Head of Fundraising & Philanthropy
Permanent | Full-time (37.5 hours per week) - Flexible working arrangements considered.
Salary: £45,056–£49,417 (dependent on experience)
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Location: Bristol (Hybrid working)
Help Transform the Future of Rivers Across the Bristol Avon
This is a rare opportunity to build something that will have a lasting impact.
Over the past several years, Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) has become one of the UK's fastest-growing Rivers Trusts, securing investment to restore rivers, reconnect habitats, reduce flooding and engage communities across the Bristol Avon catchment.
Now we're ready for the next stage of our journey.
We are looking for an ambitious and experienced fundraising leader to build and lead an entirely new area of our organisation - developing sustainable voluntary income that enables us to do more than project funding alone can achieve.
This is an opportunity to create something from the ground up. You will shape our fundraising strategy, diversify our income, build long-term relationships with supporters and partners, and unlock investment that will directly improve rivers, wildlife and communities across our region.
If you're motivated by building successful fundraising programmes with genuine environmental impact, we'd love to hear from you.
About Bristol Avon Rivers Trust
Founded in 2012, Bristol Avon Rivers Trust works across the Bristol Avon catchment to restore rivers for wildlife, people and the local economy.
Everything we do is guided by the best available science and a catchment based approach, working across entire catchments to improve biodiversity, climate resilience, water quality and flood resilience.
Since 2023, the Trust has experienced significant growth. We now employ around 20 staff, deliver approximately £1.3 million of projects annually, and work alongside local partnerships, farmers, landowners, communities, local authorities, businesses and government agencies.
Our ambition over the next five years is even greater.
To deliver our Strategy 2025–2030, we need to complement our strong track record in project funding with a sustainable programme of unrestricted and philanthropic income.
About the Role
Help shape the future Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART).
This is much more than a fundraising role.
You'll have the opportunity to design and lead BART's long-term fundraising strategy, creating entirely new income streams that will support restoration of rivers, education, community engagement, project development and organisational resilience.
Our immediate priority is to diversify our income beyond project grants by growing:
- Individual giving
- Philanthropic and charitable foundation support
- Corporate partnerships
- Major donors
- Legacy giving
- Unrestricted income opportunities
While these priorities have been identified strategically, we are looking for someone with the experience and creativity to refine the approach, test new ideas and build a sustainable fundraising programme for the future.
Success during your first 12 months will include:
- Developing and launching BART's fundraising strategy
- Building a compelling case for supporting the Trust’s work
- Establishing a strong pipeline of unrestricted income opportunities
- Growing relationships and excellent communications with supporters and funders
- Embedding fundraising across the organisation
- Creating clear KPIs and reporting frameworks with the CEO and Trustees
This is a highly strategic position reporting directly to the Chief Executive.
The successful candidate will work closely with an engaged Leadership Team and supportive Board of Trustees, who recognise fundraising as a strategic priority for the organisation's future growth.
Our CEO has extensive experience securing major grant funding and developing partnerships, and will work closely alongside you to help establish and grow this new function.
As with any investment in fundraising, success will be measured against mutually agreed objectives and long-term growth rather than immediate financial return. We recognise that developing sustainable fundraising takes time, and we are committed to supporting the successful candidate to build a lasting programme.
What You'll Be Doing
You will:
- Develop and implement BART's Fundraising and Philanthropy Strategy.
- Diversify unrestricted income from individuals, trusts and foundations, philanthropy, corporate partnerships, legacies and other voluntary income streams.
- Develop a compelling organisational Case for Support aligned to BART's Five-Year Strategy.
- Work with the CEO and Leadership Team to establish fundraising priorities and KPIs.
- Lead fundraising campaigns, communications, and supporter engagement initiatives.
- Manage and develop BART's supporter journey using our Beacon CRM system.
- Work closely with our Trust Administrator, who provides administrative support to the organisation, including support for CRM administration and fundraising processes.
- Coordinate fundraising activity across the Trust and ensure opportunities are maximised.
- Build strong relationships with major donors, funders and strategic partners.
- Ensure compliance with the Fundraising Regulator's Code of Fundraising Practice.
- Report regularly to the Leadership Team and Board of Trustees.
Why This Role is Different
This is an opportunity to build a fundraising programme with exceptional foundations already in place.
You will benefit from:
- A highly respected and growing environmental charity.
- Strong project delivery with proven environmental impact.
- An experienced CEO with a successful track record of securing significant funding and developing strategic partnerships.
- A supportive Board committed to growing fundraising.
- A database managed through Beacon CRM.
- A recognised and trusted regional brand with significant opportunities for growth.
You'll have genuine freedom to shape the future direction of fundraising at BART.
About You
We're looking for someone who is ambitious, entrepreneurial and excited by creating something new.
You'll ideally have:
- At least five years' experience in fundraising or philanthropy.
- Experience developing fundraising strategies and delivering income growth.
- Knowledge of trusts, foundations, philanthropy, individual giving or corporate fundraising.
- Excellent relationship-building and influencing skills.
- Strong planning and project management skills.
- Experience using CRM systems (Beacon experience welcomed but not essential).
- Excellent written communication, storytelling and bid-writing skills.
- The ability to translate complex environmental work into compelling fundraising propositions.
- A passion for rivers and their recovery and creating meaningful impact.
Benefits
- 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and Christmas closure.
- Holiday increases with length of service.
- 9% employer pension contribution.
- Life Assurance.
- Hybrid and flexible working.
- A supportive and collaborative team culture.
- Professional development opportunities.
Why Join BART?
Healthy rivers are fundamental to tackling climate change, biodiversity loss, flood resilience and community wellbeing.
Joining BART means becoming part of a passionate, ambitious organisation that delivers measurable environmental change every day.
Most importantly, this role gives you the opportunity to build something with lasting impact.
The fundraising programme you create will enable thousands more people to connect with and restore rivers across the Bristol Avon catchment for generations to come.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust is committed to building an inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone feels valued, respected and supported.
We actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and communities, particularly those underrepresented within the environmental sector.
How to Apply
Please send a CV and a covering letter outlining your suitability for the role before 11:59pm on Friday 17th July
Further Information
To learn more about our work, visit:
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust
Registered Charity The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Last year, 124,000 young people approached their council for help because they were homeless or at risk of homelessness. The figure has risen year-on-year for eight consecutive years, highlighting the scale of a challenge that continues to affect young people across the UK. Yet we believe the resources, expertise and influence already exist within the built environment sector to help tackle youth homelessness. That is where LandAid comes in.
We bring together the UK property industry, harnessing its capital, assets, skills and networks to help end youth homelessness. We do this by awarding grants to frontline charities, providing financial support, brokering free professional advice and expertise, and creating opportunities for our partners to make a meaningful difference to the lives of young people.
The Chief Financial and Operating Officer plays a critical role in helping us achieve our ambitions. A key member of the Leadership Team, you will ensure we have the financial insight, operational effectiveness and governance frameworks needed to deliver our strategy successfully. A key priority will be to provide high-quality management information, analysis and forecasting that supports confident decision-making across the organisation.
You will also help us continue to strengthen our internal operations, driving continuous improvement and ensuring our systems, processes and technology support a more efficient, evidence-led organisation. Working closely with our Board committees, you will oversee financial stewardship, risk management and governance, helping to ensure LandAid remains resilient and well positioned for future growth and impact. Beyond finance, you will oversee our outsourced HR and IT functions, ensuring we receive high-quality and cost-effective support and have robust systems and policies in place, while also helping us continue our commitment to being an excellent place to work.
We are looking for a qualified accountant who brings senior finance leadership experience, either at executive director level within an organisation of similar scale or at deputy director level within a larger organisation. Experience within the charity sector would be valuable, as would knowledge of the built environment, capital investment or social investment. Most importantly, we are looking for someone who combines technical expertise with a collaborative leadership style; someone colleagues trust, learn from and enjoy working with.
Diversity in all its forms matters to us, and we especially welcome applications from qualified women, people who are from black and minority communities, who are LGBTQ+, who live with a disability, and/or haven’t been privately educated.
Our people are our greatest asset and you would be joining an exceptional team united by a shared commitment to ending youth homelessness. If that mission resonates with you, we would love to hear from you.
To download a full copy of the candidate brief and learn more about the role, please click the ‘Apply’ button, where you will be redirected to the website of our recruitment partner, Tall Roots.
Applications should include a CV and cover letter (no more than two pages), explaining your motivation for applying for the role, along with how you meet the Knowledge & Experience section of the Person Specification.
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