Senior Philanthropy Manager

Samaritans is on a mission to make a profound impact on suicide prevention, and they need your expertise to drive their philanthropy programme to new heights. With a small yet promising portfolio of supporters and donors, they are poised for growth, fuelled by a national rise in wealth and philanthropy. Annual income is around £500K with donations typically at 5 figure values.

The ambition is to grow the programme sustainably in the long term but also ensure the target is met in 2024-25. This year will be about proactive engagement with a wide range of potential supporters, developing programme infrastructure and securing mid-value donations to build the pipeline from the ground up. In year two they hope to drive up gift volume and value.

The Senior Philanthropy Manager will line manage the Philanthropy Officer, supporting their development and fostering an overall culture of collaboration and high performance. The role will also personally cultivate and steward relationships with new and existing major donors, and work collaboratively on a programme of stewardship and cultivation events.

There is a huge amount of potential for this income stream, and with the right Senior Philanthropy Manager, the portfolio could really fly.

Key responsibilities

• Manage, develop and lead the Philanthropy Officer
• Manage a portfolio of existing donors, deepening their relationship with the charity and upscaling gifts
• Develop a healthy pipeline of new donors, managing prospects with a view to increasing gifts
• Lead the strategic planning for the major donor programme
• Develop an events programme for cultivation and stewardship of donors

Essential criteria

• Substantial experience of, and a strong track record in, major gift fundraising
• Experience of personally soliciting 5-6 figure gifts from major donors
• Experience of successfully managing end-to-end major donor relationships
• Good leadership skills with experience, or transferable experience, of line management