Trusts and Philanthropy Manager

About You. 

You will be a self-motivated and proactive senior trust fundraiser, excited about this new role and achieving our ambitious fundraising goals – approaching it with good humour, resilience and resourcefulness, and confident in your skills and abilities. 

Professional, reliable and highly organised, you will enjoy working collaboratively, able to inspire and support colleagues, and have a strong team ethos.  Outgoing and engaging, you will be able to convey a passion for nature and wildlife to different audiences and feel confident when sharing our vision and impact with others. You will be able to nurture and develop relationships with key stakeholders, including those we do not already have a relationship with.   

You will have a strong knowledge of Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent and be able to work/travel throughout the county.  

We welcome applications from senior trust fundraisers, bid writers from the commercial sector and senior fundraisers from major donors or corporate partnerships who can demonstrate transferable skills and knowledge, and success at the income levels required. 

About the Role.  

We are investing in our Fundraising and Development team to deliver an ambitious 5-year fundraising strategy. The Trusts and Philanthropy Manager is pivotal in securing philanthropic support from trusts and foundations, legacies, major donors, and corporate partners.  

 
Over the strategy period you will be responsible for developing annual trust and grant income to £500,000+, by securing grants of five figures and above and gaining multi-year donations.   Using your experience in creating strong cases for support, including unrestricted costs, and pipeline development, you will work with two part-time colleagues to increase annual income from major donors, legacies and corporate partners to £250,000+ (excluding exceptional legacy gifts). 

With curiosity, you will identify funding opportunities and reach new audiences. You will thrive on building strong, long-lasting relationships, cultivating donors through verbal and written communications, and managing stewardship events.   

As a senior manager, you will have budget responsibility, report regularly, and mitigate under performance.   You will ensure joined-up planning and delivery, developing fundraising relationships across income streams, and you will enjoy line management, collaborating with others, and leading project groups to deliver targets on deadlines. 

A typical week is expected to include at least 2 days from our Wolseley Head Office, 1-2days in Staffordshire to secure new support and meet donors, the remaining time worked remotely, with flexibility as required. 

About Us. 

“Staffordshire Wildlife Trust protects and enhances the wildlife and wild places of Staffordshire and promotes understanding, enjoyment and involvement in the natural world.” 

A registered charity established in 1969, we are one of 46 county Wildlife Trusts throughout the UK and are supported by over 18,000 members. 

The Trust owns or manages 45 nature reserves covering an area of over 1900 hectares. We have around 140 staff, based in six locations around the county including our Headquarters at Wolseley Bridge, Stafford, with our work divided into four departments: Conservation Delivery & Engagement, Fundraising and Development, HR & Support Services, and Resources. The Trust has a diverse workforce including site wardens, wildlife surveyors, community and education officers, catering, retail and administration. 

In addition, we have a trading company which looks after the trading side of our business. This includes a café at The Wolseley Centre, charity shops in Leek, Penkridge and Codsall, and a retail shop in the Wolseley Centre. 

We’re Wild About Inclusion! To us, this means inspiring, empowering and engaging people from all backgrounds, cultures, identities and abilities, to change the natural world for the better. It means creating workspaces where difference is celebrated, everyone can be themselves and flourish, just like nature. 

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is committed to keeping children and young people safe, you can see our policy on our website.  Safeguarding and protecting our visitors, customers, members, staff and volunteers is the responsibility of every trustee, employee, and volunteer at Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. For applicable roles, applicants must be willing to undergo checks with past employers and Disclosure and Barring Service checks at the eligible level. 

Disability Confident Employer. As a Disability Confident accredited employer, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for vacancies. We particularly encourage applications from people who are underrepresented within our sector, including people from minority backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creating a movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities.   

At SWT, we are committed to creating a safe environment where discrimination, bullying, and harassment are not tolerated. We expect everyone to uphold, respect, and support our zero-tolerance policy.  

Please be aware we may not accept applications if we have reason to believe they have been wholly produced using generative AI tools 

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is a registered charity.  Charity No: 259558.  

Closing Date:  9am on Monday 30th March 2026 

Interviews: 1st stage -   MS Teams call during the recruitment period 
                         2nd stage -   Wed 8 April or Fri 10 April 2026