Vice President, Direct Marketing

Toronto, ON

Canada

Life. We don’t want you to miss it. ™

That’s why at Heart & Stroke, their mission is to promote health, save lives and enhance recovery. For more than 70 years, they have been leading the fight to beat heart disease and stroke by driving life-saving medical breakthroughs, advocating for better health and bringing together the brightest minds to improve diagnosis, care and support.

Since their inception, the death rate of heart disease and stroke has declined by 75% – but more work needs to be done to ensure they save more lives. Together, they are paving the way to a healthier future by focusing their efforts on areas where they can make the biggest impact including transforming the stroke system and care, preventing the surge of heart failure, improving cardiac arrest survival rates, championing congenital heart disease lifelong care, closing the gaps in health equity and ultimately, fighting for a healthier generation.

At Heart & Stroke, they are proud of their collaborative and caring work culture, which supports their employees—their most valuable resource. They champion health, practice humility, embrace change, drive impact, learn and grow, and work with heartfelt dedication to beat heart disease and stroke. Their commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion is embedded in their values and core mission, ensuring a welcoming environment that embraces diversity among their employees.

The Opportunity

The Vice President, Direct Marketing provides strategic leadership to Heart & Stroke’s national direct marketing fundraising programs including annual, monthly, and intermediate giving. The role will develop a clear vision for these programs with a focus on achieving specific, measurable results that align with the organization’s strategic objectives.

The role develops multi-channel communication approaches to drive fundraising through solicitation, acquisition, retention and stewardship strategies within Direct Marketing channels including direct mail, email, web, digital and phone. The role leads a team that manages a portfolio raising over $35M in gross revenue annually.

The role will engage in a high level of cross functional collaboration with teams across the organization working together to drive results. The role will also work closely with and leverage the diverse expertise and perspectives from shared services including Constituent Experience, Data & Analytics, Marketing, Finance and IT to enhance innovations and achieve successful outcomes. Working together with internal and external partners, this role will lead with agility to test and learn new approaches to drive innovation and long-term sustainable growth.

As part of the Fundraising & Marketing senior leadership team (SLT), the successful candidate will work in close collaboration with other senior fundraising leaders to provide a best-in-class experience and journey for donors that allows them to achieve their goals of impacting the health of Canadians.

Primary Accountabilities

Strategic Planning

Create a comprehensive and compelling vision for Direct Marketing and the role it plays in supporting the organization’s fundraising and mission objectives
Lead the development of the annual business plans for Direct Marketing including specific plans for Annual Giving, Monthly Giving and Intermediate Giving
Develop and manage the annual fundraising budget for the Direct Marketing portfolio
Establish and gain senior leadership alignment for KPIs (key performance indicators). Track and monitor KPIs to understand business performance and recommend adjustments to plans
Grow current revenue streams by implementing strategies and plans to acquire, retain and migrate donors through seamless execution, optimization and innovation
Work in partnership with the Constituent Experience team to develop plans for achieving annual and longer-term new donor acquisition targets including testing and learning new approaches

Stay informed about industry and donor’s trends and best practices in donor acquisition, engagement, recognition and stewardship

Manage and evaluate key agency and vendor relationships, including developing contracts, evaluating performance and ensuring budget compliance

Program Development & Evaluation

Develop all end-to-end campaign strategic and tactical plans that are agile, flexible and provide opportunity to test and learn within timelines and budget
Modify campaign plans based on results to date, market conditions and new learning
Work in partnership with EVP, Fundraising and Marketing to develop end-to-end Direct Marketing campaigns from the brief to creative development and program execution
Work collaboratively with the Marketing and Communications teams on the creation of brand-aligned content and messaging to support fundraising and plans for amplification of content
Work collaboratively with the Director, Data & Analytics to understand and maximize data insights to drive donor engagement and support sustainable growth
Work in partnership with Director, Email Marketing to develop and launch emails campaigns using a test and learn approach
Work with the Fundraising Operations team to ensure that gift processing, reporting and vendor selection and management supports the strategic needs of the business
Provide leadership to cross functional projects supporting the Direct Marketing businesses

Donor Engagement & Stewardship

Work in partnership with the Constituent Experience team to develop new, innovative approaches to support new donor acquisition and retention
Develop strategies to acquire new donors and convert to recurring through effective direct marketing campaigns and approaches
Work with fundraising leaders to develop innovative new-to-donor recognition and stewardship to engage, retain and upgrade donors
Work with Development leadership to develop plans to engage donors in planned giving opportunities through direct marketing channels

Talent Management

Lead talent development, ensuring high standards, competence and that staff is well supported in fulfilling their accountabilities, developing their skills and achieving their career potential
Provide clear direction on business goals and priorities; ensure optimal deployment of resources to achieve business goals
Build and develop cohesive lateral relationships cross functionally
Establish performance plan and objectives and review on an ongoing basis; provide coaching and feedback as per the performance management process
As required, recruit skilled talent in support of current and future Foundation needs, following Foundation policies, interviewing methodology and assessment guidelines
Familiarize and comply with all Heart & Stroke’s policies while ensuring accurate administration of employee related information: absence records, vacation, title, etc.

Performance Metrics

The portfolio will have a gross revenue goal of $36M with an expense budget of approximately $15M. Our successful candidate will be responsible for:

Oversight and management of funds within budget, including agreements with vendors and external parties
Develop and monitor annual plans and department performance metrics to align with overall strategic directions
Work cross functionally to develop an integrated fundraising plan

Job Requirements

The Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will possess a passion for health philanthropy, is highly strategic, a consummate professional and role model, with excellent communication skills, professionalism, and interpersonal skills that foster meaningful relationships with corporate partners and colleagues.
The ideal candidate will possess:
At least 10 years of experience leading a complex multi-channel direct marketing fundraising program (including Mass/Digital/Social, Mail)
A proven track record in the development and implementation of Direct Marketing/Response strategy and plans
Experience in successfully recruiting training and mentoring a team of direct marketers
Experience participating in an integrated central fundraising program
A university degree is required
Skills
A visionary thinker who has an outcome mindset and who can also test and learn during execution and implementation
Highly collaborative and inclusive team player who engages and works effectively with others to achieve shared objectives
Drive for results, while maintaining and building effective relationships and partnerships
Persists in exploring opportunities and advancing initiatives through measured risk taking, creating and negotiating alternate solutions as appropriate
Superior data analytic and critical thinking skills, embraces digital tools and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance productivity, decision making and innovation
Excellent talent management skills including the ability to develop effective, motivated individuals and teams to achieve common goals. Willingly shares personal experience and knowledge. Encourages individuals to develop strengths and supports opportunities to foster professional growth
Excellent communication skills (oral and written); an effective communicator who achieves desired results by encouraging and supporting the contributions of others
Strong financial acumen including experience with developing, forecasting, maintaining and managing multi-million-dollar budgets
Acts with integrity by promoting consistency among principles, values and behaviours
Self-aware, committed to professional and personal growth
Strong analytical skills and ability to work within a CRM database
Appreciation and understanding of AFP Code of Ethics, Policies and Procedures

Application Instructions

Please send your application to Lindsay Preston: lindsay@phcap.ca by no later than September 17th, 2025, at 5 p.m. Please include your cover letter aligning your experience to what we’ve described in this position profile and your CV.

In addition to a competitive salary, Heart & Stroke believes in the benefits of personal health and wellness of employees. To that end they offer a generous paid time-off package including vacation days, personal days, wellness days, and paid company-wide closure between December 25 and January 1. They also provide competitive health, medical, dental and vision benefits, basic life and disability insurance, an employee assistance program (EAP) and a defined contribution pension plan with employer matching. Heart & Stroke employees also enjoy a flexible hybrid working model and reimbursement for mobile phones and home office setup, as well as opportunities for professional development.

Heart & Stroke is committed to fostering an inclusive, barrier-free, and accessible environment. If you are contacted for an interview and require accommodation to participate in the recruitment and selection process, please advise and we will work with you to meet your needs.

At Heart & Stroke, they believe in equity, diversity, and inclusion; it’s embedded in their values and core mission work to support all people in Canada to lead healthier lives. They are committed to applying this principle to cultivate a welcoming environment that embraces diversity among their employees. Candidates from diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to, Indigenous peoples, racialized and LGBTQ2+ communities, women, and people with disabilities, are encouraged to apply.

We thank you for your interest in this opportunity. Please note that only qualified respondents will