Development Officer Jobs

Job Title: Fundraising and Administration Officer
Organisation: Self Help Africa
Contract Type: Permanent – Full time
Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week – minimum of 4 days a week in the office
Benefits: 7% Employer Pension, 26 Days Holiday, Contribution towards Private Health Care.
Salary: £24,000 – £27,500
Location: Shrewsbury, United Kingdom
Reports to: Fundraising Campaigns Manager

About Self Help Africa

Self Help Africa is an international development organisation that works through agriculture and Agri-enterprise development to end hunger and extreme poverty.

In 2021, Self Help Africa merged with United Purpose, doubling our size. The organisation works in 15 programme countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and its 2023 budget is in excess of €50m.

In early 2023 we launched a new five-year organisation strategy, which defines shared mission as the alleviation of hunger, poverty, social inequality and the impact of climate change through community-led, market-based and enterprise-focused approaches, so that people can have access to nutritious food, clean water, decent employment and incomes, while sustaining natural resources.

Our wider organisation also includes social enterprise subsidiaries Partner Africa, which provides ethical auditing and consultancy services, TruTrade, an innovative trading platform in East Africa, and CUMO, Malawi’s largest micro-finance provider.

Our three core values are:
▪ Impact: We are accountable, ambitious and committed to systemic change.
▪ Innovation: We are agile, creative and enterprising in an ever-changing world.
▪ Community: We are inclusive, honest and have integrity in our relationships.

Job Purpose:

The Fundraising and Administration Officer role primarily focuses on providing excellent supporter care and administrative support within the fundraising department. This role plays a crucial part in maintaining supporter relations, optimising fundraising efforts, and ensuring efficient administrative processes are in place.

Key Responsibilities:

Supporter Care:

• To be a first point of contact for the Fundraising Department, answering the phone and meeting and greeting people who arrive to the office.
• Respond to enquiries from supporters, prospective supporters and volunteers via telephone, e-mail, and post, maintaining excellent supporter relations.
• Ensure timely and appropriate acknowledgments, using both standard and bespoke correspondence.
• To adhere to administrative procedures to ensure the delivery of a high-quality service which is compliant with all relevant legislation, policies, regulations, and guidelines.
• Provide admin support for Direct Mail letters and appeals, including the use of mail merge, when required.
• Assist with the ongoing stewardship of Regular Givers.

Community Fundraising:

• Co-ordinate the recruitment and appropriate use of volunteers to support fundraising.
• Develop relationships with volunteer fundraisers, with the aim of maximising the funds they raise through challenges, events and talks.
• Support the formation of volunteer fundraising groups.
• Support ongoing and new events within the UK, which may include occasional weekend and evening work.
• Take the lead with the co-ordination and administration of public collections in the UK.
• Take the lead in monitoring fundraising merchandise, and liaise with suppliers, for fundraising materials, including Christmas Cards.

Digital Marketing:

• Support in developing UK digital fundraising opportunities.
• Administer digital acquisition campaigns in the UK e.g. through digital advertising, to generate new donors.

Database Management (Training will be provided):

• Create and maintain contact records on Salesforce, ensuring supporter information is kept up to date by recording changes to mailing preferences, gift aid eligibility and contact details etc.
• Database maintenance and housekeeping e.g. identifying and merging duplicate records, removing, or archiving redundant data, adhering to GDPR protocols.

Finance Administration (Training will be provided):

• Efficiently process and reconcile incoming donations, received daily by post, online and phone. Bank cheques and cash on a weekly basis, and process credit card and CAF donations.
• Record all donations to Salesforce, ensuring the accurate coding of income to the correct source and supporter.
• Administer new Direct Debit instructions.
• Support monthly and quarterly reports demonstrating fundraising income received against budget, to inform the management team and provide accurate forecasting.
• Scan and upload credit card statements and invoices for payment by the Finance team.
• Record and reconcile petty cash expenditure.
• Assist the Finance team in the reconciliation of all income received, responding to any queries.

General Office Administration:

• Order office stationery and fundraising supplies, as required.
• Co-ordinate general office maintenance, as required.
• Arrange accommodation for staff travel to Shrewsbury.

Key Relationships:

Internal

• Fundraising Campaigns Manager UK (line-manager)
• Head of Fundraising UK
• Fundraising Campaigns Officer UK/Ireland
• Fundraising Team UK/Ireland

External

• Self Help Africa supporters, donors, and volunteers.
• Suppliers for office equipment and stationery.

Knowledge, Experience and Other Requirements:

Essential

• Relevant qualifications from a Further Education Institution or equivalent office/administration experience in a busy environment, preferably in fundraising or marketing.
• Excellent planning, administrative, organisational and time management skills, to deliver and cope with a busy workload.
• Strong customer service and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent keyboard and numeracy skills, with a high-level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Excellent knowledge of the Microsoft Office package, especially Excel.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (English).
• Enthusiastic and positive attitude; flexible, adaptable, and able to work independently.
• Commitment to Self Help Africa’s vision of an economically thriving and resilient rural Africa.

Desirable

• Working knowledge of marketing/relationship CRM databases, such as Salesforce.
• Experience of processing and managing data.
• Educated to degree level.
• Full driving licence and access to a car.
• First Aid Certificate.

Competencies

• Managing yourself – Holds an awareness of own abilities and areas for development; adapts and uses abilities to work well with others and to help achieve objectives.
• Communicating and working with others – Uses the most appropriate channel to share information with others both inside and outside Self Help Africa; adapts the message to meet the communication needs of the audience.
• Delivering results – Systematically develops plans towards achieving Self Help Africa’s objectives and delivers on commitments; uses appropriate techniques to help achieve agreed objectives.
• Planning and decision-making – Systematically develop plans towards achieving Self Help Africa’s objectives and delivers on commitments; makes clear, informed and timely decisions appropriate to role, in the interests of Self Help Africa and those we work with.

How to apply:

To apply for this role, please upload your completed application form (available to download from our website), CV and cover letter via the careers page on our website.

Only applications submitted via our website will be considered for this role.

Any candidate offered a job with Self Help Africa will be expected to sign Self Help Africa’s Safeguarding Policies and Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents.

Specific roles may require Police/DBS/Garda vetting.

Self Help Africa strives to be an Equal Opportunities Employer.