Philanthropy officer jobs in london, greater london

Our client is one of the UK's largest independent funders, awarding £100 million annually to charities across the UK. Our grant-making supports initiatives in health, welfare, education, the arts, and heritage.

The Trust was founded to realise the philanthropic vision of Sir Hans Rausing and to honour the memory of his late wife, Julia Rausing. Julia's legacy is rooted in a belief in a healthy, compassionate society-one that cares for the vulnerable, broadens opportunity, and enriches life through creativity and cultural engagement. The Trust takes a broad, strategic, and relational approach to philanthropy, remaining agile and responsive while grounded in personal values. 

Prospectus is delighted to be working with The Trust to recruit an Operations Executive to join the team based full-time from the office in Chelsea, London.

The Role:

As the Trust grows in activity and complexity-including its recent transition to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation-we are creating a new role: Operations Executive. This role sits at the heart of the organisation, ensuring our operations run smoothly while supporting the Chief Executive with executive coordination and administration.

Though not a grant-making role, this position offers valuable insight into the charity sector and the inner workings of a major philanthropic organisation. You will be responsible for a wide range of operational and strategic support functions - from facilities and IT systems to Board coordination and external communications. It's a unique opportunity for a capable and enthusiastic individual to play a vital part in our continued growth and impact.

The person:

This successful candidate will have a substantial track record in providing operational and administrative support in a busy office environment, ideally but not essentially in the charity or not-for-profit sector. This will have involved exposure to office and facilities management, reception and visitor support, internal and external relationship management, governance and compliance, finance and budgeting in addition to PA or EA type support to a CEO or senior management teams.

The key to this role lies in its breadth, and being able to see the bigger picture, anticipating needs and to plan ahead effectively to provide comprehensive support across this small but very busy organisation. Highly organised with excellent attention to detail, this person will be able to multi-task and prioritise various pieces of work across the business. They will be collaborative and will be able to tailor their skills to a wide range of needs and if something is not within their immediate skills set, they will have the confidence and initiative to seek out solutions and make them work. Strong written and verbal communications and proficiency in all MS Office packages and experience with SharePoint and Zoom will be important in addition to being confident in proofreading and formatting documents for board papers and reports. Strong budget monitoring abilities and an understanding of data protection and confidentiality standards will also me important.

Experience of having worked in small, busy organisations where a broad knowledge across office based systems will be crucial, with the flexibility and adaptability to tailor skills where necessary and to seek out workable solutions to a wide range of issues. An exposure to HR processes will also be useful as well as being genuinely interested in the important work of the Trust. This role lies at the heart of the organisation and will be central to its ongoing success in meeting its charitable aims and objectives.

Are you skilled at stewarding funder partnerships and unlocking new income streams to support impactful education work across the UK?

Want to play a key role in shaping the ambitious direction for a national charity that sees that all young people are equipped through citizenship and democratic education?

Young Citizens is a UK education charity on a mission to help children and young people thrive in their communities and society. For nearly forty years we’ve equipped young people with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to understand how democracy and society works, and how they can be a part of it. We’re a small, dynamic team working in each nation with a bold vision for the future. We have a well-loved set of digital lessons, tools and immersive programmes that primary and secondary schools come to each year to help deliver inspiring, quality citizenship education.

This is a newly created and pivotal role that will lead our approach to income generation and strategic growth. As Senior Business & Partnerships Development Manager, you’ll be responsible for identifying and developing new opportunities, particularly in corporate partnerships, trust fundraising, and strategic collaborations, while also shaping how we position and promote our offer.

You’ll work closely with the CEO and senior management team to drive forward our mission and build meaningful relationships with stakeholders across sectors.

Role snapshot:

• Lead the delivery and success of our bold income generation strategy 
• Identify and secure new funding opportunities, with a focus on corporate partnerships and trusts/foundations
• Shape and promote Young Citizens’ offer and work for external audiences, enhancing visibility, advocacy and reach 
• Build and manage high-value relationships with funders, partners, and collaborators
• Contribute to organisational strategy and planning as a key member of the senior management team
• Represent the charity externally, championing our work and impact

Who are we looking for?

We’re looking for a strategic and proactive senior leader with a proven track record in income generation and business development, ideally within the charity, education, or corporate responsibility sectors. This role requires a collaborative and entrepreneurial self-starter who can effectively manage and grow our existing network of funders, while also contributing to the development of our evolving business model.

You’ll bring:

• Significant experience in securing income from corporate partnerships and/or trusts and foundations
• Excellent relationship-building and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to quickly understand social impact areas and align them with funder priorities
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to write persuasive proposals and deliver compelling pitches
• A strategic mindset, with experience contributing to organisational planning and growth
• The ability to develop tailored business models and outreach campaigns with both speed and care
• A collaborative, confident approach and experience working at a senior level, including with CEOs or executive teams
• A team player mindset, interested in helping shape great organisational culture and performance

If you’re excited by the opportunity to shape a new role, influence strategy, and help grow a mission-driven organisation, we’d love to hear from you.

Benefits of working at Young Citizens

In addition to joining a small, friendly, and supportive team, we offer:

• Hybrid and flexible working options
• Enhanced employer pension contribution
• 28 days annual leave plus eight Bank Holidays
• Paid volunteering leave
• A day off for your birthday
• Employee assistance programme
• Enhanced sickness and maternity policies
• Season ticket loan
• The opportunity to make a real difference to children and young people across the UK

This is a hybrid role with some days each week at our London office ongoingly. Candidates should be based within a reasonable commute to London and have the existing right to work in the UK.

To learn more about the role and the application process, please refer to the job pack for full details.

As long as this advert is live, we are accepting applications.

Epic at a Glance:

At Epic, we strive to build a world where children and youth - no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation or place of birth - have access to a future full of promise and opportunity. We are a global foundation backing groundbreaking non-profits around the world - the changemakers and innovators that are transforming the lives of children and youth and protecting our planet for generations to come. 

Groundbreaking charities often struggle to secure smart money to drive impact. Donors want to give more, but are held back because they lack trust, time, and knowledge. Epic bridges the gap between the social entrepreneurs forging solutions to today’s pressing challenges, and the individuals and businesses who want to pool their resources to drive positive change. We curate and monitor highly-vetted portfolios of organisations that we back in order to foster lasting change. We operate strictly on a pro bono basis: 100% of donations received go directly to the organizations in our portfolio. 

Now in our 10th year, we have mobilised over $91 million and supported 57 organizations in 11 countries across 4 continents, since 2015. In the UK, we raise between US$2-2.5 million annually, and there is potential and aspiration to grow this to US$3 million by the end of 2027.

Summary of the position

Epic is looking for a Development Manager to support the activities of the UK Development Team to help us ‘make giving the norm’.

The Development Manager will work with the UK Director in our small team in the UK, as well as working closely with colleagues in Paris and Brussels. 

This position offers candidates the opportunity to develop their skills across a range of fundraising disciplines including corporate fundraising, major donor engagement, events, and philanthropy. 

This position will work with a deeply engaged team in an international environment. Given the versatile nature of the responsibilities and the small team size, candidates will need to show demonstrable flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to take ownership and work independently.

Epic offers an enriching and supportive work environment with opportunities for professional growth and network development. This is an exciting opportunity to join an innovative organisation that places social impact at the heart of its mission.

Key Responsibilities :

With support from the UK Director, the Development Manager will work collaboratively with the Director and wider UK team and Development colleagues in Paris and Brussels to execute the fundraising strategy in the UK. The Development Manager is a key role in a small team, and will contribute new ideas, networks and results to help us meet our income targets and therefore create more positive impact for children and young people globally. More specifically, the key responsibilities of this role are outlined below.

1. Business Development (65%)

• Lead prospect research and outreach efforts to expand Epic’s prospect donor pool in the UK: monitor the fundraising ecosystem, conduct in-depth prospect research and engage in proactive outreach campaigns through LinkedIn, emailing, digital networking and in-person events. This will include attending early morning and evening events as required.
• Set conversion objectives and support conversion from leads to donations
• Identify and secure lead opportunities within networks and events
• Pitch Epic and its various Giving Solutions to potential donors, and build tailored proposals when needed
• Maintain high discipline and consistency in follow-up with leads and donors: use Epic’s CRM to build a consistent pipeline of prospects, as well as maintaining the database with accurate and up to date donor information
• Evaluate and monitor the return on investment (ROI) of events and fundraising campaigns
• Prepare compelling fundraising communications, materials and presentations for donor meetings and events

2. Nurturing & engaging the UK Community (20%)

• Contribute to Epic’s engagement strategy for current donors to ensure an 80% renewal rate
• Maintain regular touchpoints with a subgroup of donors through activities such as sharing monitoring reports, organising project visits and volunteering opportunities in the UK, and scheduling regular calls and face to face meetings. 
• Act as the main point of contact for a subset of donors and answer their enquiries in a timely manner
• Craft and manage engagement opportunities such as UK events and webinars, including drinks, talks, breakfast events, and provide support to the organisation for the annual gala nights. Support will be provided for certain events by our in-house dedicated Events team.

3. Fundraising-related administration (15%)

• Manage donor-related administrative tasks, such as regular use of Epic’s CRM (Salesforce), donation forms, meeting preparation, minutes (where applicable), and 
• Process all donations, using Salesforce and related donation platforms, in a timely manner each month
• Liaise with international fund vehicles, such as Myriad USA, to ensure all international donation commitments are fulfilled. 

Position Requirements :

• Candidate must have the right to work in the United Kingdom
• Excellent level of English (both spoken and written) required
• Proficiency in French (written and spoken) highly desirable 
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in a sales, fundraising or business development role, with demonstrable experience of securing 5- and 6-figure gifts
• Experience within the charity sector is desirable but not required
• Experience using software packages such as Google Suite, Microsoft Office, Canva and other applications
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Commitment to attend external events (including evening events) and comfortable networking with a variety of people across different communities
• Experience with a CRM is required and preferably some experience of using Salesforce 
• Strong self-discipline and project management skills
• Excellent organisational skills and a strong eye for detail

The Epic UK team is a small but dedicated team. The role requires flexibility and a start-up attitude. This is a full time, permanent position, based in the London office with the opportunity for two remote working days each week. This role reports to the UK Director and will involve closely working with Epic’s global development team, as well as with the Engagement, Programs, Marketing and Communications, and Operations teams.

Contract Details

• Position based in central London (Mayfair), UK (with option to work from home 2 days per week).
• Contract type: Permanent, full-time
• Salary range: £35,000-£40,000 gross annual (depending on experience) 
• Start date: As soon as possible but within 3 months of the offer

Employee Benefits 

• Flexible Work Arrangements: Up to 2 days remote working per week.
• 5 weeks (25 days) of paid holiday annually, not including bank holidays, with additional office closure between Christmas and New Year. 
• Access to private healthcare coverage through our healthcare partner, BUPA, fully covered by Epic for the employee and 50% coverage for partner and/or dependents. 
• Retirement Savings Plan: Enrolling in a company-sponsored retirement savings plan with employer contributions.
• £150 culture/sport allowance per year for all eligible staff on a permanent contract and who have successfully completed their trial period.
• Epic subsidizes 50% of the cost of weekly, monthly, or annual local transportation passes (London Underground and London Buses).
• A monthly tax-free homeworking contribution in the amount of £26 per month for all eligible staff on a permanent contract and who have successfully completed their trial period.
• Workplace Amenities: Access to modern workplace amenities: onsite kitchen and snacks, and recreational facilities.

How to Apply: 

Please use charityJob to submit a copy of your CV and a cover letter to Lisa Robinson. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered. 

Epic is dedicated to ensuring equal opportunities in employment. We hire based on merit, and all candidates will be considered for employment regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. At Epic, we seek individuals who share our passion for what we do, bringing diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences to collectively make a positive impact.

If you require any assistance with your application or preparation for an interview for one of our job openings, please contact Lisa Robinson via the application process. We are committed to ensuring you have a positive and comfortable experience.

Application and interview steps: 

Our recruitment process is designed to be fair, efficient, and respectful of your time. After an initial 20-minute screening call to review and confirm eligibility criteria, shortlisted candidates will go through the following stages:

1. First Interview – with a member of the Development team
2. Case Study – to assess role-specific skills and approach
3. HR Interview – to discuss values, motivation, and team fit
4. Second Interview – with a member of the Development team
5. Final meeting – with the CEO

Please note that reference checks will be conducted before confirming any job offer.