Trusts and Key Relationships Lead

Are you an experienced, skilled and passionate fundraiser, able to write compelling proposals and applications for trusts and major donors? Can you inspire and persuade both existing and potential key supporters to partner with Church Mission society and bolster our mission with significant financial support – to help people at the edges discover and follow Jesus?  

Ø  Permanent, 35 hours per week.

Ø  Hybrid working – approximately two days a week at CMS House, Oxford.

Ø  Starting salary of £35,750 1 FTE, with a generous pension contribution: up to 10 per cent employer contribution on annual salary. Incremental increases to salaries are applied annually.

Ø  CMS offers 36 days of annual leave (including bank holidays) as well as enhanced paid sickness, maternity, paternity and adoption leave

Ø  CMS supports the mental wellbeing of its employees and offers a generous rewards and wellbeing package, including:

·         Access to 24/7 employee assistance programme with qualified counsellors.

·         Regular wellbeing coffee mornings.

·         Support on menopause for women.

·         Up to three volunteer days per annum.

·         Up to three family emergency leave days per annum.

·         Retreats and resources for prayer life.

We welcome applications from everyone. We particularly welcome applications from individuals from minority groups as they are currently underrepresented within our organisation at this level. All appointments are made on merit of skill, experience and potential as set out in the job description and person specification.

Your role

We are looking for a proactive and talented individual who has demonstrable experience of working in trust fundraising, and who can build rapport and meaningful relationships with key trustees and major donors. Writing and submitting applications and proposals to trusts will be the core focus of your role, with a view to securing sizeable donations for the work of CMS. You will also have a small caseload of existing individual major donors and small family trusts to both retain and grow their financial giving. You will have outstanding relationship building skills and an ability to establish rapport quickly with existing and prospective trusts and major donors. You will be a confident and able communicator across a variety of media, including written correspondence, telephone, online and in-person face-to-face meetings.  You will be able to demonstrate a strong ability to cultivate existing trust and major donor relationships (or equivalent customer / sales or account management roles) as well as experience of having implemented acquisition strategies in order to grow income through significant major gifts.

The organisation you’ll be joining

Church Mission Society is comprised of people who are passionate about mission and fired up about helping people follow Jesus. For over 200 years CMS has been at the forefront of global mission, living out the gospel of Jesus, seeing lives changed and communities transformed. If you join CMS, you will find an organisation that has been reinvigorated with a fresh vision to make disciples of Jesus among people at the edges, both in the UK and around the world.

What you’ll need to succeed

We are looking for a seasoned and skilled fundraiser who has been successfully working in a trust and major donor environment or equivalent customer facing role (sales / account management), with evidence of retaining and growing an existing caseload of supporters to secure new and significant income to support the charity’s work. You will have solid experience of effectively working across multiple teams and collaborating with others. You will possess the excellent written skills needed to craft successful applications to trusts and major donors, and have a keen eye on the detail. Additionally, excellent database and administrative knowledge are essential.

It is a requirement for this post holder to be a committed and practising Christian as well as committed to CMS’s values and aims.

Further details can be found in the job description and person specification available to download on the CMS website.

Our commitment to you

Our core values of being pioneering, relational, faithful and evangelistic are integral to everything we do, and we work hard to ensure that every member of staff is valued, supported and encouraged to continually learn and develop their skills.

We are committed to the safeguarding and protection of the people we serve, our partners, our volunteers, and our staff. We believe that every child or adult we come into contact with has the right to be protected from all forms of harm and abuse. Our recruitment and selection processes are in line with our Safeguarding Policy and the SCHR Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, which CMS is a member of as part of our commitment to safeguarding.    

Closing date

We must get your application by midnight on Sunday 10 May 2026.

Interviews are planned to be held on Wednesday 20 May 2026

To apply

Please send your application form and CV to via our website or by post to HR Team, Church Mission Society, Watlington Road, Oxford OX4 6BZ.  CVs will only be considered when sent with a completed application form, which is available to download from our website.

Candidates for all UK roles must already be eligible to work in the UK, with a valid visa and work permit if required.

As a member of the Inter-agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, CMS has committed to systematically check with previous employers from the last five years for any ‘SEAH’ (Sexual Exploitation, Abuse or Harassment) issues relating to all potential new hires.