Fundraiser consultant jobs in Manchester

Are you a highly organised project leader with a track record of developing rigorous and impactful processes? Do you want to lead the delivery of the nationally-recognised accreditation transforming mental health in higher education? This could be the role for you.

We’re looking for a methodical and strategic Programme Manager (Award) to manage the end-to-end delivery of University Mental Health Charter (UMHC) Award and act as key spokesperson for the programme. 

You’ll play a vital role in ensuring that the Award upholds its standards and values, and continues to develop and scale, supporting positive change for staff and students at universities across the UK.

About the role

• Lead the delivery of the nationally-recognised accreditation for mental health in higher education: the University Mental Health Charter Award.
• The UMHC Award recognises universities that promote the mental health and wellbeing of their university communities and supports them to continually improve. 
• You will own the end-to-end management of a complex, high-profile and impactful programme, balancing administrative excellence and strategic development.

Key responsibilities

• Drive the Award lifecycle, from onboarding universities, coordinating our network of assessors and managing the Award panel.
• Scale and continually improve the Award process, ensuring it remains rigorous, impactful and values-led.
• Act as key spokesperson and point of contact for universities and other stakeholders.
• Responsible for budget, risk and line management. 

What we’re looking for

• Proven track record of managing complex projects.
• Experience developing, maintaining and improving robust systems and processes.
• A rigorous approach to accuracy and quality control.
• Comfortable holding difficult conversations with stakeholders at all levels.
• A commitment to co-production, equality, anti-racism and an interest in mental health.

Find out more about the essential criteria for this role by downloading our Recruitment Pack from the documents section.

What you will gain

• The chance to contribute to a high-impact national programme supporting better mental health for university communities across the UK.
• Experience in a varied role with opportunities to learn and develop.
• A supportive and collaborative workplace culture that values wellbeing.
• Flexibility in how and where you work. 

How to apply
If this sounds like a good fit, we’d love to hear from you!

1. Click “Redirect to recruiter”, then scroll to the 'Vacancies and volunteering' section of our 'Join our team' page to access the job listing.
2. Download the recruitment pack in the document section at the bottom of this page, where you’ll find more information about the role including responsibilities and person specifications. 
3. Download and complete our application form - instead of collecting CVs, we use an application form to ensure fairness and equal opportunity for all. 
   1. Please refrain from including any identifying details in your application answers.
4. Upload your completed application form as a word document. 
   1. Please note that once you start your application on our portal, you will have 24 hours to upload your completed form. Before clicking 'Apply' and beginning the application process, make sure your form is fully completed and ready to upload.
5. Complete the Equality Monitoring Form.

Student Minds is committed to building an inclusive team and welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds and walks of life.

ROLDA (Romanian League in Defence of Animals) is an international animal welfare charity working to improve the lives of dogs, cats and other vulnerable animals in Romania and beyond. Since 2006, ROLDA has rescued tens of thousands of animals, built shelters, delivered large-scale neutering programmes, supported partner rescuers, and driven education initiatives to address the root causes of animal suffering.

We are now seeking an experienced UK-based fundraiser to help grow individual giving, higher value support and legacy income, while working collaboratively with our colleagues in the US and Australia

This is a hands-on fundraising role focused on developing supporter relationships and growing income from individuals. You will play a key part in strengthening donor journeys, stewarding higher value supporters, promoting legacy giving, and supporting sensitive supporter communications.

You’ll be expected to work towards agreed income targets and contribute to the growth of sustainable UK fundraising, while helping align activity internationally.

This role suits someone who enjoys developing fundraising activity from the ground up, building supporter relationships, and working independently in a small charity environment — and who is genuinely motivated by bringing in income: someone practical, action-oriented, and comfortable turning plans into results.

Key Responsibilities

Individual Giving & Supporter Engagement

• Develop and deliver individual giving activity, supporting donor acquisition, retention and engagement
• Help design and improve supporter journeys and communications
• Draft compelling donor communications, appeals and fundraising materials

Higher Value Giving & Major Donors

• Support identification, cultivation and stewardship of higher value and major donors
• Build warm, authentic relationships with supporters
• Assist with donor meetings, follow-ups and personalised communications

Legacy Fundraising

• Support and grow ROLDA’s legacy programme
• Help develop legacy messaging and supporter materials
• Respond sensitively to legacy enquiries and supporter questions

Corporate & Community Fundraising

• Support the development of corporate and community fundraising activity in the UK, working collaboratively with other UK team members.
• Help identify and progress potential corporate partnerships, employee fundraising opportunities and community-led initiatives.
•  Provide fundraising support and materials to UK volunteers and supporters running their own events or activities.
• Contribute ideas and practical support to grow these income streams over time

Income Generation & Targets

• · Work towards agreed income targets and fundraising objectives
• · Contribute to fundraising plans and pipeline development
• · Track activity and results, reporting progress regularly

Communications & Representation

• Act as a key point of contact for supporter communications
• Help guide responses to sensitive supporter or public enquiries
• Provide fundraising input into communications and media responses when needed.

​Collaboration

• Work closely with fundraising colleagues in the UK, US and Australia
• Collaborate with leadership on fundraising priorities and strategy
• Share learning and insight across teams

Skills & Experience

Essential:

• Strong experience in individual giving, including supporter engagement and retention
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, particularly for donor communications
• Experience working towards income targets
• Ability to work independently in a remote environment
• Strong organisational and relationship-building skills
• Confidence handling sensitive supporter communications

Desirable:

• Experience with higher value or major donors
• Knowledge of legacy fundraising
• Experience working with international teams or charities.

Personal Qualities

• Highly organised and confident, with the ability to work across multiple teams and build positive relationships to gather information and move things forward.
•  Self-motivated and proactive
• Warm, professional and supporter-focused
• Comfortable working in a small, developing organisation
•  Passionate about animal welfare
•  Practical, resourceful and solutions-oriented

Contract Details

This role is offered on a freelance / consultancy basis (not PAYE employment). Initially 3 days per week, with potential to increase to full-time as fundraising grows.

Benefits

Flexible work arrangements: We offer flexible work hours and the option to work remotely to support your work-life balance.

Professional development opportunities: Access to training programmes, workshops, conferences and mentorship opportunities to enhance your skills and advance your career.

Meaningful work: Join a team dedicated to making a real difference to animals in need and see the direct impact of your efforts.

Opportunities for leadership: Take on this leadership role and gain valuable experience and career growth opportunities.

Performance-related incentives may be available, linked to agreed objectives and fundraising outcomes.

Inclusive culture: Be part of a diverse and inclusive team that values and respects all members.

What we're building

Level Water exists to solve a problem that shouldn’t exist: too many disabled children are still missing out on high-quality swimming lessons. 

Last year, our swimmers raised over £1m. This year we’ve sold out events in minutes and want to double the fundraising. We’re on the path to exponential growth and we need someone who can help us get there.

We're Level Water, a founder-led charity solving learn-to-swim for disabled children. We're not your typical charity. We own our events and run them like a business. We move fast, test everything, and we're building something that doesn't exist anywhere else. Our events are uniquely profitable, and we reinvest in quality and growth. 

We've just brought in a new Fundraising Director, and this Marketing role is a cornerstone of the team we're building. If you want to help define how a modern charity grows and does marketing, this is your chance.

The opportunity

This isn't a "post on social and send a newsletter" role. This is a “build something exceptional, then grow it” role. Marketing is at the heart of our flywheel, which means you’ll be integral to everything we are doing at Level Water. 

You'll own marketing strategy and execution across our entire operation: our iconic events, our life-changing swimming programmes, and our reputation as a charity. You'll drive growth, tell stories that matter, and build genuine communities that scale.

You'll have the freedom to experiment. Want to test a new channel? Launch a content series? Build a creator programme? Run paid campaigns that actually convert? Brilliant. Build the business case and let's do it.

You'll work with real impact. Children with disabilities are learning to swim because of us. Families are transformed by our lessons. Volunteers and incredible teachers make it happen. These are stories that deserve to be told brilliantly, and you'll be the one telling them.

This role is 80% growth and 20% impact storytelling, but the two are inseparable. We’re product-led and we launch and test often. Great stories fuel growth. Growth creates more stories. You'll understand that tension and thrive in it.

You'll work closely with our Fundraising Director and CEO to scale marketing as our most powerful growth lever. You'll also manage a network of brilliant freelancers (photographers, videographers, copywriters, designers) to help you execute at the highest level.

And you'll grow with us. We're scaling fast, and we need people who can scale with us. 

This is a mission-critical role in driving Level Water's growth. Every event you sell out, every story you tell, every audience you build helps unlock more funded swimming lessons, bringing us closer to a future where every disabled child can have a great swimming lesson with a confident, qualified teacher.

Marketing at Level Water isn’t just about selling events - it’s a core delivery mechanism in our Theory of Change. This role exists to move the levers that unlock more lessons, faster progression, stronger outcomes, and a sustainable income engine that funds it all.

This is the most exciting marketing job in the charity sector for the right person.

What you'll actually do

This role owns marketing as a growth engine. You'll set strategy, drive execution across multiple channels, and be accountable for how marketing translates into event sign-ups, fundraising growth, profile, and impact. You'll work closely with the Fundraising Director to shape priorities, influence decisions, and build something that scales.

Drive growth marketing that converts

• Own end-to-end marketing for our events portfolio: from launch campaigns to sell-out.

• Build and execute multi-channel campaigns across social, email, paid ads, PR, partnerships, and whatever else works.

• Test everything. Audiences, messages, creative, channels. Find what works, double down, and scale it.

• Use data to spot opportunities: which channels are converting? Where are we leaving growth on the table? What could we do differently?

• Manage our digital advertising and paid social strategy with a ruthless focus on ROI.

• Grow our email database and social audiences with intent, not just for vanity metrics.

• Be trusted to repeatedly turn £1 into £5 or £10. 

• Define and unleash our audiences: help them share their stories in a way that turns experiences into future sales, and makes everything that Level Water does easier.

• Build and manage our captain and ambassador programmes as genuine growth engines - nurturing relationships, setting expectations, and turning influence into measurable impact.

• Proactively convert interest into action. This includes direct outreach (e.g. picking up the phone to captains, engaging top fundraisers, activating ambassadors) to ensure intent turns into ticket sales and fundraising.

Tell stories that build belief

• Find, shape, and share the stories that show our impact: the children, the families, the teachers, the moments that matter.

• Build and curate a library of content (video, photography, case studies, testimonials) that we can use everywhere.

• Work with freelance photographers and videographers to capture our events and programmes at their best.

• Create content that our supporters, partners, and prospects actually want to engage with, not just content that ticks a box.

• Manage our website (fundraising, events, and programmes pages) to ensure it's always up to date, compelling, and optimised for conversion.

• Ensure our impact reporting to donors is rich with content about our work.

• Use storytelling internally to build shared understanding, momentum and belief across the charity as we scale.

Build our profile and partnerships

• Position Level Water as a leader in accessible swimming and outdoor challenge events.

• Build and leverage relationships with press, influencers, local authorities, and stakeholders.

• Identify partnership and sponsorship opportunities that align with our mission and drive growth.

• Amplify examples of inclusion within our pools, making them known and also making inclusive practice visible.

• Promote our swimming pool partners and recognise their contribution to our work.

Manage, measure, and improve

• Own the marketing budget and get maximum value from every pound spent.

• Manage our freelance network: scope projects, review proposals, and ensure quality work on time and on budget.

• Report regularly on what's working and what's not: campaign performance, audience growth, conversion rates, ROI.

• Stay ahead of the curve: what are the best organisations doing? What can we learn and adapt?

Who we're looking for

We care much more about how you work than where you've worked. You don't need charity sector experience .

People who thrive here have:

• Hustle and drive. You take ownership. You spot opportunities and go after them. You don't wait to be told what to do.

• A commercial approach. You think in terms of audiences, funnels, conversion, and scale. You understand what drives growth and you know how to execute it.

• Copywriting chops. You can really write. Headlines that stop the scroll. Emails people actually read. Stories that land. You know that words matter.

• A data brain. You can look at campaign performance and spot the story. You know that "CTR is up 18%" means something, and you know how to act on it.

• A bias for action. You test things. You move fast. You're comfortable with uncertainty and you learn by doing.

• Creative thinking. You generate ideas. You see opportunities others miss. You're not afraid to try something different.

• Organisation. Strong attention to detail, with the ability to run 12 products, 40 email journeys and 100 web pages without dropping anything.

• An entrepreneurial mindset. You think like an owner. If this were your business, how would you grow it?

Bonus points if:

• You've worked in a startup, scale-up, or high-growth environment.

• You've built audiences from scratch or scaled marketing profitably.

• You've led paid campaigns that actually delivered ROI.

• You've worked across multiple channels and understand how they work together.

• You love being outdoors (swimming, hiking, wild camping, anything that gets you outside). 

Why Level Water?

Our values: Bold, Driven, Personal, and Joyful are at the heart of this role. You'll be expected to bring ambition, move with purpose, care deeply about impact, and help create marketing that feels genuinely joyful to be part of.

Bold. This isn't a "follow the playbook" role. We want your ideas. We want you to challenge us. We want you to help us build something better.

Driven. We're growing fast and we need people who can scale with us. If you're ambitious, there's a huge opportunity here.

Personal. We're a small, founder-led team. We move fast, we debate hard, we test everything, and we care deeply about what we do.

Joyful. You'll work on some of the most iconic outdoor swims in the UK. You'll help tell stories that change lives. You'll be part of creating something people remember forever.

Practical details

• Flexible working: remote, hybrid, or (even better) office-based in Tunbridge Wells or Exeter, your choice.

• You'll attend weekend events throughout the summer (with time off in lieu).

• Salary: £30k–£45k depending on experience.

How to apply

We want to hear from you in whatever way best shows us who you are and how you think.

Get creative. It’s a marketing job so sell us on your personality and style. A traditional CV and cover letter? Absolutely fine. A video introduction? Great. A presentation deck? Bring it on. Whatever format helps you shine and show us who you are.

Here's what we'd love to know:

1. How you'd approach marketing growth:
Imagine we want to double sign-ups for one of our summer events (currently sitting at 500 swimmers). Walk us through your approach: which channels would you use, what would your messaging be, how would you measure success, and what would you test first?

2. What excites you about this role:
Tell us why this opportunity appeals to you specifically.

3. Something you're proud of:
Share one thing you've built, grown, or improved. Doesn't have to be in charity or even at work, it could be anything that shows your drive and ability to make things happen.

Before you apply

If you've got questions about the role, the team, or whether this might be right for you, please reach out. I'm Andy Punter, Fundraising Director at Level Water, and I'd genuinely love to chat.​

Deadline

20th March 2026

We're excited to meet you. Let's build something brilliant together.

Are you passionate about bringing art to everyone? Do you believe in the power of digital to engage people with the arts? We’re looking for an enthusiastic Philanthropy Manager to join our friendly and dedicated team.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries, particularly individuals who experience physical, mental or social barriers to accessing the arts.

About Art UK

Art UK is an art education charity and the online home for every public collection of art in the United Kingdom. It is making the UK’s national collection of art accessible to everyone online – for enjoyment, learning and research. Art UK brings together art from almost 3,500 British institutions in one of the UK's largest ever arts partnerships and showcases this art to a global audience of 5.5m users per annum. Approaching 60% of this audience is overseas.

Art UK provides significant support to museums and galleries in the UK, by providing them with a shared digital platform to showcase their art collections, reach new audiences, and generate income. Most of these collections would not be able to show their art online without Art UK. The Art UK platform is rich in story content, learning resources for teachers and students, and public engagement opportunities. A shared e-commerce infrastructure helps collections generate much needed commercial income. 

About You

As the Philanthropy Manager, you will be a confident and persuasive communicator, comfortable engaging with supporters and stakeholders at all levels. You will have a solid knowledge of philanthropic giving and a deep appreciation of the value of high-quality donor stewardship. Highly organised and detail-focused, you will enjoy working with data and be skilled at producing compelling content both on and offline. You will bring initiative, creativity and the ability to work independently, while also being a collaborative team player.

The Philanthropy Manager is a new donor-facing role, which will focus on expanding and strengthening a major donor portfolio to increase five and six figure income from individual donors and family trusts for Art UK. You will lead on managing and growing Art UK’s philanthropic giving programme, which includes the Patrons and supporter events programme and our major donor activity. Working within an ambitious team, you will have the support of a freelance Prospect Researcher to identify new prospects, and the Development Manager and CRM Officer to develop donor journeys and relationship management systems. You will report to the Head of Development, work closely with the CEO and Chair of the Philanthropy Board, and collaborate with colleagues across the organisation.

You will actively promote equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging in all aspects of your work, reflecting your commitment to our organisational values and contributing to a positive workplace culture.

Key Responsibilities

- Build and maintain a robust prospect pipeline through identification, research, cultivation and relationship-building to secure five-figure gifts and long-term support

- Manage a portfolio of mid-level individual donors, converting one-off supporters into deeper donor relationships

- Manage and grow Art UK’s mid-level regular giving programme, strengthening donor relationships through face-to face meetings, events and personalised communication

- Develop donor development strategies, using CRM to analysis and identify higher gift prospects from existing donor pool and maximise giving potential

- Lead on major gifts for annual Big Give campaigns, identifying and securing keystone pledge donors, and leveraging networks to reach giving targets

- Create and implement, effectively and in a timely manner, development plans for each donor to retain and upgrade donors and document all activities in CRM Beacon

- Prepare and personalise correspondence and fundraising materials, including donor stewardship and reports, funding proposals and acknowledgement letters as appropriate

- Work closely with the Marketing team and other colleagues to showcase Art UK’s work and enhance donor engagement

- Organise and deliver events for major donors and prospects (with support from the Development team), including attending events where appropriate

- Support management of the American Friends of Art UK (launching 2026), including donor stewarding and events programming

- Support senior leadership and board members in the preparation and delivery of high-quality donor pitches to secure new philanthropic gifts

- Monitor progress against targets and maintain accurate reporting, including updates to Art UK’s Board of Trustees and the Philanthropy Board

- Ensure pledges and donations are processed efficiently and that donors are thanked promptly and personally

- Work closely with all members of the Development team to ensure prospecting and cultivation activity is aligned and complementary

- Ensure all philanthropic fundraising activity is conducted in line with legal, regulatory and ethical best practice e.g. GDPR and the Chartered Institute of Fundraising Code of Practice

Necessary Skills

- Essential: Experience managing a pipeline of philanthropic supporter prospects, including researching and devising bespoke cultivation plans

- Essential: Proven experience as a major donor fundraiser with a track record of securing five-figure gifts.

- Essential: Proven experience creating, implementing and evaluating philanthropic fundraising strategies

- Essential: Strong strategic thinking skills, with the ability to identify and shape innovative partnership opportunities

- Essential: Outstanding relationship-building and networking skills, including digital engagement

- Essential: In-depth understanding of the philanthropic fundraising environment

- Essential: First-class written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to engage with a wide range of stakeholders

- Essential: Experience analysing and using supporter data to inform campaigns

- Essential: Strong copywriting, proofing and editing skills

- Essential: Experience using CRM databases with a high level of accuracy

- Essential: Thorough knowledge of fundraising best practice and legislation

- Essential: Self-motivated, reliable and exceptionally organized

- Desirable: Experience planning and managing fundraising events

- Desirable: Experience in donor acquisition through online giving platforms, direct marketing by email and social media campaigns

- Desirable: Active interest in the visual arts and awareness of UK art collections

- Desirable: Experience working with a diverse range of audiences

- Desirable: Experience working on projects with a broad range of partners

- Desirable: Experience of US fundraising and philanthropic giving

Contract terms

- Full-time

- Permanent contract

- Salary £38,000 per annum

- Three-month probationary period

- One-month termination clause

- Work from home, within 2-hour travel time to central London (once monthly travel to London for evening events and meetings required)

Benefits

- 25 days annual leave plus regional Bank Holidays

- Paid Christmas closure period (Christmas Day to New Year’s Day)

- Flexible working hours

- Workplace pension scheme

- Training and development opportunities

- Mental health and wellbeing support

- Above statutory paid sick leave

- Enhanced paid parental leave

- Employee Assistance Programme

- Monthly wellbeing hour

- Trained Mental Health First Aider’s

- Regular staff socials, both virtual and in-person

- Eye tests paid for up to £35, glasses subsidised up to £30