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Assistant Head of Fundraising (Public Fundraising)

Salary £57,574.79 per annum

LocationLondon/Hybrid

Weekly Hours35

The Vacancy

Job Title: Assistant Head of Fundraising (Public Fundraising)

Location: London/Hybrid

Salary: £57,574.79 per annum

Weekly Hours: 35

Reference: YMC1212513

An exciting moment to join us

YMCA England & Wales is entering one of the most exciting chapters in its fundraising history, launching our ambition to create 10,000 new homes for young people. Working alongside local YMCAs, we will support the development of new accommodation across the federation, helping young people move towards independence.

This role sits at the heart of that ambition.

You will lead the fundraising behind two critical components of the 10,000 Homes programme:
• Securing income from the public to build and sustain a central Centre of Expertise (mobilisation team), supporting local YMCAs to develop and deliver housing projects.
• Raising capital from individual supporters, mid-level donors and major donors to grow a replenishing national fund that provides upfront investment to unlock housing developments across the federation.

At the centre of this is the 10,000 Homes Fund: a bold, housing-focused proposition that offers the public a clear and tangible way to support young people into safe, stable accommodation. You will be responsible for growing this proposition, ensuring it resonates strongly with supporters and inspires giving at all levels.

You will lead an integrated public fundraising approach, bringing together individual giving, mid-level and major donors into one compelling, housing-led narrative. A key part of the role will be translating a complex, federated model into a simple, emotional and compelling case for support that connects with people’s motivations to give.

We’ve established strong early foundations and are now ready to scale. This role offers the opportunity to take a high-potential public fundraising proposition to the next level -expanding its reach, deepening supporter engagement, and unlocking significant new income.

We are looking for someone who is creative, data-driven and passionate about engaging the public to drive meaningful change for young people. We’re looking for someone comfortable working in a federated environment, with the ability to simplify complex ideas into compelling messages for the public.

The role

As Assistant Head of Fundraising (Public Fundraising), you will lead and inspire a team of talented fundraisers, deputising for the Head of Fundraising and taking ownership of our most ambitious programmes:

The 10,000 Homes Fund driving forward our flagship proposition across individual giving, cash appeals and mid-level audiences.

Major Donors shaping the strategy for high-net-worth relationships, new giving circles and development boards.

RoomSponsor, YMCA’s flagship regular giving product, now in its third year of an ambitious growth strategy. You will oversee a unique partnership model across 45 local YMCAs, support the income distribution process, and see first-hand the impact of your work through a programme that directly supports young people with safe accommodation.

Legacies working with the Senior Fundraising Manager and Head of Fundraising to define and grow what is set to become a landmark legacy programme.

This is a hands-on leadership role: you will set direction, manage budgets, develop your team, while also being prepared to step into delivery when it matters most. You will balance strategic oversight with practical execution, ensuring programmes are both ambitious and deliverable.

About you

You are an experienced public fundraising professional with a strong track record in individual giving or direct marketing, alongside a well-developed understanding of major donor fundraising. You know how to bring different disciplines together behind a single proposition and deliver results.

You are an effective and confident leader, able to build, motivate and develop high-performing teams. You create clarity, set high standards, and support others to do their best work, stepping in when needed and leading from the front.

You are at your best when driving a clear proposition forward. You are excited by the opportunity to take a compelling idea and translate it into something that engages the public, inspires generosity and delivers sustainable income.

You are energised by a challenge, comfortable with complexity and working in a federated environment, where success depends on strong relationships and shared ownership. You are skilled at working with partners, whether agencies, internal stakeholders or local YMCAs, and know how to align people around a common goal.

You combine strategic thinking with operational delivery. You are data-driven, using insight and performance to shape your decisions, and confident working with (and occasionally building) financial models to plan, test and scale activity. You bring both creativity and discipline, generating new ideas while ensuring they are grounded, deliverable and effective.

Above all, you are a strong communicator and influencer. You can simplify complex ideas into clear, compelling messages, build confidence with colleagues and stakeholders, and position fundraising as a critical enabler of impact.

Why join us now

YMCA is the oldest and largest youth charity in the world, serving communities across England and Wales every day. The fundraising team is geared up for success, the strategy is set, the proposition is proven, and the results are already coming in. What we need now is a leader ready to take this momentum to the next level.

YMCA England & Wales is committed to equality and valuing diversity. We welcome applications from all backgrounds.

Our recruitment process is anonymised and candidates' names are hidden. Safer recruitment is important to us and the successful applicant will be asked to provide two references. They will also be required to complete a safeguarding self-declaration, safeguarding training and undertake a DBS check.

Purpose of the Role

The Head of Operations is the most senior staff member at PACE and the primary day-to-day operational lead for the organisation. The postholder will ensure that services for children and young people are delivered safely, consistently, and to a high standard across all three sites, and that the organisation's systems, finances, people, and compliance obligations are properly managed.

This is an operational leadership role with responsibility for translating the Board's strategic direction into effective day-to-day delivery. The postholder will work closely with the Board of Trustees, who retain strategic governance responsibility, and will be the principal point of accountability for performance across all services. The postholder will also act as Designated Safeguarding Lead for the organisation

Key Responsibilities

1. Operational Leadership and Service Delivery

• Take day-to-day operational responsibility for all PACE services across all three sites, ensuring consistent, high-quality, and safe delivery.

• Support and line manage Senior Centre Managers and Service Managers, providing clear direction, regular supervision, and accountability.

• Ensure all services meet regulatory requirements including EYFS, Ofsted standards, safeguarding and child protection legislation, and disability inclusion policy.

• Maintain and develop operational policies and procedures that reflect best practice in service delivery for children and young people, including those with additional needs.

• Identify and respond to operational risks across sites, escalating to the Board where appropriate.

2. Safeguarding

• Act as the organisation's Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), maintaining overall responsibility for safeguarding practice across all sites.

• Ensure centre managers and service leads fulfil their DSL responsibilities and that training, records, and incident reporting are consistent, up to date, and audit-ready.

• Lead the organisation's response to any safeguarding concern or Ofsted inspection, maintaining transparent and proactive communication with commissioners and the Board.

• Embed a culture of safeguarding awareness and accountability across the whole staff team.

3. Financial Management and Budget Oversight

• Work with the Finance team to manage the organisation's annual budget, ensuring income and expenditure are tracked accurately and reported monthly.

• Hold budget holder accountability across service and centre level, ensuring managers understand and operate within their agreed financial envelopes.

• Monitor income streams - including statutory contracts, parental fees, grants, and fundraised income - and alert the Board to variances or risks in a timely manner.

• Support income generation through effective contract delivery, occupancy management, and proactive relationship management with commissioners.

• Oversee the Fundraising Manager's workload and priorities, ensuring fundraising activity is aligned to operational need and deliverable commitments are accurate before submission.

4. Human Resources and Workforce Management

• Lead, support, and develop the staff team, fostering a culture of professionalism, consistency, and accountability.

• Work with the HR Consultant to ensure HR processes - including onboarding, probation, sickness management, performance management, and offboarding - are followed correctly and documented appropriately.

• Conduct regular line management meetings and appraisals with direct reports, setting clear expectations and addressing performance issues promptly and fairly.

• Manage staffing levels and deployment across sites to ensure services are appropriately resourced, proportionate to demand and income, and compliant with contractual ratios.

• Address workforce culture issues, reducing reliance on informal decision-making and ensuring accountability is embedded at all levels of the team.

5. Commissioner and Stakeholder Relationships

• Maintain and develop the organisation's relationships with Camden commissioners, the Play Providers Forum, Family Hubs, and other statutory and voluntary sector partners.

• Ensure proactive, transparent, and timely communication with Camden regarding service delivery, performance data, and any operational concerns.

• Represent PACE at external meetings, forums, and events as required.

• Support the development of community partnerships that extend the reach and impact of PACE's services.

6. Compliance, Governance and Risk

• Ensure organisational compliance with all relevant regulatory frameworks including Ofsted, EYFS, charity law, and employment legislation.

• Maintain and regularly review operational policies, risk registers, and compliance records, ensuring they are current and accessible across all sites.

• Provide the Board of Trustees with regular, concise, and accurate reports on operational performance, financial position, safeguarding, staffing, and risk.

• Support Board governance by preparing timely papers, flagging decisions required, and maintaining clear separation between operational management and trustee oversight.

7. Systems, Monitoring and Evaluation

• Embed consistent, documented operational systems across all sites, reducing reliance on individual knowledge and informal workarounds.

• Develop and maintain monitoring and evaluation frameworks to track service quality, outcomes for children and families, and contractual KPIs.

• Oversee the organisation's use of operational systems including safeguarding software, HR and payroll platforms, invoicing, and timekeeping tools.

Produce and sign off external impact reports for funders and commissioners

Essentials:

• Experience in an operational management role within a children's services, play, youth work, education, or social care setting

• At least 3 years in a management role with direct line management of multiple staff or teams

• Demonstrable knowledge and practical experience of safeguarding children, including DSL-level responsibility

• Experience managing multi-site or multi-service delivery

• Sound financial literacy: budget management, variance analysis, and income/expenditure monitoring

• Experience of working with Ofsted regulatory frameworks, including EYFS

• Strong people management skills: supervision, appraisal, performance management, and HR process compliance

• Experience working with, and reporting to, a Board of Trustees or equivalent governance body

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Ability to manage competing priorities across multiple sites calmly and consistently

• Commitment to inclusive practice and experience working with children with disabilities and additional needs

• A suitable Level 3 or above qualification in Early Years, Childcare, or a relevant field (e.g. CACHE Level 3, BTEC Level 3 in Children's Play, Learning and Development, or equivalent EYFS-recognised qualification)

Desirable 

• Experience of income generation including commissioner relationships, grant management, and contract compliance

• Experience of charity or voluntary sector management

• Coaching or mentoring experience

• Knowledge of Camden's VCS and community infrastructure

Conditions of Employment

• This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

• The postholder will be required to work across all PACE sites in Camden. Flexible or hybrid working will be considered where operationally appropriate, but the role requires significant on-site presence.

• PACE is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from all sections of the community.

• PACE is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment.

About Us

Global Canopy is a data-driven not for profit delivering real transparency and accountability for market impacts on nature and people. Our special focus is on ending deforestation – an essential step in achieving urgent global goals on climate, nature and human rights. We deliver our work by building and maintaining open-data platforms, creating stronger voluntary and compliance frameworks, and accelerating accountability and action in the finance sector with nature-positive guidance to help achieve deforestation-free portfolios.

We work globally, with a focus on both forested regions (particularly across Latin America and South East Asia), and major consumer and financial markets (with a focus on Europe, the US, Singapore and China). We have a distributed team of around 70 people worldwide, with a main office in Oxford (UK). We work via close and deep partnerships, including with institutions like the Stockholm Environment Institute, the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, UNEP Finance Initiative, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, the Zoological Society of London, and many many others.

About the Role

As People and Culture Lead, reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, you will be responsible for the delivery and development of the People function at Global Canopy. Providing advice and support to the Leadership Team and colleagues across the organisation, you will lead on people and culture initiatives that enable our team to maximise their potential, resulting in greater impact as an organisation.

You will bring excellent relationship-building and influencing skills as well as strong technical expertise to ensure that we can recruit, retain, develop, support and engage the people we rely on to deliver our vital work for forests, nature and human rights. You will manage all aspects of team members’ journey with the organisation, including recruitment, performance and development, employee relations and pay and benefits.

This is a great role for an experienced People professional who believes in the power of a people-centred organisation, has had previous success in delivering people and culture change projects and working in a business-partnering role. You will be comfortable managing upwards, acting as a trusted advisor, and confident being the face of People and Culture at an organisational level. You will thrive in a dynamic non-profit environment, delivering on complex and impactful projects around the world. We are looking for someone who leads with empathy and wisdom, putting individuals at the heart of their work.

Responsibilities

Employee life cycle management

• Be responsible for the creation, maintenance, evolution and operation of all HR policies, processes and systems 
• Work closely with the leadership team and internal boards on areas such as recruitment, performance, learning and development, absence, salaries/benefits, job grading and employee engagement
• Ensure the ongoing development of our P&C offering is aligned with our culture

Support & advice to leaders and managers

• Build strong working relationships with senior team leaders in order to support them directly
• Provide coaching, guidance and support to people managers ensuring that our people are supported to thrive and develop
• Advise on people issues and managing cases, to ensure that processes are followed in line with Global Canopy’s  policy, best practice and employment legislation

Support delivery of Global Canopy’s People plan

• Alongside the COO, drive the implementation of people initiatives and be responsible for the successful embedding of changes
• Lead on connection and collaboration initiatives to build a cohesive, highly motivated team in line with Global Canopy’s culture and in the context of hybrid working
• Provide and present reports and maintain KPIs related to our people.

Management

• Line management of People and Recruitment Advisor, supporting them in their management of recruitment for Global Canopy, and providing coaching and mentoring to support their ongoing development
• Manage the relationship with our EOR providers
• Alongside the COO and IT & Operations Manager, provide leadership on data protection across the organisation

About You

To be successful in this role, these are the things that will matter the most: 

• People-first and positive approach to HR management 
• Broad experience of managing human resources work across organisations, with a good understanding of HR procedures and legislation in the UK
• Alignment with our values and our mission and a commitment to collaboration and a passion for developing an organisational culture in which people thrive

Essential behavioural competencies: 

• Leading with warmth 
• Demonstrates credibility and emotional intelligence
• Structured and effective in communications
• Able to handle difficult situations sensitively and confidentially
• Initiative and ability to manage and prioritise own workload, working to deadlines
• Creativity

Skills and experience:

Required:

• CIPD level 5 or equivalent experience
• Experience managing all aspects of employee lifecycle 
• Strong understanding of UK employment law and best practice
• Experience and expertise to support in the areas of diversity and inclusion, learning and development, and employee wellbeing and engagement in a hybrid context
• Experience of working in an advisory capacity and regularly reporting to senior leaders
• Experience of working across different departments/functions in a matrixed and int’l organisation
• Line management experience

Desirable:

• Ability to take a leadership role in change projects
• Experience of working internationally with employees based outside the UK – and covered by non-UK law
• Experience or understanding of the context for a charity / not for profit organisation

Salary & Benefits

Salary: £55,000- £60,000 full time equivalent. This role sits within Band C on Global Canopy’s remuneration framework.

Nature of contract: Full time or 0.8 FTE. Permanent. This is a hybrid role working from home and our office in Oxford. There is a requirement to attend the office once a week and for other meetings/work as required.

Holidays: 36 days (including bank/public holidays) for discretionary use across the annual leave year. Option to purchase up to an additional 5 days or equivalent of one week’s leave.

Pension: Employer pension contribution of 8%.

Healthcare cashback plan: Covering dental fees, eye-care, wellbeing, physiotherapy, chiropody and much more – for you and any children.

Employee Assistance Programme: Which provides free, confidential advice on personal and legal matters.

Other: Huge range of discounts and cashback deals at gyms, restaurants, holidays, and much more.

How to Apply

To apply for the position, please follow the instructions and submit an up-to date CV and covering letter. The covering letter should explain your motivation for the role, and how your skills and experience fit the person specification. (Please no more than 1 side of A4).

Right-to-work in the UK is required for this role.

All candidates are asked to complete an anonymous diversity monitoring form when they apply.

This is an open-ended recruitment. Early application is encouraged, as we will close the position once enough suitable candidates for interview are identified. 

The first stage will be an introductory call with our third-party HR consultant. Those progressed to the second stage will be invited to complete a written assessment and join a virtual interview (with a brief presentation element). Finalists will be invited to interview in Oxford (we will reimburse reasonable travel costs) with the Executive Director and key colleagues.