Bespoke events fundraising manager jobs in Leeds, west yorkshire

ABOUT THE JOB

This is a Home-based role, with occasional travel to London and within our operating areas of Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Slough, Milton Keynes and Luton as required.

To make a full application, please send your CV & one side of A4 covering letter letting us know why you are interested in this position and provide information on any relevant experience that may assist your application. 

For the full job description & recruitment pack, please visit our website.

PURPOSE OF ROLE

Major donors and philanthropists are currently responsible for over a quarter of Caudwell Youth’s annual income – due in part to the generosity of the networks of our founder, John Caudwell.

As Caudwell Youth enters its fourth year, we are seeking a Senior Philanthropy and Corporate Partnerships manager to help us expand beyond our strong founder-led base into a sustainable major donor and corporate supporter portfolio.

Proactive and commercially-minded, you will be confident driving and developing all stages of the major donor and corporate supporter stewardship process. Confidence in engaging in new business research, prospecting, initial meetings and pitches is a must, as you will be responsible for growing our small pipeline of supporters and warm prospects into a long-term income stream.

This is essential to Caudwell Youth’s future sustainability, with corporate partnerships and major donor income currently making up 30% of Caudwell Youth’s annual fundraising income (forecast to be around £450,000 this year).

Our ambition is to increase this revenue stream by around 50% to over £800,000 by 2030, in order to support more at-risk young people from across the UK, as set out in our recently launched strategy, Going National.

This is a role for a self-starter who is excited to drive high value growth and be a key part of Caudwell Youth’s upward trajectory, working within a small but dynamic fundraising team. It offers significant opportunity to shape and lead this area of fundraising as it grows.

You will be an experienced fundraiser with a proven track record of securing major gifts of four, five and six figure gifts, familiarity with managing corporate partnerships and evidence of growing and developing new pipelines and revenue streams.

You will own a significant portion of this income stream, with responsibility for securing new high-value relationships and growing existing supporters.

KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Operating at a senior level within the fundraising team, this role will take the lead across Caudwell Youth’s philanthropic and corporate giving.

Working closely with the Fundraising Director to drive income growth and strategic development, your key duties will include:

MAJOR DONORS & PHILANTHROPISTS

You will manage a mixed portfolio of existing supporters and warm prospects, while building a pipeline of new high-value opportunities. To do this, you will:

• Take personal responsibility for securing, retaining and growing high-value (four, five and six figure) gifts and philanthropic partnerships, by engaging in detailed prospect research and building contacts with high-net-worth individuals and their intermediaries to create a pipeline of new opportunities.
• Provide a high-quality supporter stewardship experience to Caudwell Youth’s existing major donors and philanthropists and warm prospects, tailoring this to their wishes to create a unique journey for each donor which seeks to deepen their engagement with the charity. This may include:
• Personalised reporting
• Bespoke communications
• Face-to-face meetings and events
• Unique ways to be consulted on and engage with our work
• Opportunities to be recognised.
• Lead on the continued growth, development and stewardship of Caudwell Youth’s Oracles fundraising board in order to maximise its annual revenue.
• Support John Caudwell’s Charity Pioneer with the stewardship of existing and potential Life Changers Circle donors, including through hosting cultivation and network events.

CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS AND FUNDRAISING

• Develop our corporate support pipeline, seeking to strengthen connections with existing corporate donors. This will include developing partnerships typically in the £10,000 - £100,000+ range through CSR, fundraising and sponsorship opportunities which align with Caudwell Youth’s values.
• Work with major donors and philanthropists, colleagues across the charity, volunteers and other stakeholders and contacts to proactively identify new corporate fundraising opportunities for Caudwell Youth.
• Work on Charity of the Year applications, pitches and proposals in conjunction with the Senior Leadership Team and representatives from volunteering and operations as required.
• Act as an account manager and first point of contact for corporate supporters of Caudwell Youth, coming up with tailored programmes of supporter engagement to maximise their fundraising, increase connection with our cause and engage them in strategic multi-year support partnerships.
• Supported by our Supporter Engagement Coordinator, encourage our corporate donors, major donors and philanthropists to meaningfully engage with our challenge fundraising programme.
• Review our existing Torchrunners model as a means of engaging corporate supporters as a group.

ACROSS THE FUNDRAISING TEAM

• Promote other ways to support Caudwell Youth, including gifts in wills, payroll giving, help in kind, challenge fundraising, charity-wide appeals and campaigns, events and digital content to your network of major donors, philanthropists and corporate supporters as appropriate.
• Work in partnership with the Grants and Impact Lead to develop applications and reporting for family philanthropic trusts where required.
• Work effectively as part of the fundraising team, together seeking ways to enhance and strengthen each others’ activities and diversify our revenue streams as required, including in relation to systems, policies, supporter engagement communications and fundraising events.
• Attend team meetings, personal work reviews and relevant meetings proactively and as a contributor.
• Deputise for your line manager as required in their absence, with support from the rest of the SLT.

ACROSS CAUDWELL YOUTH AND EXTERNALLY

• Work with Caudwell Youth’s operations and volunteering teams to create bespoke and sustainable opportunities for major donors, philanthropists and corporate supporters to engage in our work, while ensuring the needs of the at-risk young people that we support are always put first.
• Collaborate with our communications team to develop compelling copy and content which promotes our corporate fundraising offering and major donor support as required.
• Develop strong collaborative working with the wider teams to maximise income generation, and promote good communication and shared focus

ADMINISTRATION

• Use our CRM database, Beacon, to ensure all activity is properly captured, manage your pipelines, forecast income, track trends and data.
• Provide timely reports internally on performance, informing budget setting and subsequent reforecasts as required

GENERAL

• Behave and communicate in a way that is courteous and professional at all times, including representing the charity professionally to anyone you come into contact with and role modelling appropriate behaviour to colleagues.
• Express and promote equal opportunities and encourage inclusion and involvement.
• Ensure your work is aligned with the vision, mission and values of the charity.
• Ensure your work involves and reflects our young people’s views and voices where appropriate.
• Undertake and identify training as required and take a positive approach to personal development.
• Fulfil the duties and responsibilities of an employee as regards to Health and Safety at Work, including own safety and self-management.
• Undertake any other reasonable tasks deemed necessary as required.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

ON APPOINTMENT, YOU ARE EXPECTED TO HAVE:

• Significant professional knowledge and experience in your specialist area
• The ability to take on substantial responsibility quickly
• Critical and detailed understanding of the specialty.

IN YOUR ROLE YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO:

• Solve complex problems creatively
• Make judgements requiring analysis and interpretation
• Carry out duties with significant strategic influence
• Lead and line-manage others
• Deputise for your line manager, including handling serious issues, where required.

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

• In-depth understanding of major donor and philanthropy fundraising, including a demonstrable track record of managing a portfolio of high value supporters and securing and managing four, five and six-figure gifts.
• Knowledge of corporate fundraising and partnership development, including experience developing and managing corporate partnerships worth £10,000 and upwards.
• Ability to identify, qualify and cultivate high value prospects, with evidence of strong commercial awareness to spot opportunities, grow fundraising income and build new pipelines.
• Understanding of impact-led fundraising and how to communicate charitable outcomes effectively to supporters.
• Exceptional networking and relationship-building skills, with experience developing long-term fundraising plans and tailored donor engagement journeys.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for presentations, proposals, pitches, reports and stewardship materials.

ESSENTIAL PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• Self-motivated, proactive and comfortable with a high degree of autonomy.
• Entrepreneurial and commercially minded, with good business sense.
• Results-driven, with the ability to translate strategic ideas into tangible action.
• Confident and persuasive when working with senior stakeholders and major donors.
• Resilient and persistent when pursuing new opportunities.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to quality.
• Possess a passion for making a positive impact on young people's lives.

Transform Lives Through Fundraising
 
Lead trusts and grants fundraising efforts to make a tangible difference by directly funding life-changing assistance dogs for disabled people. 
 
About Canine Partners
At Canine Partners, we breed, train, and support expert assistance dogs to create loving, life-changing partnerships with disabled people. Across the UK, we support people with a variety of physical disabilities and their families, carefully matching them with a dog that suits their needs, personality, and lifestyle.
Our dogs bring confidence and independence, love and companionship, reducing reliance on carers and giving people the freedom to live life their own way.
 
The Role
Position: Trusts and Grants manager Hours: 37.5 hours per week Location: Homebased  Travel: Occasional travel to the National Training Centre, in Leicestershire to support bespoke donor site visits and quarterly fundraising meetings and some travel to high value giving events.   
You will implement Canine Partners’ trusts strategy with the aim of developing relationships to expand the funding base of trusts and grant givers, and increase overall giving. You'll be responsible for the strategic planning, operational management and delivery of trusts and grant funding to achieve significant and sustainable income, ensuring strong engagement with Canine Partners.
 
What You'll Be Doing

• Create and implement the trust strategy, and set income and expenditure targets in conjunction with the High Value Giving Manager and Head of Fundraising 
• Identify, secure and lead the development and management of a range of significant high value relationships with trusts and grant givers.
• Inspire existing and prospective supporters to engage with and support Canine Partners’ work, through proactive and extensive networking.
• Ensure all trust supporters receive exemplary stewardship and supporter care that meets and exceeds their expectations. 
• Be responsible for developing internal and external relationships, and represent Canine Partners at the highest levels to develop engagement and interest. 
• Engage specialist and/or senior level internal support where necessary, to gather information and prepare high level propositions to potential funders. 

 
About You

• Strong experience in trust and foundation fundraising, proven track record in securing five and six figure gifts
• Proven experience in managing relationships with external supporters
• Significant experience in developing funding proposals and innovative cases for support
• Accomplished communicator able to build relationships at all levels
• Ability to construct written reports and manage and analyse data on CRM systems

 
Most importantly, you will be passionate about the transformative impact that our assistance dogs provide to our beneficiaries.
 
Ready to Make a Difference?
If you are excited about this role, don't hesitate to apply! We welcome applicants who bring unique perspectives and would be delighted to hear from you. Please apply online with a comprehensive CV and supporting statement explaining how you believe you match the requirements of the role.
 
Please note we may interview candidates prior to the closing date. If we find a suitable candidate or receive a high volume of applications, we may close this advertisement prior to the closing date so apply now to ensure you don't miss out! Please be assured that we contact all candidates regarding the outcome of their application, this may take longer if we receive high volumes of applications.
 
Closing date: 26th July 2026
 
We recognise the benefit of diverse experience and welcome and encourage applications from all sections of the community. We are a disability confident committed employer.
 
REF-229 465