Strategic Fundraising Consultant

Summary

The Charity Spark is looking to appoint a Strategic Fundraising Consultant to expand our fundraising support for clients across the UK. This pivotal role will be a strategic fundraising lead, working with a diverse portfolio of clients to develop and implement comprehensive fundraising strategies. You will advise on a range of income generation methods, including trust and foundation grants, legacy giving, major donor philanthropy, and corporate partnerships.

A key part of your role will be to provide strategic development, helping clients diversify their income streams and build sustainable fundraising programmes. This position is critical as we expand our team to meet growing demand. We are a tiny, collaborative team committed to ensuring brilliant outcomes for our clients and stability for our team.

The Charity Spark are a consultancy for the non-profit and charity sector. We work with clients from across the charity sector and help them do more good daily through excellent fundraising and transformative impact measurement.  That is, we help them prove they do what they say they do and then use that proof to raise more money, so they can continue the work that they do.

We are committed to tackling inequalities and to making The Charity Spark an inclusive and diverse workspace. The Charity Spark’s purpose is core to every part of our business.

We’re keen to find the right people for the future of The Charity Spark, so we’d love to talk to you if you’re interested in us or this role, but want to know a bit more before applying.

Important Details. What you’ll get:

Salary: £40,000 - £45,000 FTE

Hours: Up to 3 days per week. We keep core office hours of 8:30am-6pm however this role does not require the holder to work solely within these hours. We will work with you to find a working pattern which suits your needs and lifestyle as well as the needs of our business and clients.

Benefits: We will provide you with a laptop if required and equipment for you to work comfortably at home, as well as a monthly contribution towards your home broadband contract. We offer a company pension scheme and an employee assistance programme. We believe in the power of chocolate and tea!

Commission structure: Recognising the important role all our team play in client relationships, and in securing new contracts, TCS operates a commission structure which rewards staff who work on a successful client proposal.

Holiday: 22 days plus bank holidays (FTE contracts – pro rata for PT) and your birthday off. 

Volunteering: We encourage our employees to volunteer so we will provide you an additional 2 days (FTE) a year volunteering leave.

Training and development: We want to invest in our staff team so we will provide you with an annual budget for training courses and books to enhance your skills.

Employment status: Fixed term contract of one year with permanent contract to be discussed.

Location: The Charity Spark is based in Winchester. This role is predominantly home-working with an expectation of regular co-working (around 2 days per quarter and typically in Winchester although location may vary).

Responsible to: Director

What you’ll be doing:

1.     Fundraising

1. • Develop and Lead Fundraising Strategies: Create bespoke, multi-stream fundraising strategies for a range of clients. This includes capital appeals and other large-scale projects, helping clients raise significant funds for transformative goals.
   • Income Diversification: Advise clients on how to diversify their fundraising portfolio, reducing reliance on any single income source and building resilience.
   • Trust and Foundation Fundraising: While the role is broader, you will still oversee and deliver trust fundraising work, including researching funders, writing bids and proposals, and supporting clients to steward donors effectively. You will also mentor and upskill clients and their teams on best practices.
   • Support the Director with developing strategic resources for fundraising including digital courses, blogs and downloadable resources for charities.
   • Client Management and Support: Serve as a senior point of contact for clients, providing expert advice, hands-on support, and strategic guidance throughout their fundraising journey.

2.     Business Development

·       Deal with client enquiries in an efficient and timely manner.

·       Support the Director with onboarding new clients.

·       Liaise with clients to gain testimonials and write client case studies.

·       Research opportunities for new business products and/or clients.

·       Support with B Corp certification process and improve The Charity Spark’s impact as a company.

·       Assist on the organisation of team events and away days, alongside the Director.

About you:

• Experienced Fundraising Leader: You have a proven track record of success with five or more years of experience in fundraising. You demonstrate the ability to develop and execute effective, multi-stream strategies. You can tell us about fundraising successes you have been an important part of.
• Strategic Thinker: You are adept at seeing the bigger picture, identifying growth opportunities, and creating long-term plans for organisations. You have an entrepreneurial spirit and a creative growth mindset.
• Diverse Fundraising Knowledge: You have demonstrable hands-on experience in at least one of the following areas: major gifts, legacy, and/or trust fundraising. Experience with capital appeals or with Christian charities/churches is highly desirable.
• Practical skillset: Target-driven, with experience of budget-setting, financial processes, monitoring and reporting outcomes across income streams. You have a practical understanding of fundraising and charity regulation and best practice regarding prospecting, stewardship, and reporting, together with IT and database skills including knowledge of CRMs.
• Excellent Communicator: You have a talent for using words powerfully, with excellent written communication and presentation skills. You can build strong relationships with clients and stakeholders, clearly communicating complex ideas and inspiring confidence.
• Proactive and Results-Oriented: You are target-driven and have a proven track record of meeting fundraising goals. You are able to balance competing priorities and work under pressure, with the ability to anticipate and formulate solutions to problems.
• Comfortable in a small team with an entrepreneurial spirit: we are a small growing business led by our founder. You will have a passion for working with a business with a strong social mission and looking for a positive purpose in the company you work for.

We want to encourage those with a disability or neurodiversity who may experience difficulties with some forms of communication to apply and tell us how we could help you be the best version of you in the workplace. Contact us to discuss how we can make the application process accessible for you.