Client services officer jobs in birmingham

Background 

People and communities around the world have the solutions to social injustice, authoritarianism, and the climate crisis. But repressive governments, corrupt corporations, and armed groups use violence and oppression to try and silence them.

By building resistance and resilience among those challenging unaccountable power, Open Voices supports a shared vision for a world where communities and ecosystems can thrive. 

As a mission-driven nonprofit, we join forces with grassroots activists, community groups, and social movements at risk. Working together, we strengthen their physical safety, digital resilience, and collective wellbeing. As a social impact consultancy, we help high-profile nonprofits and foundations manage risk and care for their teams and partners.

This dual approach allows us to work at every level of civil society, from the grassroots to the global. 

We have scaled to meet a 66% surge in demand for our support over the past two years, with our international team now responding to 11 new cases every week. Last year alone, we:

• Answered 575 calls for assistance across 100 countries.

• Delivered over 6,000 hours of mentoring and accompaniment.

• Trained over 1,000 activists in 112 holistic security workshops.

Whoever we partner with, we start with questions, not answers. Listening before speaking, understanding before acting. Together, we defend those who speak out. 

We are expanding our diverse, inspired, and purpose-driven team. Will you join us as our new philanthropy coordinator?

Role description

As our philanthropy coordinator, you will play a key role in building new partnerships with philanthropists and high-net-worth individuals, with an immediate focus on the UK, US, and Europe. You will design and implement a comprehensive strategy to build a robust portfolio of individual donors, Family Foundations, Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) and other personal giving vehicles. 

A proactive and thoughtful relationship builder, you will maintain long-term relationships and lead bold strategies to engage new audiences, including millennial and next-generation philanthropists. You will steward Open Briefing’s first global development board, working closely with our CEO and director of development to engage members around a dynamic programme of activities designed to make Open Briefing more fundable and findable. 

Together with our director of development, you will drive forward a multi-year fundraising strategy to resource our work with activists and organisations on the frontlines of human rights, social justice, and environmental action. 

Your primary responsibilities will include: 

• Designing and executing our philanthropy fundraising strategy. Lead a strategy to identify, cultivate, and solicit high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) —including through Donor Advised Funds, Family Offices, Family Foundations, and other giving vehicles—with an immediate focus on the US, UK and Europe. 

• Prospecting and donor acquisition. Manage HNWI prospecting, generate new leads, develop solicitation plans, brief senior leadership in advance of meetings, and coordinate cultivation and networking opportunities.

• Stewardship and relationship management. Build strong relationships with existing and potential donors through tailored stewardship plans designed to grow income over time. Manage donor tracking and communication systems. 

• Nurture and grow our development board - Work alongside our director of development and CEO to identify and engage members and steward the Board through a 12-month action-orientated development campaign. 

• Budget Management. Manage a programme budget for cultivation and stewardship events and activities.

• Collaboration and Communication. Work closely with our communications coordinator, director of development and programme teams in the production and dissemination of donor-relevant reports, updates and other content; and contribute to the conception and organisation of donor-facing online and in-person events.

• Team support. As a key member of our development and communications team, undertaken other duties as reasonably requested relevant to team and organisational goals. 

Person specification 

Essential 

• You will have extensive experience managing a HNWI or major gift portfolio. 

• You will have a proven track-record of personally securing four, five, or six-figure donations from HNWI and/or major gift donors in the UK, US and/or Europe. 

• You will have experience working within a nonprofit focused on human rights, social justice, and/or environmental action. 

• You will have excellent verbal communication skills, including English language skills, both spoken and written. 

• You will have experience working with senior stakeholders and board members to support fundraising activities. 

• You will have an ability to work both strategically and operationally.

• You will have creative thinking and problem-solving aptitude.

Desirable

• You may have experience working within a global nonprofit. 

• You may have knowledge of the human rights, social justice, environmental justice, and/or international development funding landscape. 

• You may understand grant-making and grant-management processes, especially with respect to private philanthropic funding, including family foundations, DAFs, and Family Offices. 

• You may understand tax-efficient donation mechanisms in the UK, US, and across Europe. 

• You may understand the trends in dynastic giving as well as emerging and next-generation philanthropists. 

If you feel you meet some but not all of the criteria, we would encourage you to get in touch. 

Terms and remuneration

This is a remote, home-working role. You will be contracted for 40 hours a week on a full-time, fixed-term contract. Flexible working is available and encouraged. 

We are looking for someone who wants to embrace this pivotal role within our close-knit team and develop a long-term working relationship with us. You will be properly onboarded and continually supported by experienced and compassionate managers and colleagues. Your line manager will be our director of development, Vicky Nida. 

In return for your time and dedication, we will offer you a remuneration package made up of fair pay, sector-leading benefits, and progressive leave policies, including:

• Salary of £46,900 per annum.

• 7% employer pension contribution.

• Family private medical insurance.

• Employee Assistance Programme, including welfare counselling.

• Unlimited professional coaching.

• Enhanced annual leave of 25 days plus local public holidays.

• Additional leave days for annual closedown.

• Enhanced sick pay.

• Flexible working, including flexitime and remote and home working.

• Access to local coworking spaces.

• Support for climate action:

  • Personal carbon emissions offsetting.

  • Up to two additional leave days for sustainable travel.

  • Up to two additional leave days for climate activism.

• Apple MacBook and peripherals.

If you are based outside the United Kingdom, you will be offered comparable compensation through our local employer of record, Remote. For parity, we contribute 4% above the local statutory requirements into the personal pension plans of staff members employed outside the UK. We will contribute 7% into the personal pension plans of staff members employed in counties where there is no  local statutory provision. 

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

Open Briefing values diversity. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where all can be their authentic selves. We therefore encourage applications from all who meet the person specification and particularly from candidates who are from racialised communities and those under-recognised in our development team. This currently includes people of colour and people from countries in the global majority.

Please read our diversity, equity, and inclusion policy for more information. Our ethical and environmental policies are also available. And you may find our Vision, Mission, and Values statements of interest.

Open Briefing is a Disability Confident Employer and a signatory of the Charter for Employers Who Are Positive About Mental Health. We will make reasonable adjustments for disabled and neurodivergent people during the recruitment process and any subsequent employment. Please let us know in your cover letter how we can be the recruiter and employer you need us to be.

We have checked the text of this advert using the Gender Decoder tool.

Safeguarding

Open Briefing is dedicated to upholding the highest safeguarding standards, ensuring a culture of respect and protection for both our internal and external stakeholders. Our approach encompasses preventative measures and a strong response mechanism to any safeguarding concerns, guided by a survivor/victim-centred ethos. We enforce a strict no-tolerance policy towards any violations of safeguarding policies, ensuring that all concerns are addressed promptly and appropriately. Our safeguarding policy is available here.

How to apply

Please submit your application using our online form and note the following dates:

• Closing date: 30 May 2025

• Interviews: w/c 9 June 2025 

• Desired start date: As soon as possible 

Please let us know on the form if any of these dates are problematic and we will try to accommodate. The successful candidate will need to complete a reasonable vetting process before engagement.

We are working in partnership with the Church of England who are seeking an Independent Chair for their Racial Justice Panel.

The Racial Justice Panel (RJP) was established by the Archbishops’ Council in December 2024 following the successful conclusion of the work on the Archbishops' Commission for Racial Justice led by the Lord Boateng PC, CVO. The RJP is to provide independent assurance that the work of racial justice is being carried out effectively by the Church, in accordance with agreed plans and wider best practice.

The RJP Panel, albeit a critical friend, maintains its independence, offering rigorous scrutiny and challenge to the Church in its work on racial justice including examining progress against strategic and delivery plans. It shall produce an annual report to be laid before the General Synod. 

The RJP are looking to appoint an experienced independent Chair who will provide excellent leadership, direction and independent scrutiny and challenge to the Church of England and bring external expertise from holding a highly senior role. 

They are looking for an independent chair who:

• Is a gifted leader, who will support the Church of England in further strengthening its safeguarding arrangements and partnerships.
• Is passionate about working collaboratively at all levels, with a proven track record in improvement work at a national level.
• Knows how to hold organisations to account and possesses the skills to support the development of senior leaders.
• Understands through senior level personal experience, the core aspects of racial justice at a national level and in the field of statutory and/or voluntary sector.
• Is empathetic, strategic, emotional and has analytical skills, and able to act as a ‘critical friend’ in supporting and challenging people and institutions to help improve their racial justice focus, practice and arrangements.
• Has a relevant academic or professional qualification.
• Has an understanding of the structure of the Church of England and an appreciation for the role that faith plays in the context of racial justice.

The successful candidate will be a senior leader, with excellent communication, organisational and interpersonal skills.   

Please note: Experience of church structures and practices, either professionally or personally, are neither a barrier nor a qualification required for this role. However, the candidate must be in sympathy with the aims and work of the Church of England.

The AC is due to be replaced by CENS in 2-3 years’ time, and the role of the RJP will be reviewed once CENS is established. 

For more information, please contact Sandra Smith, Associate Director, Charisma Charity Recruitment. Applications should be submitted through the Charisma website and include your CV and supporting statement (each of which should not exceed two A4 pages). 

We welcome and encourage applications from prospective candidates of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or other category protected by law.

Closing date for applications: 11 June 2025

Client Interview date: TBC