Senior trusts and major donor fundraiser jobs

About the role

We are looking for an excellent and experienced relationship fundraiser, who excels at identifying and building inspiring and genuine connections with high net-worth individual donors, who have the capacity to give six- and seven- figure gifts.

This role requires a motivated, creative and confident individual, who thrives on getting out and about and meeting with supporters. The role will help shape the Business Development and Philanthropy Team’s plans to deliver outstanding donor engagement and stewardship so that our donors are inspired and proud to support us and enjoy their philanthropic giving experience. This role will make a vital contribution to delivering a step change in our philanthropic income growth to support Practical Action’s strategic ambition and mission.

About you

We are seeking a motivated, creative and confident individual, who thrives on getting out and about and meeting with supporters. You will have at least 5 years’ experience of securing gifts from high net-worth individuals making gifts privately or through family trusts, donor advised funds and corporations.

Accountabilities

• Lead the process of identifying and cultivating individual donor prospects (UK and international) capable of giving six- and seven- figure gifts, fully understanding their funding preferences, criteria and fit with Practical Action.
• Steward a portfolio of loyal and high-quality donors, giving five and six figure annual gifts and ensure our donors receive exceptional stewardship, feel valued for their support and become advocates of Practical Action to their friends, family and networks.
• Work with autonomy and represent Practical Action at one-to-one meetings and networking events with high net-worth individuals.
• Work with senior colleagues and the Board of Trustees to identify prospects, build relationships and secure gifts from high net-worth individuals.
• Distil complex information and messaging into powerful, emotive and high-quality tailored communications (including pitches, cases for support, bespoke proposals and donor reports) that demonstrate impact and inspire giving by individual donors and family trusts.

Person Specification

To be successful in the role, the ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:

Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience:

• Significant fundraising experience (5 years+) of securing gifts from high net-worth individuals making gifts privately, or through family trusts, donor advised funds and corporations.
• Excellent knowledge about philanthropy sector developments, trends and key philanthropic organisations and networks in the UK and internationally.
• A strong and proven track record of building new prospect pipelines and of managing a portfolio of donors, including demonstrable experience of securing six- and seven-figure gifts.
• An experienced and confident networker with a proven ability to build and maintain a diverse group of contacts, at all levels, both internally and externally, and represent Practical Action to inspire, secure commitment and support.
• Knowledge of data protection principles, legal requirements, and ethical fundraising practice is essential.

Skills, Abilities and Competencies:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills including the ability to summarise and distil complex issues in an inspiring way.
• Ability and confidence to influence and manage successful internal relationships including writing reports and donor meeting briefings for senior colleagues.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities within a fast-paced environment, ensuring our donors receive excellent stewardship throughout their relationship with Practical Action.
• Strong project management skills to lead approaches backed up by an appropriate level of research and analysis.
• Enthusiasm and willingness to trial, learn and adapt — whether building on existing major giving experience or trialling new ideas and approaches to reach new donors audiences, for example next generation or diaspora giving.
• You will contribute to a culture of kindness, collaboration, rigour and accountability.
• Effective and positive team-player with a strong preference for collaboration
• Strong administrative, time-management, IT and numeracy skills.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Why join us?

The opportunity to work for an organisation that is making a positive difference to the lives of people worldwide, a friendly and supportive culture, and working with values-driven and highly engaged colleagues are just some of the reasons we think Practical Action is a great place to work.

This role will be based in the UK.

The successful applicant must have the pre-existing right to both live and work in the UK.  The successful candidate will be expected to attend the Rugby office on regular occasions.

Additional information

Practical Action believes that having a diverse workforce and inclusive workplace culture based on respect will enable us to be an effective organisation. We seek to create an inclusive workplace in which people are accepted as individuals, regardless of their differences and where they feel their contribution is valued.  Practical Action is an equal opportunities employer, and we encourage applications from under-represented groups.

We stay committed to cultivating an inclusive and diverse working environment and believe that people from different backgrounds or cultures give us different perspectives, and the more perspectives we have, the more successful we will be. By building a culture where everyone feels heard, respected, and valued we give everyone working with us the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Practical Action is committed to safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults and as such candidates will be subject to pre-employment checks including criminal checks and terrorist financing.

Closing date for applications: Sunday 1st March 2026.  Please note that should we recruit a suitable candidate before the closing date, we will close applications earlier than the specified date.

Interviews: It is anticipated that first round online interviews will take place week of 9th March and final interviews will take place in person at our Rugby office week commencing 16th March 2026.

If you do not hear from us within five weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has not been successful on this occasion.

HOW TO APPLY

If you want to work for a charity with significant people ambitions, then we would like to hear from you. For more information, please visit our careers page. To apply please submit a copy of your CV (A MAXIMIUM OF 2 PAGES) and send us a supporting statement that includes the answers to the following question:

1.Why are you an excellent candidate for the Philanthropy Executive role at Practical Action, please provide examples from your career to evidence your answer?

The Sick Children's Trust
Salary: £46,000
Location: Hybrid (1-2 days/week in London EC2A)
Closing date: Thursday 5 March 2026

Charity People is thrilled to be partnering with The Sick Children's Trust to recruit their new Development Manager - Corporate & Philanthropy. This is an exceptional opportunity to join a warm, values-driven organisation that provides vital 'Homes from Home' supporting thousands of families with seriously ill children in hospital.

For over 40 years, The Sick Children's Trust has been giving families a free place to stay, just steps from their child's hospital bed. Their ten 'Homes from Home' across England provide more than a welcoming place to stay - they also give comfort, stability, community and compassion at the most difficult moments in a family's life.

With 91% occupancy, 48,062 nights of accommodation provided last year, and over 3,200 families supported, the impact of this charity is profound. This role sits at the heart of expanding that life-changing reach.

The Role

As Development Manager - Corporate & Philanthropy, you will lead the growth of an ambitious and high-performing corporate partnerships programme. This is a senior, income-generating role focused on securing new business, stewarding high-value relationships, and influencing philanthropic support through senior networks.

Reporting to the Director of Fundraising and managing two corporate fundraisers (South and North), you will:

Lead Corporate New Business

• Develop and deliver a strategy to secure long-term, high-value corporate partnerships
• Build and manage a strong pipeline of five- and six-figure prospects
• Create compelling, bespoke proposals, pitches and presentations
• Confidently deliver senior-level pitches to CSR leads, directors and boards

Maximise Relationship Value

• Provide excellent stewardship to high-value partners
• Work closely with the Director of Fundraising to engage major donors, trustees and influential supporters
• Spot opportunities to bridge corporate leaders into philanthropic giving

Collaborate and Innovate

• Work with Operations, Communications and Marketing to build impactful partnership propositions
• Shape co-branded campaigns, sponsorship opportunities, corporate volunteering and events
• Act as an ambassador for the charity at external and sector events

Lead and Develop Others

• Line manage and mentor the Senior Corporate Partnerships Officer (South) and Corporate Officer (North)
• Monitor performance, forecast income, and report against KPIs
• Use DonorFlex to maintain accurate, high-quality records

About you

We're looking for someone who brings a proven track record of securing new five and six-figure corporate partnerships, with the ability to craft high-quality proposals, pitch decks and presentations that win major support. You will be confident pitching to senior and influencialaudiences, and skilled at building strong, strategic relationships across both corporate and philanthropic stakeholders. You'll have experience engaging major donors or senior supporters, combined with the creative thinking needed to shape compelling partnership propositions. Alongside this, you will be highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Benefits

The Sick Children's Trust offers a generous package including:

• £46,000 per annum

• 35-hour working week
• Hybrid working
• 25 days annual leave plus your birthday off
• Wellbeing support (EAP, eyecare, flu jab, life assurance)
• Additional benefits post-probation (bonus day off, enhanced pension, PHI, Medicash, Digicare+, travel loan)

Interested in this incredible role?

For the full job pack and details on how to apply, please share your CV with Kevin who will be in touch with further information.

Closing date: Thursday 5th March
First stage interviews: W/C Monday 9th March

Charity People is a forward thinking, inclusive organisation that actively and deliberately promotes equity, diversity and inclusion. We know organisations thrive when inclusion is at the forefront. We evidence our commitment by matching charity needs with the skills and experience of candidates irrespective of background e.g. age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. We do this because we believe that greater diversity leads to greater results for the charities we work with.

BookTrust – Fundraising Lead (Individual Giving)
Location: Hybrid with a minimum of eight office days per month in either London (Farringdon) or Leeds office.
Salary: £55,000 per annum.
Contract: Permanent, full-time.

BookTrust, the charity that champions the power of reading, is seeking an individual expert to strengthen and expand its individual giving fundraising to secure the financial support needed to get even more children reading and fulfilling their potential.

BookTrust is the UK’s largest children’s reading charity, reaching over 1.3 million children and families across England, Wales and Northern Ireland each year and delivering evidence-informed programmes that make a measurable difference to children’s reading behaviours. Their work is rooted in the belief that every child deserves the chance to enjoy reading and all the lifelong benefits it brings. In recent years, the charity’s work has focused on helping children from low-income and vulnerable family backgrounds to become regular readers.

This role will lead and manage the Individual Giving team to design and deliver an innovative, supporter-centric programme with a strong focus on loyalty, and plans to expand fundraising channels including digital, community fundraising and legacies, and to develop new fundraising products and increase engagement with new and existing supporters.

Working closely with the Head of Fundraising, High Value Giving Lead and colleagues throughout the organisation, the post-holder will maximise opportunities to increase income and lifetime value and deliver compelling fundraising campaigns with excellent stewardship activities across multiple channels.

The ideal candidate will be a creative and confident individual giving specialist with a track record across traditional and digital channels and covering all parts of the supporter journey from acquisition to long-term retention. Proven success growing individual giving income and a passion for public engagement will be a must, alongside the ability to work in a complex, multi-channel environment. An excellent communicator, you will be able to share the impact of BookTrust’s work in clear, compelling ways and use your collaborative and hands on leadership skills to motivate your team to achieve excellent outcomes for children and families.

This is an exciting time to join a friendly and supportive fundraising team, with individual giving identified as a key income stream for the charity’s ambitious plans to grow income significantly over the next five years.

Please download our Candidate Pack for further information [PDF], which includes details on how to apply.

Closing date: Monday 2nd March, 9.00 am.