Entry level jobs for the Disability sector

About Dreams Come True

We work with children who have it tough. Right now, there are thousands of children who need our support. They live in the highest areas of deprivation in the country, some are living with a disability, some are living with serious illness, and some are living with life-limiting conditions. These children deserve our attention.

We believe that every child and young person has a right to dream, no matter who they are, and where they live. Our dreams makers work with these children to bring moments of magic and deliver lasting impact.

Purpose of the role

Reporting to the Fundraising Manager, the Community & Events Executive is an integral part of the Fundraising team, providing outstanding administrative and general fundraising support with a focus on income generation, supporter stewardship and data accuracy. The Fundraising Executive manages all incoming fundraising enquiries and provides excellent customer care and stewardship to our community and events supporters. This is a busy role, supporting colleagues across multiple areas of fundraising, including events, community, corporate and trusts fundraising.

In this role, you will undertake all key administrative, database and financial duties to ensure the smooth running of team processes and procedures.

The role provides an opportunity to develop fundraising knowledge and is perfect for someone who has a passion for building income, relationships and delivering excellent supporter care. As this is a people-facing role, you will be working with supporters over the phone, online, in writing, and face-to-face, to ensure our supporters receive the ultimate supporter journey and experience.

The post holder should have a full clean driving license and be willing to travel and work occasional evenings and weekends to attend and support events.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a passionate fundraiser to make a real difference to children with high needs living in the highest areas of deprivation in the UK. 

Please find attached the full job description and person specification.

This role is vital to the growth of our charity and represents an exciting opportunity for the right candidate to join our small but dynamic team.

You will work closely with the Director of Fundraising and Events Manager on events, corporate, trusts and foundations, community, and individual fundraising efforts.

This is a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable experience in a fast-paced fundraising environment. 

The successful candidate will be motivated to improve life for autistic people - joining a team that is passionate about delivering impact. They will be a strong advocate for ensuring that all opinions are heard and respected and will have the ability to communicate with people of all backgrounds and with different communication styles and support needs.

Main duties and responsibilities

As Fundraising Officer, you will:

• Develop and maintain positive relationships internally with colleagues and externally with stakeholders, donors, and funders. 
• Create marketing materials, including content for social media and our website. 
• Work with the Director of Fundraising and Events Manager, to deliver a series of high-quality, high-profile fundraising events, including assisting with logistics and supporter engagement. 
• Take initiative to explore new areas of fundraising and contribute to innovation. 
• Own and manage delegated tasks or parts of projects, ensuring successful and timely delivery of work. 
• Provide administrative support to the fundraising team, including sending fundraising packs, processing donations and fulfilling orders from our e-shop. 
• Respond to supporter queries via phone, email, and web with professionalism and empathy. 
• Maintain accurate supporter data in the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system. 
• Create quarterly Gift Aid claims reports via the CRM system and liaise with the finance team to ensure timely submission to HMRC.
• Prepare thank-you letters, certificates, and merchandise to support fundraisers and events. 
• Manage incoming post for fundraising and donors, process Gift Aid declarations, and maintain stock levels for shop and event materials. 
• Produce monthly reports on income, donor activity, and progress against target. 

Person specification (who are we looking for?)

Essential

Qualifications

• While there are no specific essential qualifications, the successful candidate will need to demonstrate a good standard of numeracy and literacy and proficiency in MS Office Suite.

Experience

• Knowledge of and/or personal interest in autism and current issues relating to autism and community preferences.
• At least one year’s experience in a similar role within a charity or nonprofit organisation.
• Experience in using CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems.
• Track record of managing multiple tasks autonomously and meeting deadlines.
• Experience in building strong relationships, managing expectations and engaging confidently with a range of stakeholders.

Skills

• Organisational and administrative skills, including the ability to manage your own time and multiple priorities to achieve high-quality outcomes.
• Ability to maintain systems for data management and keep accurate records of fundraising activities and donor interactions.
• Confident communicator, able to explain ideas clearly in writing and in conversation.
• A reliable team player who can prioritise work effectively and manage tasks under pressure. 
• Good numeracy skills and the ability to work on simple budgets. 
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ability to contribute to team discussions and work collaboratively with colleagues.
• Demonstrate an awareness of, and commitment to, inclusion, equality, and diversity.
• A good working knowledge of MS Office 365 and ability and willingness to learn new IT systems (with support/training where needed).

Desirable (please still apply even if you do not have these)

Experience

• Knowledge of data protection and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance for handling donor information. 
• Experience of process mapping and CRM migration projects.
• Experience of digital content creation and donor engagement.
• Experience of remote and/or hybrid working.

Skills

• Able to apply basic marketing skills across different channels, such as emails, social media posts, or printed materials.
• A proactive learner with a passion for exploring new areas of fundraising and developing professionally. 

We are aware that the skills required for this role may be interpreted differently by different people. Our selection process will focus on the desired outcomes, and we are open to different ways of achieving them.

About Us

National charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, trains dogs to transform the lives of deaf people and provides hearing loss services – because nobody with hearing loss should feel alone.

About The Role

Location: Hybrid - The Grange, Saunderton, Buckinghamshire
Salary: £27,050.40
Contract: Fixed term - 18 months
Hours: 35 hours per week

The Supporter Care Officer role sits within the Supporter Services team, which forms an integral part of the Individual Giving team, within the Marketing Communications Department at Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

Working alongside another Supporter Services Officer and managed by the Supporter Care Manager, you will support the delivery of our Individual Giving programme, specifically in support of our Puppy Sponsorship Scheme.

The delivery of exceptional supporter care across multiple channels lies at the heart of the Supporter Care team and forms an integral part of the Individual Giving retention strategy.

In many instances, you will be the first line of enquiry either by telephone, email, social media, or letter (and occasionally face-to-face) for Hearing Dogs’ supporters.

Building good internal relationships within our Charity is an important part of this role as you will be working with various teams.

KEY TASKS OF THE ROLE:

Stewardship

• Present a professional, positive, and proactive approach to supporter care and adherence to best practice regarding stewardship and supporter engagement.
• Be proactive in stewardship process improvement and development, maintaining up-to-date guidance notes for areas of your work.
• Ensure all interactions with supporters are logged in the CRM system and where appropriate passed on to the relevant team(s) in a timely manner.
• Use KPIs and SLAs to track, measure, and report on performance to ensure supporter care consistently meets our high standards.

Puppy Sponsorship

• Process telephone, post and email enquiries/donations regarding and related to the Puppy Sponsorship Scheme, and ensure that all queries are responded to and resolved within recommended stewardship guidelines and timeframes for the team.
• Assist with maintenance of Puppy Sponsorship data on the Charity’s CRM to ensure supporter records are up-to-date and accurate, flagging any issues to the Supporter Services Manager.
• Promptly action any tasks set via the CRM system.
• Learn other aspects of Puppy Sponsorship activity and process as required, to support the wider team, and ensure that high standards of supporter care are maintained at all times, particularly noting pinch points in the team calendar.

Appeal Data & Fundraising Activity

• Prepare data for Puppy Sponsorship updates and build email communications.
• Assist with the production and cleaning of mailing files to support fundraising appeals, raffles, lotteries, and other products.
• Provide additional support to the other areas of the Supporter Services team, learning processes as necessary at times of increased fundraising activity and to ensure supporter care standards are adequately maintained during holiday periods.

Additional Requirements

• Be able to talk knowledgeably and enthusiastically about our work, specifically the Puppy Sponsorship Scheme.
• Conduct yourself in a professional manner at all times.
• Treat all supporter personal information according to GDPR requirements.
• Adhere to the Hearing Dogs Equal Opportunities statement and polices.

You will occasionally be required to perform other tasks, such as working at Charity events where Puppy Sponsorship is being promoted, which fall outside of your usual working hours.

About You

The following attributes are considered essential for the job:

• Qualifications (GCSE equivalent) in Maths and English
• Administration experience, particularly within a customer relationship database (CRM)
• Experience of working in a customer service environment
• IT competency with all Microsoft packages
• Excellent ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing, showing good attention to detail
• Customer-centric approach to ensure all supporters have the best possible experience of our Charity
• Work well with a range of people
• Recognise and embrace the role in an energetic and positive way
• Approaches the role with a balance of kindness and fairness

The following attributes are considered desirable for the job:

• British Sign Language qualification
• Experience of working with people with Hearing Loss
• Awareness of Hearing Link and Hearing Dog range of services
• Experience of working within the voluntary sector

Please apply by providing your CV and Cover Letter by 10th April 2026.

If you seek a fresh and rewarding challenge, look no further than Open Country! Seeking to help disabled people to access and enjoy the countryside, we embrace a wide range of fundraising methods, so this role could be adapted to suit either full-time or part-time work. We are also able to cater for your particular skill set, though core duties would likely include: 

• Researching and writing grant applications to charitable trusts, grant-making bodies and other funders.
• Developing and delivering new and imaginative community fundraising activities.
• Encouraging appropriate corporate sponsorship and fundraising.
• Developing and delivering Open Country fundraising events and third-party events.

This is a hands-on, dynamic role requiring creativity, insight and panache, coupled with great communication and relationship-building skills.

You will work collaboratively with our Finance and Fundraising Manager at our Head Office in Harrogate, though an element of home working can be considered.

Appointment to this post is subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service check.