Senior Events and Community Fundraising Officer

This is a critical role high impact, supporter facing role within ourfundraising team helping to plan and deliver the Ovarian Cancer Action’s Events, Challenge and Community programme. The role is responsible for growing and engaging a community of committed supporters through active fundraising, growing income, via a varied portfolio of third-party, challenge and Do It Yourself (DIY) fundraising activities, including our flagship virtual event Walk in her Name, London Marathon, Great North Run, London Landmarks and others as well as DIY community fundraising.

About Ovarian Cancer Action  

In the UK, only 1 in 3 women live more than 10 years after an ovarian cancer diagnosis.  We are the UK's leading ovarian cancer research charity, working to change this; so early detection, prevention and better treatments will mean that no woman dies of ovarian cancer.  

Ovarian Cancer Action is a community of changemakers with one purpose: to give ovarian cancer the focus it needs to increase 10-year survival rates. And we know research is the solution. 

We live and breathe this lifesaving, world-leading research. We fund more ovarian cancer research than any other UK gynaecological cancer charity. It’s how we’ve driven some of the biggest breakthroughs of the last 19 years. 

We are also the only charity at the heart of the global ovarian cancer research community and have been for four decades. 

By connecting the world's leading scientists together, we’re creating a powerful hub of experience, expertise and insight. So, we confidently fund research that takes us a step closer to our goal: that by 2032 half of women will live more than 10 years after diagnosis. 

Role:   Senior Events and Community Fundraising Officer 

Reports to:  Events and Community Fundraising Manager 

Functional team: Fundraising Team 

Main working relationships: 

Community and Events team, Fundraising, Communications, Finance and Database colleagues  

Event organisers, challenge providers, fundraising platforms, suppliers, volunteers and supporters 

External stakeholders: 

Supporters, volunteers, agencies, service providers 

Scope Of The Role

You will manage and successfully deliver key events including the London Marathon, Great North Run and London Landmarks Half Marathon, as well as community-centred DIY fundraising. You’ll lead on supporter recruitment and stewardship to meet or exceed agreed targets, while keeping budgets, income and performance on track. You’ll also help expand, enhance and develop virtual challenges, including our flagship challenge Walk in Her Name, as well as Community fundraising. 

1)   Support planning and delivery of the Events programme

i) Support recruitment, engagement and retention across our event portfolio including London Marathon, Great North Run and London Landmarks to meet or exceed agreed income and engagement targets, while keeping budgets, income and performance on track. 

ii) Support the team Manager to plan and deliver virtual challenges, including our flagship event, Walk in Her Name and Walk 100, working collaboratively across the team to maximise supporter experience and campaign performance. 

iii) Responsible for the OCA London Marathon team from sign up to post race including delivery of training and fundraising support, on the day cheer point and post-race celebration activities.  

iv) Attend events as required  

2)   Manage delivery of Community Fundraising

i)      Manage delivery and growth of OCA community fundraising programme increasing supporter participation, income and engagement

ii)     Explore and identify new opportunities for growth with Manager creating a strong future income pipeline

3)   Provide excellent supporter care across the events and community portfolio

i)      Deliver excellent supporter care across Events and Community fundraising, ensuring every supporter receives timely, helpful and inspiring communications throughout their fundraising journey

ii)     Monitor event performance and supporter feedback, sharing and deploying insight to improve stewardship journeys, recruitment activity and future planning 

iii)   Work closely with colleagues across Fundraising, Communications, Finance and Database teams to deliver integrated, supporter-led activity.

4)   Provide excellent administrative support

i)      Manage and track event budgets, income and expenditure, ensuring accurate forecasting, reporting and post-campaign evaluation.

ii)     Maintain accurate supporter and financial records across Raiser’s Edge and fundraising platforms, including data coding, income coding and administrative processes to support excellent supporter care

iii)   Ensure all events and fundraising activity is delivered in line with Ovarian Cancer Action’s processes, fundraising best practice, GDPR requirements and relevant legislation.

Person Specification

At Ovarian Cancer Action, we have different backgrounds, ways of working and areas of expertise, but we strive to create an environment that lives our values and ambitious mindset This means that your attitude to your work and fellow team members is as important as skills and abilities.

What Experience We Are Looking For

·       Demonstrable experience of planning and delivering a successful events portfolio, challenge events and / or community fundraising activity.

·       Understanding of working with marketing to recruit supporters to events across organic and paid channels.

·       Track record of providing excellent supporter care or customer service, ideally within a charity or fundraising environment - motivating or stewarding supporters, volunteers, participants or fundraisers to achieve agreed goals

·       Strong administrative skills to experience, with the ability to maintain accurate records and follow agreed processes.

·       Familiar and a user of a CRM database such as Raiser’s Edge or other

·       Management of tracking and reporting against budgets, income, expenditure and performance against targets.

·       A working knowledge of fundraising platforms, online giving pages or event registration systems.

Skills And Attributes:

 ·       Confident relationship builder with strong written and verbal communication skills, especially with supporters.

·       Strong organisational, planning and prioritisation skills, and able to manage multiple activities and deadlines.

·       Accurate attention to detail, particularly when working with financial information, supporter records and reporting processes.

·       Confident using Microsoft Office and digital fundraising tools, with a willingness to learn and use new systems and AI tools.

·       Able to use initiative, solve problems and take ownership of agreed areas of work.

·       A genuine collaborator who works across teams and with external suppliers or event partners.

·       Able to evaluate activity, learn from results and make suggestions for improvement.

Attitude and personal qualities:

 ·       Enthusiastic and passionate about our work and women's health.

·       Self-motivated with a growth mind set and comfortable working as part of a small, ambitious team.

·       Adaptable and flexible, with a positive approach to continuous improvement.

·       Warm, friendly and professional, with a genuine commitment to excellent supporter experience.

·       Calm and solutions-focused when working under pressure or managing competing priorities.

·       Flexible to the needs of the post, including occasional work outside normal working hours, with time off in return.

Don’t meet every single requirement?

Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the role description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles that we have.

Additional details

Salary: Between £32,000 t0 £35,000 per annum (dependant on experience)

Contract type: This is a fixed term contract of 12 months.

Role type:  This is a full-time role, however, we’re open to a variety of working patterns and welcome the opportunity to discuss this with candidates. If flexibility is your preference or part time, then a paragraph about how this could work well for you in your supporting statement would be helpful

Location: This role is hybrid with up to 40% office based in City Road, London, EC1V2PR, near Old Street underground station. The nature of the role may require ad hoc work outside regular office hours (with time off in return).

Our benefits and flexible working

·       Flexible working: At Ovarian Cancer Action we strive to be a place where the best people do their best work. We take a proactive approach to conversations with staff and candidates around working patterns and are open to considering a variety of flexible working options.

·       Annual leave: In addition to 25 days annual leave and eight public holidays per year, three days are also given to be taken between Christmas and New Year, so in total you can receive up to 36 days paid leave.

·       Employer and employee contributory pension: We offer a generous pension scheme above the statutory minimum requirement.

·       Healthcare plan: We have partnered with Simplyhealth to offer cashback on a range of healthcare services, as well as access to a 24-hour free GP phone line and counselling service.

·       Gym discounts: As part of the healthcare plan you will be able to claim discount on gym membership at participating gyms.

·       Eye test: We offer eye tests and financial support with glasses if needed when using a VDU at work.

·       Maternity and paternity pay: We offer additional enhanced maternity and paternity pay for eligible employees.

·       Training and development opportunities: We want everyone to have a growth mindset and will work on an individualised learning and development plan for you each year.

·       Employee Assistance Programme: Employees and their direct family have access to a 24-hour confidential and free Employee Assistance Programme phone line.

·       Social events for the team: We believe work should be fun and create opportunities for the team to spend time together.

Our Commitment To Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to actively promoting equality, diversity and inclusivity and welcome enquiries and applications from underrepresented groups, including minoritised communities and applicants with disabilities. At Ovarian Cancer Action, we believe that embracing diversity, promoting equality and fostering inclusivity are essential values that drive our success.

We understand that a diverse workforce brings together unique perspectives, experiences and talents, which fuels innovation and enhances our ability to better serve the communities we work with.