Background

Catalyst Now is seeking a Partnerships Fellow. Catalyst Now, The Global Umbrella Movement for the World’s Social Innovators. Catalyst Now (formerly Catalyst 2030) is the global movement for social innovation. We connect over 7,000 social innovators, from grassroots initiatives to philanthropic organisations, from every corner of the globe, to drive collaborative change. Our mission is to co-create spaces where the world’s social innovators connect, collaborate and contribute to transformational change. Our Vision for 2025- 2029: The world is not short of solutions. It is short of alignment. Every day, millions of social innovators work on climate, inequality, health, livelihoods, and other SDGs. Yet most efforts remain under-recognised, under-resourced and disconnected from power, capital, and policy. That’s where Catalyst Now comes in. We’re building the global umbrella movement for social innovators, across sectors and borders, to turn fragmented efforts into systemic change. Our journey, which began as a WhatsApp group of visionary social entrepreneurs, has evolved into a global movement of more than 7,400 members representing over 4,900 organisations across 150+ countries.

About the role

The Partnerships Fellow supports the smooth, reliable, and professional delivery of Catalyst Now’s fundraising and partnership activities. The role provides the operational foundation needed to ensure that funding opportunities, grants, donor relationships, and related processes are effectively coordinated and managed. The Fellow ensures that funding opportunities are properly assessed, proposals and supporting documents are prepared on time, donor and grant records are kept up to date, and key deadlines, agreements, and follow-up actions are effectively tracked. The role also supports internal coordination, meeting logistics, briefing materials, and communication across the team. This position is important to ensuring that fundraising processes remain organised, funders receive timely and professional support, income is effectively managed, and Catalyst Now meets its commitments to partners and donors.

Key responsibilities

Responsibilities will include:

Scouting & Assessment

• New grant opportunities identified and shared per month
• Each opportunity assessed against fit criteria before escalating, no unfiltered forwarding
• Funding calendar maintained and flagged proactively, at least 2 weeks ahead of deadlines

Proposal Writing & Submissions

• First draft of grant proposals/sections produced independently, on time
• All supporting documents compiled and submission-ready before review
• 100% of grant deadlines met

Pipeline & Admin

• Pipeline and donor database kept current – updated within 48 hours
• Invoices, agreements and payments tracked; nothing outstanding beyond 30 days without a flag

Internal Coordination & Support

• Key meetings scheduled promptly with all logistics handled
• Accurate and timely minutes circulated within 24-48 hours of key calls
• GC meeting slides and briefing materials compiled and ready for review ahead of deadlines
• Team kept informed on deadlines and action points

The role works closely with:

• The Fundraising Specialist and Resource Mobilization and Partnerships Team
• Programme and Secretariat staff
• External funders and partners (for operational coordination)

Qualifications and experience

For this role, we invite applications from people who have:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field
• The ideal candidate has a background in nonprofit fundraising, grants management, or operations support
• Fluency in English
• Strong organisational and tracking skills
• Comfort working with CRMs, spreadsheets and document systems
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• High attention to detail and reliability
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines and priorities
• Strong management skills with the ability to articulate complex information in a compelling way to advocate for change
• Ability to develop strategic engagement plans for individuals and organisations
• Proactive coordination skills to ensure seamless communication and pipeline management across different leads and initiatives

Catalyst Now Offers

• This fellowship is for 6 months, full-time, 40hours/week.
• A 750 USD monthly stipend if you are not eligible for any other grants or scholarships.
• Catalyst Now offers the fellow the opportunity to work with colleagues from various countries and to challenge themselves within the context of a vibrant and growing organisation.
• Working in a dynamic network of over 7,000 members across the globe, including Skoll Foundation, Ashoka, Schwab Foundation, and Echoing Green
• The opportunity to work in a fast-paced global environment, on-the-job training opportunities, and experience within an international NGO.

Contractor location

This position is remote and can be carried out from anywhere in the world with 5 hours overlap with CET working hours.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Catalyst Now actively promotes equality, diversity and inclusion. We consider the experience of all candidates, irrespective of age, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation, disability, gender, gender identity or gender reassignment.

• New grant opportunities identified and shared per month
• Each opportunity assessed against fit criteria before escalating, no unfiltered forwarding
• Funding calendar maintained and flagged proactively, at least 2 weeks ahead of deadlines
• First draft of grant proposals/sections produced independently, on time
• All supporting documents compiled and submission-ready before review
• 100% of grant deadlines met
• Pipeline and donor database kept current – updated within 48 hours
• Invoices, agreements and payments tracked; nothing outstanding beyond 30 days without a flag
• Key meetings scheduled promptly with all logistics handled
• Accurate and timely minutes circulated within 24-48 hours of key calls
• GC meeting slides and briefing materials compiled and ready for review ahead of deadlines
• Team kept informed on deadlines and action points

• Strong organisational and tracking skills
• Comfort working with CRMs, spreadsheets and document systems
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• High attention to detail and reliability
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines and priorities
• Strong management skills with the ability to articulate complex information in a compelling way to advocate for change
• Ability to develop strategic engagement plans for individuals and organisations
• Proactive coordination skills to ensure seamless communication and pipeline management across different leads and initiatives

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field
• The ideal candidate has a background in nonprofit fundraising, grants management, or operations support
• Fluency in English