Trusts and Grants Manager

At Rethink Mental Illness and Mental Health UK, we’re working tirelessly to ensure that people severely affected by mental illness get the support and respect they deserve. To help us grow our impact, we’re looking for a passionate and ambitious Trusts & Grants Manager—someone who thrives on building meaningful relationships and crafting compelling cases for support.

Salary is £41,000 to £45,532 dependant on experience, plus £3000 London Allowance

If you're motivated by securing transformational funding that drives real change, this could be the perfect next step in your fundraising career.

About the role

As Trusts & Grants Manager, you’ll play a crucial role in developing and stewarding relationships with Trusts and Foundations—both established supporters and new prospects. You will:

• Manage a portfolio of 50–100 donors and prospects with five- and six‑figure giving potential 
• Produce compelling, evidence-led funding applications that bring our work and impact to life 
• Build and nurture new funder relationships through meetings, calls, written communication and service visits 
• Collaborate closely with colleagues across Programmes, Operations and Partnerships to shape high-impact, research‑led proposals 
• Oversee applications from concept to award, reporting to donors and ensuring excellent stewardship throughout the grant lifecycle 
• Monitor sector trends and proactively shape a healthy, diverse pipeline of long-term supporters 
• Forecast income, track progress, and take early action to mitigate shortfalls when needed 

You’ll work closely with the Interim Head of Trusts & Philanthropy, the Prospect Research Manager, and a fellow Trusts & Grants Manager who focuses on Mental Health UK—acting as a key contributor to a high-performing, collaborative fundraising function.

About the team

You’ll be joining a dynamic fundraising team that generates income across Events, Community, Individual Giving, Legacies, Philanthropy, Trusts & Grants, and Corporate Partnerships. Together, we support nearly £6m of work each year across Mental Health UK and Rethink Mental Illness. 

Trusts & Grants is a well-established income stream with a strong track record—and you’ll help take it even further, securing both cornerstone grants and long-term transformational funding.

About you

You’ll excel in this role if you are:

Essential

• A skilled relationship manager with experience securing five- and six‑figure grants or major gifts
• An exceptional communicator who builds meaningful, trusting relationships with funders and senior stakeholders 
• Experienced in writing persuasive, insight‑driven funding applications and reports
• Motivated by developing a diverse, high-impact Trusts & Grants programme
• Able to respond empathetically and appropriately to emotionally sensitive situations
• A proactive team player who brings creativity and solutions-focused thinking
• Passionate about mental health and improving outcomes for those we support

Desirable

• Knowledge of CRM systems such as Salesforce
• An understanding of GDPR in relation to data and fundraising
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to balance multiple priorities

Ready to make a difference?

If you’re excited by the idea of building a high-impact Trusts & Grants portfolio and driving transformational change, we’d love to hear from you.

Join us—and help shape a future where everyone affected by mental illness gets the support they need and deserve.