We are looking for a dynamic fundraising professional who can help lead us into our next stage of growth as a charity. We are looking for someone who is ambitious, visionary, creative, and compassionate, who recognises the challenges facing refugees as they rebuild their lives in the UK, as well as the great potential they possess, and the opportunities needed to realise this potential.
Imagine this…
You're packed in the back of a grubby van driving through an unknown land. You hear your smugglers exchanging a coarse joke. You look out of the tiny opening in the window beside you and watch the sun setting on another uncomfortable day. The smugglers promised you safety from violence. Right now, though, safety feels like a distant memory...
Refugees have been forcibly displaced from their home. Their lives have been invaded by violence, war or persecution.
Upbeat Communities is a Christian charity that exists to help refugees settle and rebuild their lives in the UK. We have been helping strangers become neighbours since 2005.
In line with the Christian ethos and values of Upbeat Communities, and due to the strategic importance and seniority of this role, there is a genuine occupational requirement that the post holder is a practicing Christian.
About us.
Upbeat Communities was founded in response to the needs of refugees arriving in the UK and the stories they shared of their lives and their journeys. Through building relationships with those from refugee communities we were able to identify their needs and the best ways to respond.
One of the best resources a refugee can have to help them settle in their new home is a good social network. Relationships and connectedness can help overcome the many challenges faced by those seeking refuge. With this aim, we want to help connect refugees into community.
Our name reflects our vision to see thriving, positive communities where refugees can contribute and make the most of opportunities.
We greet new arrivals with our Welcome Boxes befriending project. We offer free English classes and community activities to help refugees (adults and children) integrate. We empower refugees to rebuild their lives through Host Derby (temporary accommodation), mentoring (careers guidance) and the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, which local authorities contract us to deliver. We also empower the local community through awareness raising. Our organisational values, lived out by our staff and volunteers, are:
We work to WELCOME
We create COMMUNITY
We are inspired to act with INTEGRITY
We exist to EMPOWER
We are committed to CREATIVITY
We run on RELATIONSHIPS
We are proud to be PROFESSIONAL
We have COMPASSION at our core
Upbeat Communities’ Christian ethos is the motivation for all our work. It is the reason why we do what we do. It is to work together to demonstrate God’s love to refugees who have been displaced by war, conflict or persecution. We are inspired by the message, life and example of Jesus through which God’s unconditional love for all people is expressed. It compels us to love our neighbours as ourselves. It is through relationships, with each other and those whom we seek to work with, that we practice and demonstrate our ethos. We seek to live out Jesus’ command to “welcome the stranger” by building mutually enriching relationships with those who are seeking sanctuary in our country.
Context of the role.
We currently have a diverse range of income streams including grants, local authority contracts, one-off donations, regular giving and earned income. Our 3-year strategic plan has identified a number of areas of development which will require increased funding for the charity. Our income for each of the last 2 financial years has been ~£500K but we are looking to increase this across all current income streams, in particular our grant funding, as well as developing new areas of growth including corporate and major donor giving.
In order to achieve this, we have created a new role of Head of Fundraising and are looking to fill this position as soon as possible. The Head of Fundraising will develop and lead on our long term fundraising strategy in line with our organisation-wide strategic objectives.
The successful candidate will have a positive attitude and love resourcing our team with the finances to deliver the best possible services to those we work with. The candidate will be committed to, actively demonstrate, and take a lead in the delivery of our Christian values, ethos and practice in order to achieve our mission and vision.
About You.
Are you passionate about communicating a message of hope and transformation that will engage current donors as well as recruit new supporters in financing our work of welcoming refugees and helping strangers become neighbours?
Are you a leader who can inspire the Upbeat team with a vision for fundraising and generating new income for the charity?
Are you committed to living out your Christian faith in the workplace through prayer, worship, leadership and action?
Are you a catalyst in cultivating long term relationships with individuals, churches, businesses and grant funders?
Are you meticulous in your approach to project/campaign planning and delivery and can work well at both the strategic and operational level?
Do you thrive in an environment that can change quickly and needs creative and agile responses, often needing flexibility to manage the competing demands on your time?
Are you comfortable working digitally, embracing new developments in tech, whilst also confident in more traditional approaches to fundraising including bid writing and engaging relationally with major donors and grant funders?
Are you committed to standing alongside refugees, providing welcome and support as they rebuild their lives as well as listening and learning from those who remain resilient in the face of great difficulty?
Are you an experienced Fundraising Manager looking for a new challenge, an ambitious fundraising professional looking to develop your skills and experience, or maybe someone who hasn’t worked in the charity sector previously but has some amazing transferrable skills gained in the public or private sector?
If that describes you, then you sound like the perfect fit!
Please read the full job description/ person specification attached before applying.
There is no set deadline for this post. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews will be scheduled accordingly. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
It is likely initial interviews will be carried out online, with second stage interviews taking place in person.
All applicants need to submit a CV and covering letter explaining why they would be a fantastic fit for the role.
Upbeat Communities is a Christian charity supporting refugees and asylum seekers - we work across Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. Our mission... Read more
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
About Us
The National Lottery Community Fund is the largest community funder in the UK - we’re proud to award money raised by players of The National Lottery to communities across the UK. Last year alone we gave out over half a billion pounds (£508.5 million) of National Lottery funding to over 11,000 community projects across the UK, enabling even more people and communities to bring their ideas and ambitions to life. We support a wide range of health, educational, environmental, and charitable projects with grants ranging from as little as £500 to multi-million-pound programmes. 86% of our new grants were for less than £10k.
At the heart of everything we do is the belief that when people are in the lead, communities thrive. National Lottery funding is open to everyone and we’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of grassroots groups right up to large UK-wide charities. We have changed how we work across the Fund to help us serve people and communities more effectively, working flexibly and on their terms; working closer to communities.
Are you a confident communicator who enjoys working with a wide range people?
Do you see the potential in ideas as well as the challenges?
Are you passionate about your community?
The National Lottery Community is looking for a Funding Officer to join our Midlands regional team and work in across an area covering the City of Nottingham to ensure that our funding responds to what matters to our local communities. You will build long-term relationships with people and organisations, talk about their ideas and ambitions and assess funding requests providing useful feedback and support.
About the Role
Funding Officers are responsible for our grant-making activity, including pre-application support, assessment, grant management and shared learning. You will ensure that our funding responds to the local context as well as challenging yourself and colleagues to continually improve the way we work across the Midlands region.
You will build long term relationships with people and organisations in the area you cover. This will include reaching out to new groups, supporting people who are applying, and continuing the relationship after a grant has been awarded.
You will be responsible for understanding how an organisation’s ideas align with our funding priorities and making good judgements about when to take an application further or when to signpost to other opportunities.
You will combine local knowledge, understanding of best practice and the experience of grant holders to make informed recommendations about who and what we fund.
You will represent the Fund within your local area including at funding fairs and external meetings and create opportunities for people to come together. You will share learning from your conversations, events, grant holder reports and evaluations with other colleagues so that we can maximise our impact (COVID-19 dependant).
You’ll be part of a team of Funding Officers, led by a Funding Manager.
Contract: Permanent
Hours per week: 37 hours per week, flexible working considered
Interview date: 7 September
Essential Criteria
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and confidence to operate in a wide range of environments
- Ability to build and maintain excellent relationships at a number of different levels
- Ability to manage your own time and workload with minimal supervision
- Confidence to use your judgement, take initiative and challenge when appropriate
Desirable Criteria
- Assessment and reporting writing
- Demonstrate sound IT skills and the ability to learn detailed processes
For You
We seek to develop our staff and offer a wide range of personal development opportunities.
We offer a wide range of generous benefits including:
- Generous annual leave and company pension scheme
- Flexible working to support staff with their work/life balance, taking into account things such as caring responsibilities, worship and attendance at religious festivals
- Enhanced paid maternity, paternity and adoption leave
- Season ticket and cycle to work loans
- Paid volunteering leave
How to Apply
Visit our website on The National Lottery Community Fund for further details about the vacancy and our application process.
Equal Opportunities
Equality, diversity and inclusion in our grant-making, and amongst our people, are all vital to our success in supporting people and communities to thrive. We believe our people should represent the communities, organisations and individuals we work with. We are committed to being an inclusive and great place to work, and recognise our people come from diverse backgrounds. We are a Disability Confident employer and positively welcome applications from disabled people.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.