Lead internal efforts to evangelize the Labs’ mission, mandate and to increase the proficiency of the Benevity team on topics related to our category (e.g. impact, inclusion, measurement, etc.)
• Contribute to the development of thought leadership content, research, data and events
• Develop and maintain cross-sector partnerships that allow Benevity and its client community
• Engage our clients/community in broader inclusion and impact initiatives
• Act as a trusted advisor in our space with clients, prospects and partners to support the profile of Benevity as thought leaders
• Utilize metrics, data and insights to set goals, track and report on impact (internally and externally) and to optimize efforts/effectiveness
• Represent Benevity at external-facing events and speaking engagements as needed
• Take on initiative and projects as needed

What you bring:

• 7+ years in corporate purpose, social impact and/or sustainability roles or companies
• Proven experience running CSR teams/programs
• Majority of work experience in tech or SaaS companies with a global lens
• Proven, experienced change leader of successful strategic, cross-functional initiatives with significant executive, internal and external stakeholder engagement requirements.
• Deep knowledge of community investment, impact measurement trends, sustainability practices, and models and systems of knowledge
• Experience managing ESG reporting and priorities with investors, executives and cross-functional teams
• Proven track record of getting work done through influence
• Impeccable written, oral communication and advocacy skills.
• Experienced and engaging public speaker and storyteller.
• Experience developing and hosting educational events and workshops.
• Trusted, experienced partner to executive teams and Boards of Directors
• Experience in sustainability, law and global regulations relevant to ESG and corporate purpose, risk and compliance, or equivalent considered an asset

Change the World Through Technology

If you want to build technology teams who are empowered to share their voices (and visions!) as they co-create innovative products for the world’s coolest companies, Benevity is the place for you. You’ll be an integral part of a tech transformation at a high-growth company that is changing the way businesses and people do good in the world.

You’ll get that competitive salary, flexible health benefits, mental health support, a generous bonus program, stock options, a hybrid office/home work environment and so much more. Plus, Benevity’s very own MyGoodness program inspires our people to donate, volunteer and take action for the causes and issues they care about.

If you want to lead tech transformation, you belong at Benevity.

Where we work

At Benevity, we have developed a Community First approach that we design our people's experience around with goals to build a strong community and culture, achieve stellar execution of our business goals and social mandate, and ensure Benevity-ites thrive. For those who live within a reasonable commuting distance to an office, we can split our time working in the office and from home to optimize the opportunities of both, with the requirement that we spend at least 50% of the time in the office.

Join a company where DEIB isn’t a buzzword

The diverse backgrounds, experiences, skills and passions of our people make it possible for us to keep innovating as the market leader in our space.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging are part of Benevity’s DNA. You’ll see the impact of our massive investment in DEIB daily—from our Black Employee Network making space for us to have difficult conversations to our Pride events and the exceptional diversity on our leadership and tech teams.

We strive to build a strong culture of Belonging so that every Benevity-ite feels included and can thrive as their authentic selves — in a place where everyone has an equitable opportunity to shine!

Here at Benevity, we are committed to creating a culture of belonging and that starts with a fair and accessible hiring process. Any candidates with disabilities who may require accommodations throughout the hiring or assessment process, are encouraged to reach out to [email protected].

If you want to feel seen, heard and celebrated, you belong at Benevity.