Fundraising and Partnerships Lead

Avon Needs Trees (ANT) is a charity creating new, permanent woodland throughout the Bristol-Avon catchment to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies.

We raise funds to buy land and create woodlands that will stand for generations, locking up carbon, supporting biodiversity, providing natural flood management and creating accessible green space where appropriate.

Since our formation in 2019, we have grown from a small group of volunteers into an organisation with over 1,000 volunteers and almost 600 acres of land. We have planted and cared for tens of thousands of native trees across Wiltshire and the Bristol-Avon catchment, including Great Avon Wood and our 420-acre Lower Chew Forest project.

We are ambitious about the scale of change we can achieve, while being thoughtful and reasoned in how we work. We are positive about the future and the opportunities to tackle the climate and nature emergencies.

Fundraising & Partnerships Lead

Reporting to: Head of Fundraising / Director of Income
Hours: 0.8 FTE to full time (35 hours per week)
Contract: Fixed-term to 31 March 2028, with potential to extend
Salary: £33,280 per annum, pro rata as relevant
Location: Hybrid working between home, our office at Lower Chew Forest near Compton Dando, and sites across our catchment area.

About the role

We are looking for an experienced and relationship-focused fundraiser to help grow ANT's income and develop lasting partnerships that support our mission.

You will play a key role in delivering our fundraising strategy, with a particular focus on corporate partnerships, major donor development and individual giving. You will identify and develop new fundraising opportunities, manage and grow relationships with existing supporters and partners, and help deliver campaigns and excellent stewardship.

The role will give you the opportunity to shape and develop our approach to fundraising as ANT continues to grow.

What you'll be doing

Corporate partnerships

• Develop new corporate opportunities, generate leads and manage the partnership pipeline.
• Build strong relationships with people at all levels, from senior decision-makers to employees.
• Develop and manage engaging partnership and employee engagement opportunities.
• Coordinate volunteering and tree planting activities with corporate partners and ANT's project teams.
• Report on partnership impact and support partners to communicate their involvement.
• Explore opportunities in biodiversity net gain and natural capital markets.

Major donor philanthropy

• Help develop ANT's major donor programme and build relationships with prospective and existing supporters.
• Coordinate the major donor pipeline and support colleagues across the organisation with donor relationships.
• Develop engaging communications, reporting and stewardship for major donors.

Individual giving

• Work with colleagues to deliver individual giving campaigns, including crowdfunders.
• Help develop and test new approaches to individual giving.
• Review and improve donor stewardship journeys to provide an excellent supporter experience.

You will work closely with the Head of Fundraising and colleagues across the Income, Communications and Engagement teams, as well as working collaboratively across the wider organisation.

About you

We are looking for someone who can demonstrate:

• Experience developing new business opportunities, generating leads and managing a pipeline.
• Strong relationship-building and interpersonal skills, including the ability to work with people at different levels of seniority.
• Experience managing and developing relationships with external partners, clients, donors or stakeholders.
• Strong organisational and project management skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Experience using data to monitor progress, evaluate activity and produce clear reports and presentations.
• The ability to work proactively and independently and take responsibility for delivering outcomes.
• A willingness to learn, reflect and improve your approach.
• Experience developing or coordinating communications that engage and influence external audiences.
• A commitment to addressing the climate and nature emergencies and to woodland creation.

Experience with financial management, digital communications, CRM systems and fundraising-related digital channels would be desirable, as would a driving licence and access to a vehicle.

You do not need to have experience in every area of the role. We recognise that people bring different strengths and transferable skills, and we would encourage you to apply if you meet the core requirements and are excited about the opportunity.