Corporate fundraising officer jobs

Job Profile

Job Title:  Communications Specialist – South East

Directorate: Marketing, Fundraising and Communications

Reports To:  Regional Communications Manager

Matrix Reporting To:  None

Disclosure Check Level: None

Date created/last reviewed: April 2024

Overall Role Purpose

The Communications Specialist – South East helps people with sight loss to live the life they choose by driving the awareness and saliency of the Guide Dogs brand nationally and in their region by leading the development and delivery of central, regional and local integrated communications activity.

The role communicates the strategy and work of Guide Dogs, engaging key audiences both externally and internally (including service users, volunteers, staff, and supporters) to strengthen the brand and further awareness of the charity

Key Responsibilities

· Brand – Drive the awareness and saliency of the Guide Dogs brand nationally and in the region by bringing to life the brand positioning through all customer experience touchpoints.

· Champion the brand identity in the region, leading the implementation across all touchpoints. Lead the regional activation of all aspects of the brand campaign, working closely with the central brand, comms and digital teams.

· Communications & Digital – Lead the development, delivery and review of central, regional and local integrated communications & digital activity in the region to include print and broadcast media, social media, publications, advertising, events, direct marketing and internal communications as appropriate, ensuring objectives are set and measured. Create and edit key regional publications, as and when required.

· Case studies – Source and create local case studies, and work with Content Team to maintain the Chorus case study library with content to support local and national campaigns

· Media relations - Build strong and on-going relationships with national and regional journalists through proactive and reactive media relations, including dealing with issues and crises that are a risk to the organisation’s reputation.

· Work with all areas of the charity to story spot and develop compelling service user case studies that will engage journalists and turn into national news stories 

· Generate region-based stories and articles for corporate publications

· Manage creative agencies to help deliver national and regional campaigns

· Volunteer management - Develop and maintain a network of volunteer media champions across all regions.

· Spokesperson - Be a key spokesperson on behalf of Guide Dogs for regional media and where appropriate nationally.

· Advice and training - Provide both strategic and tactical advice on communications activities and issues for staff and volunteers within the region. Provide media training and develop communication skills to staff and volunteers nationally and within your area and ensure they are adequately briefed for media interviews.

· To take part in an out of hours duty rota and respond appropriately in the event of a crisis.

· Quality - Work across departments and functions both at Central Office and within your region, to ensure that Guide Dogs online and print communication channels are up-to-date and reflects regional content and context.

Breadth/Scope of Accountability

People Accountability

Number of Direct Reports: None

Number of Indirect Reports: None

Number of Volunteers Supervised: Up to 10

Financial Accountability

Annual Income Accountability: None

Assets Managed: None

Budget Accountability: Up to £10K

Application of this Job Profile

All employees are required to carry out other such duties as may reasonably be required to fulfil their role and support functional and organisational objectives.

All employees must also:

· Comply with all organisational policies

· Promote the vision and values of the organisation

· Engage in continuous personal development

This job profile is accurate as at the date shown above. It does not form part of contractual terms and may be varied to reflect or anticipate changes to the role.

Working at Guide Dogs

As well as other services to enhance the lives of people who are blind and partially sighted, we breed and train guide dogs. Staff and volunteers in all our locations support this work. Therefore, all employees must be comfortable working in environments where dogs may be present.

Guide Dogs is a volunteer-involving organisation and as such all staff are required to support volunteers in their roles. This may or may not mean the direct supervision of volunteers but will require all staff to play a supporting role. From time to time you may be asked to support / volunteer your time at Guide Dogs events that take place outside of normal working hours. All employees will be expected to advocate for Guide Dogs at all times and be a fundraiser.

Guide Dogs is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, young people and vulnerable adults with whom we work. We expect all of our employees and volunteers to demonstrate this commitment.

Guide Dogs will require proof of identity and the right to work in the UK.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

· A degree or an equivalent level qualification or equivalent experience.

Job-Related Experience

Essential

· Proven experience of creation and implementation of communications and digital campaigns and projects to meet business objectives, with experience of targeting different audiences through media channels.

· Proven experience of generating positive media coverage for a brand

· Understanding of measurement and evaluation, and knowledge of the latest techniques to measure the success and impact of a campaign against our strategic objectives

Desirable

· Experience of working in the third sector.

· Previous brand management experience.

Knowledge

Essential

· Up to date with best practice and innovation in brand marketing, communications and digital

· Awareness and understanding of the current media landscape and what journalists are looking for today

· Strong digital skills including a good knowledge of Microsoft Office packages, e.g. Word and PowerPoint.

Skills and Competencies

Essential

· Excellent written and communication skills, being able to adapt style to different channels or audiences.

· Excellent digital marketing skills.

· The ability to spot gaps and opportunities within a comms calendar and develop ‘news out of nothing’ by mining content from the organisation independently

· Able to give authoritative verbal advice and information on marketing, media and communications.

· Excellent organisational skills, working under pressure and to deadlines.

Behaviours

Our behaviours capture the essence of what it is to be Guide Dogs people, whether staff or volunteer. They describe the experience we expect everyone – the people we support, donors, partners, our volunteers and staff – to have while working with us. Guide Dogs people are:

• Person-centred - We are a group of people working to help each person affected by sight loss. We listen, and recognise that every individual is different in where they’ve come from and where they’re going. We are open, empathetic and inclusive. We place the person at the centre of every decision.

• Expert - We are specialists in what we do. We are committed to excellence and will never stop innovating. We respect our history, but seek out ways to adapt and improve, and are always willing to learn.

• Optimistic - We are relentless in our belief that people with vision impairment can lead the life they choose. We are passionate about helping each person, committed to challenging barriers, and proud of who we are and what we achieve.

So, we: -

• Partner - We only change lives when we collaborate. We build valued relationships with donors. We work together with our service users and colleagues, volunteers and partners – and our dogs, of course – to deliver great outcomes. We support and develop each other.

• Lead-by-example - We can all be a guide. We take the lead and then hand it over, empowering people to make progress independently. We gain trust by having faith in others, and influence by example. We do what we say we will.

• Engage - We cannot change lives if we look on from the side-lines. We get involved, take ownership, and feel responsible for all we do, think and say. We celebrate wins big and small, and we hold ourselves and each other to account.

We use competency-based questioning within our recruitment processes to assess the extent to which candidates demonstrate these behaviours – in ways appropriate to this role – in how they are at work and generally as people.

Safeguarding

If the role does or may involve working with children, young people or vulnerable adults, or supervising those that do, we’ll also be assessing ‘safeguarding competencies’ as part of the process. These are:

· Appropriate motivation to work with vulnerable groups;

· Emotional awareness;

· Working within professional boundaries and self-awareness; and

· Ability to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and adults and protect from harm.

Mobility

A flexible approach with a willingness to work outside of core hours and away from home when required.

Title: Faith & Church Engagement Manager

Hours: 35 hours per week

Reporting to: Director of Membership

Period:Permanent

Salary:£37- £42k (depending on experience)

Location:  SW1P 3RB United Kingdom

Work Type: Hybrid (2 office days)

Overview

Established in 1876. Mothers’ Union has 4 million members in 83 countries, and our members have been empowering communities to combat poverty, speak up for social justice, and improve wellbeing of those around them for more than 145 years. Family and community are at the heart of all we do, ensuring any change is relevant and lasting.

The ways in which we operate to fulfil that need today are quite different to that of the world of the 19th century, but our vision is still of a world where God’s love is shown through loving, respectful and flourishing relationships.

Mothers’ Union is unique. We do not work alongside communities; our volunteers and members work inside and with communities. Based in countless Anglican parishes, our work is run by local people for local people. Breaking the cycle of dependency, we give people the courage to transform their own lives and communities by facilitating change. Our members show their faith through action, and together aim to stop violence, poverty, and injustice.

From small community initiatives to national programmes our aim is to strengthen family life by nurturing relationships that are loving, faithful and respectful. Each member subscribes to the same values; the moral and ethical codes that are central to the ways in which we operate:

• We are firmly rooted in a voluntary ethos centred on mutual respect and collaboration.
• Our governance, leadership, and programmes are driven by and undertaken by members within their own communities worldwide; and
• We work with and welcome to the movement, people of all faiths and none.

Our members may be part of a branch or a wider parish, which sit within a Diocese, which reports to a Province. These Provinces and Dioceses follow the Anglican Church structure. Or they may be groups that sit outside. We also welcome friends and supporters and a host of active volunteers who support the work we do.

Purpose of the Role

Faith underpins all our work and, in this key role the post holder will support the Christian journey by providing resources for personal prayer, spiritual guidance, corporate worship, religious education, and contribute to and participate in member and central charity led events and worship.

This role will explore and research issues about the Christian faith that are relevant to Mothers’ Union, keep the rest of the Charity up to date on issues in the Anglican communion and wider church – and input into the design of MU strategic aims, and work collaboratively with organisations externally on developing resources and implementing faith-based initiatives.

This role will also be responsible for managing Mothers’ Union’s Church-based membership and our Faith and Diocesan Chaplains member-based forums.

However, the focus for this role will be the proactive outreach, development, and maintenance of faith related relationships primarily in Britain and Ireland. This includes creating and managing high-level networks of Christian influencers, Bishops and the wider clergy, and key faith-based organisations to improve the profile, understanding and integration of Mothers' Union within the Anglican communion and ecumenically and to grow our reach, membership numbers, and influence.

A key remit of the Faith & Church Engagement Manager post will be to participate and contribute to our faith-based discussions and resources within Mothers’ Union. For this reason, the post holder must be a practicing Christian. (Occupational requirement Equality Act 2010).

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

Faith management and resources

1. To lead on the development of faith resources within Mothers’ Union (MU) and lead the strategic planning of all faith initiatives, theological rationales for Mothers’ Union specific initiatives and the overall mission.

2. To ensure that MU employees understand as part of the induction process and throughout their employment, how faith guides the work and relationships of MU.

3. Working with the Director of Membership, contribute to the strategic plan for all faith initiatives and clergy and church relations within Mothers’ Union.

4. To lead MU’s faith-based forums, to work where needed with the Worldwide Board and our Central Chaplain.

5. To facilitate theological underpinning to inform our work by exploring, researching, and gathering relevant data from various sources to keep abreast of new developments and initiatives.

6. To generate faith and church-based content for our website, magazine and newsletters and deliver MU’s prayer diary and oversea Midday Prayers.

7. To work with Mothers’ Union Enterprises on resources and products that have a faith dimension or spiritual content.

8. To work with our Worldwide President or designated member of the Worldwide Board to deliver faith and worship materials for Board and Worldwide Council meetings.

9. To receive, monitor and review MU’s worldwide resources to encourage and develop the contribution these make to the distinctive faith work of Mothers’ Union.

10. To maintain and develop all Faith Resources, identifying and developing new and uniquely MU resources to be added and archiving when required dated resources.

Membership Support – Britain and Ireland

1. To produce creative and accessible prayer and worship resources for use within our membership and more widely.

2. To identify the needs of members at every level for up-to-date information and resources on theology, faith, spirituality, worship/liturgy, Christian ethics and pastoral issues for group or individual use, and to commission a range of resources to meet those needs.

3. To build and manage external partnerships, within the Church and with other faith centred organisations, developing and promoting our work with these organisations.

4. Working closely with the Director of Membership and wider Membership team, to plan and lead faith aspects at conferences and meetings as requested.

5. To help design and implement projects and campaigns that provide an active engagement for our members, raise the public profile of Mothers’ Union, contribute to membership growth strategies and further the mission to promote the Christian faith and the wellbeing of families.

6. Work with the wider membership team on the design, implementation, and delivery of new membership growth models and manage existing membership models including Church-based Membership.

General

1. To produce and provide reports and resources as required for the Chief Executive and Board.
2. To promote the Christian faith and prioritise the wellbeing of families with members, the clergy, external partners, wider faith organisations, and the Anglican church.
3. To further the promotion and integration of Mothers’ Union work with the clergy and within the Anglican Church and facilitate policy and advocacy support for MU campaigns.
4. To undertake any other duties as requested by the Director of Membership.

KEY COMPETENCIES

Experience/skills

1. Experience of writing accessible worship material and of being open to different worship styles.

2. Ability to produce theologically credible, accessible, valued, and impactful resources and documents.

3. Experience of engaging, developing and nurturing faith relationships at all levels, from members to boards, to very senior clergy.

4. Good word-processing skills- proficient at using MS Office in particular Word, Outlook, meeting platforms including Zoom and Teams and proactive social media management.

5. Research skills: Ability to collate, analyse, synthesise research data, ability to gather, manage and use a large quantity of information, research and reports effectively,

Qualifications

1. Educated to degree level or equivalent.

Personal Attributes

1. An active commitment to the Christian faith.

2. The role sits within a Membership function. Ability to work well in a team and self–direct where required, effectively prioritise workload and meet deadlines and timescales.

3. Good verbal communication skills – ability to engage effectively and confidently with a wide range of stakeholders.

4. Excellent writing skills – ability to produce and tailor content to various audiences clearly and concisely; to identify and summarise key messages.

5. Ability to communicate research findings coherently and present a balanced argument.

6. Flexible, with the ability to use own initiative to focus on the delivery of agreed priorities.

7. Ability to work with volunteers, external partners and the clergy and an empathy with voluntary sector organisations.

8. Team player – ability to work with others, communicate well and to contribute positively within a team.

9. The ability to conduct work to a high professional standard and in accordance with Mothers’ Union core values.

Knowledge and Approach

1. A comprehensive understanding and sensitivity towards the Christian Faith and its application to social ethics.

2. A broad understanding of issues affecting faith and family life today and a willingness to explore the field of relationships further.

3. The ability to take a creative and lateral approach to thinking about social problems.

Desirable Characteristics

1. Experience of using Publisher software.

2. Qualification in Theology or Religious Studies.

3. An interest in international faith and theological issues

4. Ability to interpret statistics accurately.

5. An understanding of secondary research methods.

Work Location

This role will be based at our Head Office in Central London. Mothers’ Union operates a hybrid working model. Staff are required to work an aggregate minimum of 90 days per calendar year (Pro rata for part timers) at our Head Office, Mary Sumner House in Central London. Tuesdays are our anchor days where every staff member is expected to be at the office. The 90 days includes anchor Tuesdays.

Work Ethos

Integrity lies at the heart of Mothers’ Union and in our voice and actions, we aim to be:

· Respected.

· Effective.

· Accessible.

· Clear.

· And innovative approach.

Staff are expected to reflect these core values in their own personal characteristics. Post holders are expected to be able to demonstrate:

1. A level of competence appropriate to the demands of this post.

2. The ability to conduct work in keeping with high professional standards and in accordance with Mothers’ Union’s Aims, Objectives, and Values.

3. A clarity of communication.

4. A collaborative and constructive style of operating, respecting colleagues and volunteers and their contribution.

5. An understanding of or commitment to the Christian faith.

How to Apply

If you are interested in this position, please apply by sending your CV and a Cover Letter via e-mail.

The Cover Letter should clearly outline how your skills match the main responsibilities of the role.

Application Deadline

The closing date for applications is midnight on 17th November 2025. Due to the number of applications we receive, we may not be able to individually respond to each applicant. If we do not contact you within 4 weeks from the application deadline, then unfortunately you have not been shortlisted for this position. We aim to get in touch with the shortlisted candidates after the application deadline.

Equal Opportunity

Mothers’ Union is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to create an inclusive environment for all employees.

 Values and Behaviours of Mothers’ Union staff

 MU Staff Team Values

· Respectful.

· Supportive.

· Open.

· Adaptable.

· Solutions Oriented.

Below are examples of behaviours which show the values in practice.

Value 1: Respectful

· Being a role model, treating people with respect, both in speech and action.

· Reacting to situations and requests in a professional, calm and timely manner.

· Being sincere in understanding another person’s perspective.

· Being considerate of others’ time and concerns.

Value 2: Supportive

· Working as a team to meet collective goals and embrace shared perspectives.

· Building effective working relationships across the whole organisation.

· Celebrating successes and create a positive team spirit.

· Sharing personal knowledge, skills and experience with others to help them develop.

Value 3: Open

· Being open to constructive feedback.

· Celebrating differences and recognising everyone’s contribution.

· Engaging with stakeholders and seeking their views and feedback to improve.

· Being self-aware, reflecting on the work we do, how we do it and how it affects others.

Value 4: Adaptable

· If within capabilities, adapting to changes even if outside usual duties.

· Treating every experience as an opportunity to learn and develop.

· If possible, being flexible and responsive to the changing priorities of the organisation.

· Agreeing appropriate deadlines for work and meet them.

Value 5: Solutions Oriented

· Employing creativity by thinking outside the box to overcome challenges.

· Sharing views and driving continuous improvement.

· Encouraging colleagues to share alternative perspectives and ideas.

· Seeking solutions to solve problems.

Equal Opportunity

Mothers’ Union is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to create an inclusive environment for all employees.

Right to Work

Employment right to work checks are mandatory and a legal requirement to work in the UK before you are employed.

DBS Checks

This vacancy is subject to a DBS check if you are successfully selected.

Safeguarding Policy

Mother’s Union has its safeguarding principles embedded in all services we provide in Britain & Ireland. Mothers’ Union is committed to promoting a safer environment and culture for all involved in our projects, programmes, initiatives and activities. So that this can be achieved, it is essential to understand that this policy applies to everyone working on behalf of Mothers’ Union in Britain & Ireland, namely senior managers, board of trustees, paid staff, volunteers, members, affiliates and contracted consultants.

 

Diversity & Inclusion

Mother’s Union is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity and that all applicants receive equal consideration for employment. We strongly encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply for this role. As such we particularly welcome applications from people with various backgrounds. We are committed to being an inclusive and welcoming place to work to achieve greater results for the community we support. We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for disabled candidates throughout our recruitment process and during employment.