Head of grants and contract income jobs

Fundraising Officer 

Salary:  £29,409 - £31,656 

plus £312 p.a working from home allowance (see below for more details on remuneration)

Contract : Full time, permanent, remote first, home-based. 

About Voice 21 

Voice 21 is the national oracy education charity. We exist to empower every child to use their voice for success in school and life. Our work transforms learning and life chances through talk by increasing access to a high-quality oracy education for those that need it most. Follow the links to find out more about why oracy is so vital and the impact Voice 21 has. 

Why work for Voice 21?

Tackle a vital challenge, with great people. Voice 21 exists to transform children' s learning and life chances through talk and we are aiming to be working with 1,800 schools a year by 2030. To reach this goal we recruit great people and give them real responsibility, training and support. 

Output focused culture, with flexible working opportunities. We have an agile and flexible approach, our team can work when and wherever works best to deliver the requirements of their role. As our staff predominantly work from home, we support them to create a workspace and provide technology that enables them to work effectively. 

Real development opportunities. We believe in supporting people to develop the skills they need to be excellent whether this means funding external training, finding a mentor to support them or giving them the time to learn from others in the organisations through our regular CPD sessions. 

Great benefits. 36 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays and a 3 day Christmas closure period). Holiday entitlement increases linked to length of service, 5% employer contribution to pension, interest-free season ticket, cycle and technology loans, employee assistance scheme. 

Remuneration. Our pay is a band and spine point approach where there is up to 7 years progression automatically available (depending on starting point) 

Purpose of the Role: 

Fundraising plays an important role in the sustainability of Voice 21 and our ambitious new strategy aims to double our voluntary income to £2M by 2030. This new post of Fundraising Officer has been created to support the Head of Fundraising and wider leadership team with operations across high value fundraising streams – grant-making trusts and foundations, philanthropy and corporate partnerships. 

You will be responsible for researching potential funders, maintaining accurate records of fundraising contacts and activities, helping to build and maintain relationships with current and prospective funders, producing compelling reports for our funders and engaging communications for fundraising audiences, and creating and project managing inspiring engagement opportunities, including events, for current and prospective supporters.

The successful candidate will ideally have previous experience working in a fundraising team – or else bring compelling transferable skills from a comparable, external-facing role. You will need to demonstrate that you can build and maintain great relationships with people at all levels, both internally with colleagues across the organisation, and with external high value stakeholders. Competent organisational skills are a must, with the ability to anticipate needs and exceed expectations. You will obviously need excellent communication skills too, including being able to write well and edit wisely (without depending on AI!) 

This varied role will offer plenty of opportunities to develop new skills and build your high value fundraising experience. It would suit an ambitious, motivated fundraiser who is driven by Voice 21’s mission and is looking to develop their career in the sector.

Key Responsibility of the Role: 

• Researching grant-making trust and foundations, maintaining a prospect pipeline, and developing and submitting funding applications.

• Managing reporting cycles and producing reports for funders.

• Maintaining the fundraising database (Salesforce), ensuring departmental data is accurate and up to date. 

• Organising engagement opportunities, including events, for prospects and/or funders, with oversight from the Head of Fundraising.

• Building and maintaining strong, sustainable relationships with fundraising contacts, ensuring excellent engagement and stewardship. 

• Supporting the Corporate Partnerships Lead as needed with corporate fundraising activities.

• Providing operational support to the Head of Fundraising and Senior Leadership Team, ensuring where appropriate that senior colleagues are fully briefed and prepared.

• Working collaboratively across the organisation to raise the profile of fundraising and to maximise opportunities.

• Other administrative tasks as required to support the fundraising team.
   

This job will require that you have: 

Essential: 

• Good understanding of the fundamentals of high value fundraising, with some previous experience working in a fundraising team to raise income to a target. 

• Experience of researching potential funders/donors and of successfully identifying great leads/prospects.

• Excellent written communication skills, with ability to translate complex information into simple and compelling narratives appropriate for the intended audience.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to build and maintain productive relationships at all levels. 

• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities effectively. Comfortable working in a fast-paced, iterative culture, working across lots of different projects/activities. 

• Self-motivated, comfortable working autonomously, and able to take ownership of own performance.

Desirable: 

• Experience of using Salesforce (or another CRM system) to manage contacts and pipelines, track performance, and report on outcomes.

• Knowledge of fundraising legislation, ethics, compliance, and data protection requirements.

Who you’ll work with: Your line manager will be the Head of Fundraising and you will work alongside a Corporate Partnership Lead. The fundraising team of 3 sits in the Operations Directorate.

Where you’ll work: All Voice 21 staff work remotely and this is a home-based role, with some travel expected to our London office (by Victoria station) and elsewhere for meetings. Occasional overnight stays may be required depending on where you are based. Voice 21 pays all travel and accommodation expenses. 

Contract: Permanent, subject to successful probation review after six months.

Application details 

To apply:

Please submit your most recent CV and covering letter, considering the suggestion below:

Applicants are advised to carefully consider the job description before applying, tailoring your CV and cover letter to demonstrate clearly how you match the specification for this role and giving concrete examples of the impact you have had in your current role. Applicants who do not demonstrate their capability and competency in the key areas of responsibility are unlikely to progress to interview.

Closing date:  8th May 2026 however we reserve the right to close applications before the stated closing date if a sufficient number of suitable applications is received

Interview dates: TBC 

Valuing every voice

Voice 21 believes that every voice should be heard and valued. We are committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and do not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership. 

Voice 21 is a diverse and inclusive workplace and we strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join us. By offering a salary range, we demonstrate our commitment to considering a wide range of applicants who may bring different perspectives and levels of experience.