MAIN PURPOSE OF POST

The Senior Partnerships Officer, is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of a rolling programme of prospect identification, research and nurturing of relationships, specifically for corporate supporters, though you may also be involved with trusts, foundations and Major Donors on some level. The post holder will lead on maximising support through the corporate fundraising streams, drafting and submitting applications and other approaches to prospective funders and donors to increase income. In addition to developing persuasive cases for support in line with organisational priorities, the post holder will ensure that the activities for which funds are sought are impactful, measurable and can be effectively reported on to funders. The post holder will also be required to support with and attend fundraising events with the purpose of relationship building, nurture and networking.

The post holder will develop and maintain both internal and external contacts and will need to develop a thorough understanding of Women’s Aid’s work, business plans and strategic priorities.

DUTIES AND KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. To work closely with the Fundraising Manager to develop and implement a strategy for maximising income from Corporate supporters.
2. To be personally responsible for a portfolio of prospective and existing corporate supporters to solicit large donations, apply for funding and ensure meaningful partnerships are created.
3. Work to match funders’ aims with Women’s Aid’s Vision, Purpose and Mission, packaging up relevant areas of Women’s Aid’s work and strategy to be appealing to funders. Will have to act creatively and innovatively in order to not miss out on opportunities in a fast paced funding environment and will need to be able to cross sell Women’s Aid products, such as training packages for corporate partners.
4. Present compelling cases for support and proposal packages funders both in person and in writing.
5. To manage the corporate fundraising officer, and oversee their work with small businesses and workplace fundraising income.
6. To manage the prospect development programme, identifying prospects and new funding opportunities, using our database and extended networks (via Trustees, existing supporters, advisory groups, operational contracts etc.) as well as identifying those with a likely interest in our cause but who are not yet connected with Women’s Aid, and ways to approach them.
7. Will be required to act independently to manage key relationships with supporters of high value to Women’s Aid, working alongside other colleagues to help maximise support, this may on occasion include Celebrity Ambassadors, and influencers.
8. Establish appropriate means of monitoring and evaluating activity, and ensure that all reports to donors are delivered within deadline.
9. Take responsibility for ensuring that full records of all contacts are maintained on the database, in accordance with GDPR and relevant reports are produced.
10. Use the fundraising database to analyse success rates to support the Fundraising strategy and to feed into the Fundraising teams KPI’s.
11. Ensure that all donations are quickly and correctly processed and acknowledged and that reports are available in the appropriate format.

2. Cross departmental working

2.1 To liaise with colleagues across Women’s Aid to ensure an accurate and in depth knowledge of the key services and ongoing projects to ensure the organisation’s work is presented to funders appropriately. Have a good understanding of organisational needs and strategy in order to be able to answer questions from corporate funders.

2.2 To ensure that the conditions of existing funding is adhered to and reported against correctly.

2.3 Work with colleagues across the organisation to strengthen key relationships with partners of high value to Women’s Aid.

2.4 Be willing to share knowledge and advice in areas of expertise with colleagues in the team, and across the wider organisation.

3. Relationship Management

3.1 Provide excellent account management to Corporate Partners, and, where appropriate, Trusts and Major Donors. Ensure that all prospects have a meaningful relationship with Women’s Aid; liaising with Trustees, and the Chief Executive as appropriate.

3.2 To regularly review the donor prospect portfolios across Women’s Aid and to ensure that the right person is driving each relationship.

3.4 To prepare a thorough action/reporting plan for each donor relationship, liaising with colleagues across the organisation to ensure effective relationship management is upheld.

4. Stewardship and engagement

4.1 To employ a variety of personal engagement mechanisms to ensure that prospects and supporters become, and remain, fully engaged with our cause. Mechanisms to include: private meetings; introductions to operational colleagues, Trustees and Directors as appropriate; small engagement events such as dinners; large engagement events such as launches, events and receptions.

4.2 To employ a variety of communications to steward prospects and supporters. Communications to include, but not limited to; Women’s Aid publications, bespoke updates/impact reports on gifts, prompt and personalised thank you letters, bespoke communications sent on issues we know are of interest to individual donors.

4.3 Ensure the highest level of standards of data capture are maintained on Raiser’s Edge, ensuring a complete accurate and up-to-date information on all donors and prospects, whether individuals or organisations. This includes – but is not limited to – information on giving history, relationships, contacts, proposals submitted etc. In particular the post holder must ensure that information is captured and recorded on individual’s connections/relationships with other relevant individuals and organisations.

PERSON SPECIFICATION: Senior Major Donor and Corporates Fundraising Officer

EXPERIENCE

Essential:

• Proven experience of successful fundraising from Trusts, Corporates, major & mid-level donors
• Experience of acquiring and managing corporate Charity of the Year partnerships
• Demonstrable initiative and determination
• Proven ability to work alone as well as part of a team
• Line management experience
• Experience of writing reports on activities, summarising and analysing figures to make recommendations using Word, Excel and databases
• Experience of managing events for high level donors
  
   

SKILLS & ABILITIES

Essential:

• Demonstrable experience in developing positive relationships with major donors and corporate partners
• Experience of researching and developing targeted proposals for presentation to prospective major donors and corporate partners
• Experience of developing a strategy to meet targets
• Excellent attention to detail and accurate record keeping
• A flexible approach to work, with the ability to manage competing deadlines and priorities
• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to liaise with people at all levels, on the telephone, face to face and in writing, and confident making presentations to diverse audiences
• Ability to adapt communication methods to suit differing audiences
   

• Ability to monitor and evaluate patterns of support and match appropriate project proposals
• Experience of working within agreed budget constraints, ensuring that expenditure is maintained within budgets, and that income is closely monitored

KNOWLEDGE

Essential:

• Experience of compiling budgets for funders
• Good knowledge of the funding landscape and of best practice in multiple areas of fundraising (trusts and foundations, corporate and major donor).

EDUCATION/TRAINING

Essential:

• Experience of using a CRM database, preferably Raiser’s Edge

 Desirable:

OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Essential:

• Able to demonstrate a commitment and sensitivity to the aims and objectives of Women’s Aid;
• Commitment to anti-discriminatory practice and equal opportunities;
• Willingness to work occasional unsocial hours as required.
• Understanding of the need to act with discretion at all times.

SUMMARY OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Terms of appointment: Offer of employment is subject to receipt of a satisfactory DBS assessment at the relevant level for the role and also a satisfactory Pre Employment Health Questionnaire at the expense of WAFE.

Confirmation of appointment will be subject to the satisfactory completion of a probationary period.  This will normally be of six months (less for short term contracts).  During this time an employee will be expected to establish their suitability for the post. During the probationary period employment may be terminated in writing, giving one week's notice by either party (this may be waived by mutual agreement). Only any statutory dismissal procedure will apply during the probationary period. There is no probationary period for contracts of under 3 months.

Salary:  £31,766 pro rata. (On an incremental scale guided by the NJC Local authority pay scale points 35-39) + benefits.  Salary is paid in arrears through bank credit by the 25th of each month.  Part time staff receive pro-rata payment based on hours worked.

Working hours:  The standard working hours for this post are 37 hours per week, based in Bristol; benefits include a generous bank holidays and annual leave package and contributory pension scheme.

Support and supervision:  Women’s Aid has a commitment to providing regular supervision and support to staff with annual appraisals forming a key part of staff development.  We have a training policy in place and encourage staff to take an active role in their career development plan.

Pension:  Women’s Aid is enrolled with the People’s Pension scheme. Women’s Aid normally contributes 7% of salary and the employee contributes 3% towards the group pension scheme. Eligible staff will be automatically enrolled on the scheme when they have successfully completed the 3 month interim probationary review.  .

Annual Leave:  Women’s Aid offers an annual leave entitlement of 25 days per year rising by one day per year until 30 days annual leave per year is reached.  In addition, we offer 8 days public holidays plus 2 additional days in March and August. All leave entitlement is calculated pro-rata for part time employees.

Other leave:  Employees have contractual rights to time off for reasons of sickness, maternity and other circumstances. 

Period of notice: 1 month after your probationary period has been completed.

Union:  You have a right to membership of a trade union. Women’s Aid recognises Unison.

Asylum and Immigration Act 1996:  To comply with this Act, Women’s Aid will need to see the original of at least one document from a specified list, most commonly a British Passport.

Additional information is available on request.