Director of Fundraising Development
We have an exciting and rewarding opportunity for a Director of Development to join the Senior Leadership Team.
The Director of Development is a key member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and provides strategic and operational leadership across all fundraising and income generation activities.
Join a youth social action charity which challenges 18 to 25-year-olds to tackle educational inequality through a year of full-time social action. As mentors, tutors and role models in schools, they support pupils growing up in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the UK.
Position: Director of Development
Location: London/Hybrid (two days worked from the office or at external events per week and two days from home)
Hours: Part-Time, 4 days per week, 28 hours per week
Salary: £60,000 pro rata (£48,000 for 28 hours)
Duration: Fixed-term (12 months with possibility to extend)
Start date: March-April 2026
Closing Date: 7 January 2025
Interviews: Starting from the week commencing 12 January 2026
The Role
The Director of Development is responsible for leading a dedicated Development team to secure sustainable income from corporates, trusts and foundations, high-net-worth individuals, events, and statutory bodies.
You will collaborate with the SLT colleagues and the Board’s Development Committee to drive income growth, strengthen relationships with key supporters, and ensure the organisation’s fundraising strategies align with the organisations mission, values, and long-term objectives.
The role combines strategic oversight with hands-on leadership of a high-performing team, ensuring fundraising systems, processes, and reporting are effective, accurate, and aligned with best practices.
Main duties and responsibilities include:
· Strategic Leadership of Development
· Team Leadership and Management
· Major Donor, Corporate and Trusts Management
· Systems, Processes and Reporting
· External Engagement and Profile Raising
About You
We are looking for someone with strong interpersonal, relationship-building, and presentation skills and the ability to engage and inspire diverse audiences.
You will have:
· Demonstrated commitment to the charity’s mission, vision, and values.
· Extensive experience in a senior fundraising or development role with a proven record of securing significant corporate, trust, foundation, or major donor partnerships.
· Experience leading and managing a fundraising or development team, including performance management and professional development.
· Proven track record in managing fundraising income budgets, forecasting, and planning.
· Experience of working with senior stakeholders and trustees to secure funding and support.
· Experience managing fundraising systems and reporting processes, including Salesforce.
· Demonstrable success in achieving challenging fundraising targets.
· Experience working in the charity or education sectors, including integrating programme impact into fundraising.
Please apply by uploading your CV and cover letter (two pages preferred) demonstrating your suitable experience, knowledge, skills and abilities. Due to the high volume of CVs received, the charity can only respond back to the successful candidates.
Employee Benefits
As an organisation, particular emphasis is placed on fairness, well-being, and inclusion and offer a range of benefits for staff, including:
· Great holiday entitlement
· Training including degree-level qualifications
· Pension scheme enrolment starts at 4% as standard, and employee contributions are matched up to 5%
· Free eye tests and £20 off glasses
· Interest-free travel season ticket loans
· Interest-free bike loans under the “Cycle to Work Scheme”
· Interest-free Loans to assist employees with welfare or financial hardship
· 2 days per year to pursue volunteering opportunities and 2 days per year to support wellbeing
· Regular all staff wellbeing sessions with external wellbeing experts
· Reservist friendly employer - Bronze award
· Laptop and mobile phone
Other areas of experience may include Director of Development, Development Director, Director, Fundraising Director, Director of Fundraising, Trusts, Foundations, Major Donor, Corporate, Fundraiser, Fundraising, Head of Fundraising, Income, Director of Fundraising and Development.
Please note this role is being advertised by NFP People on behalf of our client.
Thank you!
Purpose of the job
This role is responsible for the design of UK Youth’s support to young people, youth organisations and youth workers. This could include structured youth work programmes, funding and grants+ programmes, professional development programmes, and campaigns.
You will lead and oversee end-to-end design processes, ensuring that UK Youth develops fully packaged offers that respond to the evidence base and people’s needs, drive forward our strategy and achieve incredible impact. You will work across UK Youth teams, with external design partners, and meaningfully involving young people and the professionals who support them in the design process.
You will be experienced in developing high quality funding propositions (proactively and in response to new business opportunities). You will be confident in taking a human-centred design approach to tackle some of the youth sector’s knottiest problems. You will design solutions to important problems, ensuring that they are feasible, equitable, impactful and scalable.
In 2026, our priority topics for youth work programmes and network development are: mental health and wellbeing, employability, social cohesion and community safety.
As a leader, you will work closely with research, evaluation, policy, service delivery, network development, and fundraising teams. You will help to improve the skills and confidence of colleagues across UK Youth to apply design methods in their own work and collaborate effectively with the Design team.
Why work at UK Youth?
UK Youth wants all young people to be equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives. Youth work can be life changing (and even life saving.) In 2026, we will be launching our new strategy, positioning UK Youth to unlock youth work so that every young person in the UK can benefit. We work with others to ensure that the youth sector is strengthened and that provision is youth-led, evidence-informed, and delivers high-quality outcomes.
UK Youth plays a unique role in addressing the lack of investment in the youth sector, the lack of cross-sector understanding in how youth work makes a difference, and the limited opportunities to embed effective solutions. These factors lead to mass inequality of access to youth services for young people. Come and be part of this change in a driven and supportive team that puts evidence at the heart of our work.
Role Responsibilities
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Designing Solutions
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Developing new business and funding propositions
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Embedding Human Centred Design
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Building a strong external network to support the Design team’s work
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Operations
Experience we're after
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Significant experience of leading and overseeing the development of new business propositions and proposals to time-limited funding opportunities
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Significant experience of designing interventions (digital and/or physical) for young people and/or those who support them
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Experience using human-centred-design methods and mindsets; managing projects across the end-to-end design process
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Proven track record of inspiring and motivating diverse teams and improving collaborative ways of working across teams and departments
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Experience of developing high quality programme content and curricula for young people, youth workers and/or outdoor learning instructors (desirable)
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Experience of commissioning and managing external design freelancers and consultants (desirable)
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Experience of designing and/or delivering professional development programmes (desirable)
What we can offer you
We offer a competitive range of benefits, good work/life balance, excellent learning and development opportunities and vibrant organisational culture:
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Flexible/Agile Working
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27 days annual leave plus bank holidays (pro rata for part time employees)
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Funded training provided in; Safeguarding, GDPR, Information and Cyber Security & Equality & Diversity
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Other training available in support of your personal and professional development
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Pension scheme (currently UK Youth match employee contributions up to 5%)
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Membership of our life insurance scheme which would pay-out up to 4 times your salary
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Employee Assistance Programme to support employees both professionally and personally
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20% discount off bookings at Avon Tyrrell, our New Forest Outdoor Centre, including camping, lodges and outdoor activities.
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IT equipment provided for the duration of contract
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CycleScheme and TechScheme
How to apply
If you would like to be considered for this fantastic opportunity, please complete an application via our completely anonymised recruitment system provided by Applied which looks to create a fair and unbiased application process for all. Scroll to the top of the page and start your application.
Closing date: Sunday 4th January 2026 at 23:59pm
Provisional Interview Dates: 12th and 13th January 2026
As this role involves working in a regulated environment with young people, any offer will be conditional to satisfactory background checks, which include criminal record check and employment reference.
Registered Charity
51 - 100
UK Youth is a leading charity with a vision that all young people are equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.