Programmes and grants manager jobs in cambridge, cambridgeshire

First Steps ED are looking for a passionate and strategic Head of Fundraising and Communications to join our team and help make a difference in the lives of those we support. First Steps ED provide person-centred support to our service users for a range of disordered eating and eating disorder presentations.

The Head of Fundraising and Communications will lead on the development and implementation of strategies to diversify and grow our income streams, strengthen our brand, and increase engagement with key audiences. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, the postholder will be responsible for building and maintaining relationships across trusts and foundations, corporate partners, individual donors, and community supporters. This role will also oversee all aspects of external communications and marketing, ensuring a consistent and compelling voice for the organisation across digital, print, media, and stakeholder channels.

The Head of Fundraising and Communications will provide line management and strategic direction to the fundraising and communications team, with accountability for delivering income targets and enhancing the charity’s profile and impact.

Role Overview:
This position requires a strategic leader who will be a proactive engagement lead and support the charities overall strategy and mission. You will have a proven background of successful fundraising activities, diversifying engagement and income and cultivating key relationships through communication strategies.

Key Responsibilities:
This is an opportunity to develop and shape the fundraising and communications strategy for a growing charity, in an are that is getting more and more attention. The role will require an agile mind to adapt to the ever changing environment, and in return the charity leadership promises flexibility and understanding, as we test learn and adapt these strategies.

Some of the area you are expected to work on are the following, and the rest can be defined by you:

• Budgets and Targets: You are directly responsible for the budgets, and income targets attached to Fundraising and Communications.
• Engagement and Income Diversification: Develop and implement strategies to diversify income streams, including legacy giving, corporate partnerships, individual donations, and major donors.
• Marketing and Communications Strategy: Create and implement strategies to reach a wider audience through innovative marketing and communications channels.
• NHS and Private Sector Opportunities: Identify and pursue new business opportunities within the NHS and private sector.
• Relationship Management: Manage key relationships with donors, partners, and stakeholders.
• Team Leadership: Manage and support Fundraising, Marketing and Communications officers, ensuring alignment with fundraising goals and charity objectives overall.
• Lead our flagship campaigns: This year we are developing an online campaign, currently called Scroll Safe, to tackle the issues with online safety, we are included in the parliamentary act, and we wish this to be a multi-year campaign. It is in development for 2025, and you are expected to hit the ground running. Other campaigns include Eating Disorder Awareness Week, and Christmas.
• Digital Agency and PR Management: Oversee the work of digital agencies and PR consultant to enhance online presence and engagement with public relations and media outreach.
• Ambassadors and Patrons Management: Engage and manage relationships with ambassadors and patrons to leverage their support and influence.
• Web Development Leadership: Lead the development and maintenance of the charity's website to ensure it effectively supports fundraising and communication efforts as well as providing clear and concise support to our service users, carers and professionals.
• Manage our portfolio of events: We have an emerging trend in challenge events, and we manage these carefully and mindfully especially long-distance sporting events. This requires key insights in trends and work with our marketing team on key insights.
• Working with the CEO: You will identify opportunities for strategic communications and growth. You will network with likeminded individuals from other charities and build sector connections.
• Senior Leadership Team: You will be an integral part of our Senior Leadership Team, which means working across the whole charity on tasks that may pop up, and planning with the team our Organisational Development.

Qualifications:

• Experience: Minimum of 5 years in a senior fundraising and communications role, preferably within the charity sector.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Relationship Management, or a related field.

Skills:

• Strong strategic planning and implementation skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.
• Proficiency in fundraising software and CRM systems.
• Strong leadership and team management skills.

What we offer

• 28 days annual leave (pro rata for part time)
• Enhanced sick pay
• Company events
• Blue Light Card
• Access to our Employee Assistance Program + Wellbeing App
• Company pension - 5% employee, 3% employer
• On-site parking
• Referral programme
• Work from home (depending on role)
• Accredited training programme towards CPD

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Should we met our target number of applications we reserve the right to close the advert earlier than the closing date.

An exciting opportunity to be involved in the development of a growing adult literacy charity as it expands across Central England

One in 20 adults in the UK has never learnt to read at all. This can have a serious impact on their confidence and wellbeing, limiting access to training, employment, and everyday opportunities that many take for granted. Being unable to read as an adult can be isolating and dangerous, reinforces social inequality, restricts economic growth, and worsens intergenerational disadvantage - but it is never too late to learn.

Read Easy helps adults transform their lives by learning to read. It does this by supporting its growing network of locally run, volunteer-led affiliated groups that offer free, confidential, one-to-one reading coaching—both in person and online to adults - aged from 18-88. 

With its free, flexible, confidential approach, Read Easy encourages people who are too embarrassed to join a class to come forward for one-to-one support. Each new reader is provided with their own personal Reading Coach, so that they can learn in private and at their own pace. Learning to read transforms their lives in many other ways as well, including enabling them to support their children’s and grandchildren’s reading, and so transfers the benefits to the next generation.

There are currently 80 affiliated Read Easy groups across England, together involving more than a thousand volunteers. Read Easy UK is the registered charity and umbrella organisation which supports this network of affiliated volunteer groups and provides the structure, training and support to enable volunteers to establish groups in new areas.

As our Central Regional Adviser, your role would be to provide strategic leadership, guidance, and oversight to ensure that all volunteer groups consistently deliver high-quality services aligned with Read Easy UK’s strategy.

You will support local volunteer leaders to strengthen group performance, and foster collaboration across affiliated groups, so that that they deliver coaching to Readers with consistent quality, and a positive and worthwhile experience is had by all.

You will also find volunteers to ‘pioneer’ three new groups in the counties where there is no Read Easy presence in the East and West Midlands and East of England and provide them and our 29 existing groups and pioneers in the region, with high-quality support. Your quality support will ensure that they provide the same for their volunteers and new Readers. From meeting (mostly online) with Team Leaders to provide one to one support, and hosting online and annual in-person volunteer forums, to delivering presentations and occaisonal training for small groups of volunteers, this is a dynamic and rewarding role.

This is a home-based post requiring flexibility, some early evening working and occaisional travel to visit groups. The role is available on either a full or part time basis (min 32 hours p/w, 85% of 37.5 hours p/w FTE).

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Live within one of the following areas: West Midlands (Defined as the 7 metropolitan boroughs of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, and Wolverhampton), Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire or Rutland;
• have been employed to work with volunteers for at least two years;
• have strong people management and interpersonal skills; excellent communication skills; and the confidence to run meetings and deliver presentations.

Salary & Benefits 

• Annual Salary £25,075 (85% FTE) -£29,500 (100% FTE)
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays and Christmas closing and 2 days volunteering leave – pro-rata for part time roles
• Company sick pay to financially support you when you are unwell (above statutory upon completion of probationary period) 
• Support when extending your family – company parental and adoption pay (above statutory after 12 months service) 
• Access to RewardHub – which gives retail discounts and has a ‘Wellbeing Centre’ with tools, tips, recipes, workout videos and guides which will help you to reach your own wellbeing goals 
• Training and Development opportunities and resources – we are developing personal plans in this area to enhance employee experience and opportunity 
• A collaborative, creative and inspiring working environment full of committed and passionate employees and inspirational volunteers 

We strive to ensure our recruitment practices are fair, open, easy to access and as inclusive as possible. We aim to recruit a team which broadly reflect the local communities which we serve; to work with and learn from each other to continually improve the service we deliver to our Readers. Our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Group is actively promoting and advancing diversity and inclusion, ensuring a culture where everyone can be themselves and thrive. We welcome you to apply and be your authentic self.

When applying for a job with us, if an applicant has a disability covered by the definition outlined within the Equality Act 2010 and can show that they meet the ‘essential criteria’ described in the person specification for the role being applied for, they are guaranteed an interview for the job for which they are applying through our Disability Confident scheme.

If you need any support with your application, please contact us,

The closing date for this post is 10:00 Tuesday 15th July 2025. Should you be shortlisted, the first round of interviews will take place online on Wednesday 23rd July, with in-person interviews, being held in Gloucestershire or West Midlands, on Tuesday 29th July 2025. 

The successful candidate will be invited to meet the team on 31st July in Birmingham, should they be able to do so.

 We’re looking for a dedicated and proactive Fundraiser to help grow our income and sustain the life-changing work we do every day!

Sportability provides opportunities for people with paralysis to participate in a programme of sport and challenging pursuits.  Our aim is to get them out of their wheelchairs, off their crutches and sticks and into canoes, gliders, microlights or sailing boats. Whether quad biking or Blokart sailing, shooting shotguns, air-rifles and pistols, or bows and crossbows, it’s about turning their back on ‘disability’ and JUST DOING IT!

This is a brand-new position and an exciting opportunity to join our team at a pivotal time in our development. You’ll play a central role in shaping and delivering a diverse range of income-generating activities that drive forward our strategic fundraising plan. Your work will directly support the growth of our charity, enable us to reach more people, and help create lasting, positive change in their lives.

Permanent WFH Contract

• Hours: Flexible but no less than 20 hours (part time) with a potential to grow to (full time) 30 hours per week. We offer flexible hours to accommodate caring responsibilities.

• Pay £15,600 per year (part time) - £23,400 per year (full time), pro-rata for any agreed variation between those times

You will be required to travel to North London for training and meetings 

Key responsibilities include:

• Researching and securing funding from trusts, foundations, individuals, and corporate partners
• Writing grant applications and donor proposals
• Building and maintaining meaningful relationships with donors and supporters
• Developing engaging fundraising campaigns and communications 

We’re seeking someone who has:

• Some experience in fundraising
• Good typing skills and experience with Word and Excel
• Good communication skills - both written and verbal

And is:

• Organised, self-motivated, and creative in their approach
• Passionate about making a difference in people’s lives

Why work with us? At Sportability, you’ll be part of a small, team that genuinely cares. We offer:

• A welcoming and supportive workplace
• Flexibility to help you achieve a healthy work-life balance
• The opportunity to contribute to a cause that matters
• Ongoing training and development