Head of individual giving and legacies jobs in Cambridge, cambridgeshire
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This role is an exciting opportunity to lead the development and delivery of Alzheimer's Research UK’s Supporter Experience strategy. This is a transformation programme and requires a leader who can not only lead a team but support an organisation to work collaboratively to enhance supporters trust, satisfaction and connection with their relationship with Alzheimer’s Research UK, recognising the importance of their role in helping to get to a cure.
The Head of Supporter Experience will lead two critical teams who all contribute to delivering our Supporter Experience; the Supporter Operations function which include both Supporter Relations (front end) and Fundraising Operations (back end) and the Supporter Engagement and Journeys team. But you’ll also work collaboratively to improve our Supporter Experience across the organisation – including those who give money, time, voice influence and deliver our mission (partners and researchers).
You will champion, design and oversee the implementation a personal, relevant and tailored experience – either through direct responsibilities or through influence, coaching and inspiring colleagues across the organisation to ensure that we are delivering our brand and supporter experience principles consistently across all supporter touch points and communications.
You’ll bring expertise in designing and delivering marketing personalisation and data automation through frameworks and tools meaning you’ll be data literate and experienced in implementing and embedding a martech approach. But most importantly you’ll be passionate about giving supporters a fantastic experience so that they stay longer, do more and feel like a valued part of getting to a cure for dementia.
You will be part of an Individual Giving and Legacy leadership team who will work collaboratively to deliver a joined-up mass income growth strategy, ensuring that we deliver a diverse product portfolio, exceptional supporter experience, and high performing teams.
Key Responsibilities:
Supporter Experience Leadership:
· Lead and own the Supporter Experience Transformation Programme, providing strategic leadership which enables the successful implementation and ongoing integration of our Supporter Experience strategy across the organisation to achieve its long-term goals.
· Develop a high performing Supporter Experience team, creating synergy and consistency of our supporter relations, operations and supporter engagement (journeys and loyalty comms).
· Coach and inspire colleges across the organisation, working collaboratively to embed supporter principles and journey frameworks to support the delivery of our organisation objectives within time, money and voice, leading for our holistic and joined up experience, moving us away from product / audience silos.
· Work with Fundraising Heads on how Supporter Experience can grow their income, and provide support with income modelling and budgets for long term income forecasts and annual ops planning cycles.
· Representing Supporter Experience on key programme boards and working groups to maximise our internal engagement and understanding of our Supporter Experience priorities and activity, but to also optimise our Supporter Experience by understanding the prioritise across the organisation.
Technical leadership:
· You will be responsible for ensuring Fundraising Operations are integrated, automated, compliant and efficient, not just within your own teams, but also across all of fundraising, marketing, communications and engagement.
· Always champion the supporter, working closely with our Head of Marketing Planning and Head of Insight and BI Teams to record, track and utilise supporter insights and Supporter Experience performance data to optimise our Supporter Experience Strategy.
· Responsible for ensuring we are utilising our martech tools and capabilities, and working closely with Digital, Data and Technology to ensure we deliver the most efficient and effective supporter journeys that feel personal, relevant and timely for our supporters.
· Responsible for keeping up to date on latest thinking, tools and technology for delivering effective Supporter Experiences.
Team management:
· Lead the Supporter Experience team, ensuring clarity of team purpose and vision, and driving high performance at all levels, and ensure the team is structured effectively for high performance and delivery of our growth plans.
· Directly manage your direct reports, developing an effective and joined up Supporter Experience Management team, ensuring all team members have clear, SMART objectives and development plans in place and routine performance reviews are undertaken.
Knowledge, skills and experience needed:
· Significant experience of martech tools and the design and implementation of supporter/customer journeys within these tools.
· Experience of successfully managing teams through change and transformation.
· Experience of driving a high-performance culture through clear accountabilities, objective setting, performance management, coaching, feedback, and development.
· Demonstrates high levels of knowledge and practical implementation of fundraising/marketing compliance.
· Exceptional leadership and influencing skills, with the ability to build strong relationships with senior stakeholders and motivate cross-functional teams.
· Strategic communications planning.
· Experience of audience insight and segmentation principles and use of data and CRM systems to develop supporter journeys and measure and evaluate success.
· Strong people skills –including people management, influencing at a senior level, and coaching across the organisation.
· Skilled at working collaboratively and able to lead for collaborative working.
· Confident with transformation and change management.
· Self-management and setting own goals and milestones against understanding of supporter experience strategy.
· Exceptional diplomacy, tact, and stakeholder management, influencing and coaching skills.
· Comfortable giving direction and making decisions where there is some degree of ambiguity.
· Able to help others develop a common focus and clarity in what they are trying to achieve.
· Ambitious, innovative, creative, target-driven and self-motivated.
Additional Information:
Ways of working:
As part of our Agile ways of working you will be required to work approximately 2 days a week from the office, which is subject to the requirements of the role and the business needs. Flexibility on where you work can be split between working from home and our office.
Roles that are classed as part of the Agile ways of working are not able to claim any costs for Mileage/Travel on Public Transport, Accommodation and/or Meals. This includes when attending the office for various meetings/events.
Our Office: Our office is at 3 Riverside, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge, CB21 6AD.
Salary: Circa £70,000 per annum, plus benefits.
Please download the Vacancy Pack on our website for more information.
The closing date for applications is the 26th April 2026, with interviews being arrange once shortlisting has been completed. Please indicate in your covering letter if you are unable to attend an interview on a certain date. We would encourage you to submit your application at the earliest opportunity, as on occasion we may have to bring forward the interview date and/or the closing date based on the needs of the business. Although a possibility, this will only happen in exceptional circumstances. Please indicate in your covering letter if you are unable to attend an interview on a certain date.
We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, particularly from those in the global majority, those with disabilities, men and those from the LGBTQIA+ community. Any offer of employment is however subject to you having the right to work in the UK.
As part of our commitment to being an inclusive employer and ensuring fairness and consistency in our selection process, we will handle your CV and application with the utmost confidentiality. Should you require any adjustments at either the application or interview stage, please contact us via our website.
How to apply: Please create an online account using our Online Recruitment Platform which can be accessed through our Job Vacancies page. You will be able to attach your CV to your application and track the status of your application.
About Alzheimer’s Research UK: Alzheimer's Research UK is the UK's leading dementia research charity. Our mission is to accelerate progress towards a cure. Today 1 in 2 people will be impacted by dementia, either through caring for a loved one, developing it themselves or tragically both. But there is hope.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Senior Legacy & In Memory Marketing Manager - FTC
The gifts in Wills and in memory marketing team is responsible for raising awareness, generating income, and mass stewardship of the incredible people who support the charity in this way. The role of the Senior Legacy and In Memory Marketing Manager is to lead this high-performing team; to set and deliver the strategy to maximise gifts in Wills acquisition, conversions and long-term income; and to implement the transformative new in memory strategy within the team and across the charity.
This is a 9-month FTC or on return of substantive postholder.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Development of Gifts in Wills and In Memory Marketing
· Work with the Head of Legacy and In Memory Giving to define and deliver priorities for the team, including support on developing a new legacy strategy.
· Contribute to the generation of £23m of income annually across gifts in Wills and in memory, working to maintain the pipeline from top of funnel onwards to ensure that this income continues to grow in line with strategic plans.
· Lead annual operational planning and development of legacy and in memory marketing strategies and plans, including making recommendations on team structure and resource.
· Work with the Head of Legacy and In Memory Giving and the Legacy Relationship Manager to ensure continued awareness, alignment and support for gifts in Wills and in memory across the charity.
· Work with the Head of Legacy and In Memory Giving and the Legacy Relationship Manager and Legacy Casework Manager to ensure continued alignment between the work of marketing, case management and relationship management.
· Implement and continue to develop the new in memory strategy.
Line Management
· Line management of the Senior Legacy and In Memory Marketing Officer and Legacy and In Memory Marketing Officer, driving their success to ensure a highly motivated team that achieves their targets.
· Support the Senior Officer with line management of the Executive.
· Monitor, review and empower the team to continue functioning at a high level.
· Spot and maximise development opportunities across the team.
· Support cross-team working and collaboration, ensuring that the team is well-represented in cross-functional working groups and other matrix working structures.
Campaigns and Communications Management
· Accountable for the delivery of marketing activity on time, on budget and on brand across a variety of media, including a new multichannel marketing campaign centred on TV.
· Responsible for the integration of marketing activity across the charity to drive maximum value.
· Accountable for the development and delivery of an annual test and learn programme where appropriate.
· Accountable for end of campaign reviews and analysis, KPI monitoring and reporting, and proactive adaptation of plans to optimise results.
· Responsible for management of agencies to maintain positive relationships and generate the best possible outputs in line with KPIs.
Cultivation and Stewardship
· Accountable for mass stewardship of prospects, gifts in Wills and in memory supporters to ensure their positive relationship with the charity to maximise long-term value.
· Work with the Relationship Manager to ensure the synthesis of the relationship management and marketing functions.
· Work across teams to improve supporter journeys and develop understanding of their lifetime value.
· Ensure the database is maintained correctly by the Legacy and In Memory Marketing team.
Budget, planning and forecasting
· Responsible for translating strategy and operational planning into annual budgets.
· Accountable for overall team budgets and reforecasts, including legacy case management and relationship management.
· Raise the skill level of the team in relation to budgeting to increase their ability to take ownership of their respective areas.
Knowledge, skills and experience needed:
- An excellent understanding of the world of fundraising and the opportunities available to ARUK and the sector.
- Experience working in gifts in Wills and in memory teams.
- Knowledge of dementia or experience of a medical research charity.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills.
- An ability to manage a busy and varied workload.
- Excellent organisational skills.
- Excellent attention to detail.
- Skilled at building excellent relationships with internal stakeholders.
- Effective account and people management skills.
- Excellent CRM/database management skills, preferably Salesforce.
- Line management experience.
- Project and budget management experience.
- Proven track record of meeting or exceeding financial and non-financial targets.
- Supporter/stakeholder management experience.
- Professional and hard-working team player.
- Outgoing, enthusiastic and able to remain calm under pressure.
- Ability to handle sensitive issues with tact and diplomacy.
- Flexibility to work some unsociable hours and willingness to travel independently.
Additional Information:
Ways of working:
As part of our Agile ways of working you will be required to work approximately 2 days a week from the office, which is subject to the requirements of the role and the business needs. Flexibility on where you work can be split between working from home and our office.
Roles that are classed as part of the Agile ways of working are not able to claim any costs for Mileage/Travel on Public Transport, Accommodation and/or Meals. This includes when attending the office for various meetings/events.
Our Office: Our office is at 3 Riverside, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge, CB21 6AD.
Salary: Circa £53,000 per annum, plus benefits.
Please download the Vacancy Pack on our website for more information.
The closing date for applications is the 19th April 2026, with interviews being arrange once shortlisting has been completed. Please indicate in your covering letter if you are unable to attend an interview on a certain date. We would encourage you to submit your application at the earliest opportunity, as on occasion we may have to bring forward the interview date and/or the closing date based on the needs of the business. Although a possibility, this will only happen in exceptional circumstances. Please indicate in your covering letter if you are unable to attend an interview on a certain date.
We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, particularly from those in the global majority, those with disabilities, men and those from the LGBTQIA+ community. Any offer of employment is however subject to you having the right to work in the UK.
As part of our commitment to being an inclusive employer and ensuring fairness and consistency in our selection process, we will handle your CV and application with the utmost confidentiality. While we strive to anonymise your CV where possible, there are certain sections, such as the application question, that cannot be fully anonymised. We kindly ask that you remove any personal information, including your name, when answering the application question. The hiring panel will not have access to your personal details, such as your name and address, until you are invited for an interview. Should you require any adjustments at either the application or interview stage, please contact us via our website.
How to apply: Please create an online account using our Online Recruitment Platform which can be accessed through our Job Vacancies page. You will be able to attach your CV to your application and track the status of your application.
About Alzheimer’s Research UK: Alzheimer's Research UK is the UK's leading dementia research charity. Our mission is to accelerate progress towards a cure. Today 1 in 2 people will be impacted by dementia, either through caring for a loved one, developing it themselves or tragically both. But there is hope.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.

