Philanthropy Manager

The Role

IIED is seeking a dynamic and experienced Philanthropy Manager to work closely with IIED’s Head of Business Development and Directors to meet unrestricted income targets. The role also involves supporting IIED’s research and MEL colleagues across the organisation to raise restricted income. The focus of the role will be networking, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding a mixed portfolio of funders and prospects with the capacity to give at the £2m+ level.

You will be responsible for developing meaningful funder relations, including philanthropists, institutions and multilaterals. You will work closely with IIED’s Head of Business Development and IIED’s Directors to win high-value, multi-annual, strategic and unrestricted funding, from philanthropists, trusts and foundations, companies and high net worth individuals. You will engage institutional funders and philanthropists on a long-term journey with IIED to support our organisational strategic vision.​

About You

​To be successful, you therefore need to bring significant experience in generating unrestricted and large, multi-annual restricted fundraising, and a demonstrable track record of directly soliciting or orchestrating the successful cultivation of seven-figure philanthropic gifts. The role will include directly building donor relations, generating leads, developing and submitting cross-organisational pitches and propositions, building donor intelligence, developing collaboration through internal and external partnerships, and directly undertaking fundraising to support IIED’s transformational climate change and sustainable development agenda.

The Philanthropy Manager sits within the Business Development Team and is accountable to the Head of Business Development. The role will entail direct unrestricted and flexible fundraising, donor research, provision of cross-organisational funding strategies, pitches and propositions.

The role will also support IIED’s teams with their restricted fundraising activity, including helping them to produce pitches, propositions, supporting application documentation and application budgets.

To be successful in the role, you will enjoy playing the different roles in fundraising, and know how to gauge what is most appropriate – the driver or the navigator, the broker or the facilitator – as you are motivated by achieving transformative outcomes that matter.  

The Business Development Team sits within the Strategy and Learning Group, which includes IIED’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Team, and is responsible for relations with IIED’s core funders.