Director of Funding Development

About Us

We are a high impact, specialist literacy charity supporting the children who need the most help to close their literacy gap. The attainment gap is now the widest it has been for a decade, and early, high quality literacy intervention is essential to give children from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to make the most of their full potential.

Our specially recruited and trained tutors equip children with all the foundational literacy skills, not just reading but also comprehension, writing, listening and speaking. We achieve significant outcomes: children catch up to where they should be and grow in confidence and resilience, able to step ahead and engage with learning and life.

With a clear focus on our specialist literacy intervention work, the charity has doubled in size over recent years, and we are now planning for the next stage of our growth. Funding is key, and we are looking to appoint a Director of Funding Development to take our fundraising to the next level.

The Opportunity

This is a newly created senior management role reporting directly to the CEO. We see it as critical to our future fundraising success and to the overall development of the charity.

This is a role for a new business ‘seeker’: we need a commercially minded individual with a strong track record of securing new, significant funding opportunities; proactive and creative prospecting; building a credible pipeline; and setting and meeting ambitious targets.

As well as being able to confidently represent the charity and evidence significant relationship-building skills across all funding streams, the successful candidate will work purposefully and collaboratively with senior management colleagues and our Trustee Board, and will have line management responsibility for the fundraising team.

We are looking for someone who can become part of our longer-term fundraising vision on a permanent basis, helping to shape and deliver sustainable growth. We recognise, however, that the right person may be looking for an interim opportunity, therefore we are also open to a shorter-term appointment for a candidate who can deliver a significant, measurable impact in that time.

What You Will Do

•      Develop and implement an overarching income generation strategy, setting ambitious annual and 3-year fundraising targets

•      Deliver and convert new, significant funding opportunities across corporates, trusts and foundations, and high net worth individuals

•      Build and proactively manage a realistic pipeline of potentially transformational funders

•      Develop compelling bids and proposals that accurately reflect the charity’s core messaging and delivery priorities

•      Provide strong direction and line management to other team members across all funding streams

•      Work closely with the CEO on the development of a robust, long-term funding plan

•      Effectively represent the charity at external events, meetings and conferences

What We Are Looking For

You will bring:

•      Senior fundraising experience with a proven track record of securing significant, transformational funding, not necessarily from a charity background

•      Experience across multiple funding streams, in particular high value trusts and foundations, corporates and major donors

•      A proactive, creative and ambitious approach to prospect identification and relationship development

•      Confident and effective communication skills, being able to represent the charity credibly at the highest levels

•      Strong writing skills, with the ability to produce nuanced, compelling and tailored proposals

•      Experience of line managing a fundraising team

•      A collaborative and positive outlook, with the resilience to thrive in a growing organisation

An interest in education, literacy, and equality of opportunity is highly desirable, as is an existing network of high-level funder contacts.

How to Apply

To apply, please send a detailed CV and a covering letter of no more than 2 pages, explaining why you are interested in this role and how your experience meets the person specification.

We want to hear about your individual experience, judgement and communication style in your own words. We recognise the efficiencies AI tools can bring but please do not use generative AI to substantially develop your application.

The closing date for applications is 15th October 2026, however interviews will happen on a rolling basis therefore early applications are advised.

We are managing this recruitment process directly and do not require support from recruitment agencies or third-party suppliers. We kindly request that recruitment agencies do not contact us regarding this vacancy or submit candidate details on behalf of applicants.

The Children’s Literacy Charity is committed to promoting equal opportunities in employment. You and any job applicants will receive equal treatment regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation (Protected Characteristics). 

Thank you for taking the time to apply for this role. We aim to reply to all job applicants, however if we receive a very high number of applications then we may not be able to respond.  If you do not hear from us within two weeks of the closing date, then we regret to advise that this means that your application has not been selected to progress through to the next stage of our recruitment process.