Senior event manager jobs in Chelmsford, essex
About the Trust
We're one of the UK’s biggest charities and we care for 2,000 miles of canals, rivers, docks and reservoirs because we believe life is better by water. We're looking for people who support our cause and want to make a difference for future generations. Could this be you?
Along with our waterways we also manage museums, archives and the country's third largest collection of historic buildings, as well as the nature and wildlife that calls our canals home. All of this enables us to provide wellbeing opportunities for millions of people each year.
Join Our Team: Head of Philanthropy & Partnerships
We’re excited to welcome a new strategic leader to shape and deliver transformational income growth and strategic partnerships for the Trust.
Navigate your future and lock in your career as we keep our canals open and alive.
Working Hours & Location
This role follows a 37 hours, Monday to Friday working pattern. This is a home-based role, requiring regular travel to meetings with donors, events and to our main hubs for collaborative meetings and team activities.
Role Overview
In this pivotal role, you will lead the refinement and delivery of the Trust’s high value giving strategy, building and sustaining relationships with philanthropists, statutory funders, trusts and foundations, and corporates. You’ll inspire, lead, and manage a diverse team to achieve ambitious income targets and strengthen strategic partnerships that support the Trust’s vision. You will actively demonstrate desired behaviours - enthusiastically engaging with external partners, taking initiative to strengthen the team, and fostering a culture within the Trust that supports high level giving.
Key Responsibilities
- Implement and refine the Fundraising Strategy to deliver significant and sustainable income growth and impact.
- Lead, inspire and develop a diverse team, fostering a culture of delivery, collaboration, accountability, and innovation.
- Personally lead on cultivating and stewarding transformational relationships with corporates, trusts, foundations, high-net-worth donors and some statutory sources while empowering your team to build profitable, multi-year relationships, a robust pipeline and secured income.
- Prepare, monitor, and deliver the annual business plan and income budget (currently £5m with significant growth planned).
- Represent the Trust externally at a senior level and maintain awareness of sector trends.
- Maintain best practice in fundraising compliance, risk management, and reporting, maintaining the highest standards of integrity.
- Embed diversity, inclusion, and safety responsibilities in all activities.
About You
As an accomplished fundraising leader with a proven track record of delivering high-value income and building strategic partnerships, you thrive in complex stakeholder environments and bring a blend of vision, resilience, and hands-on expertise. You’ll be confident influencing at Board level, adept at navigating ambiguity, and passionate about making a lasting impact.
Skills & Qualifications
- Proven experience in leading a team – skilled at building, inspiring, and motivating teams to achieve fundraising goals.
- Comprehensive expertise in major donor fundraising, corporate partnerships, and trust and foundation giving, alongside a working knowledge of statutory giving.
- Demonstrated expertise in high-value fundraising and partnership development, with a proven ability to create, cultivate and steward long-term relationships while influencing internal stakeholders to secure and sustain transformational support.
- Proven success in securing transformational gifts and multi-year partnerships.
- Demonstrable problem-solving skills, able to influence inside and outside the organisation.
- A proven ability to develop and write persuasive and successful funding applications and partnership proposals for major donors, trusts and foundations, and corporates.
- Exceptional communication and networking skills, with the ability to engage and inspire diverse audiences.
- Experience managing significant budgets and delivering income growth.
- Knowledge of fundraising compliance and sector trends.
- A collaborative and innovative approach, able to lead and motivate a diverse team while working cross-functionally.
- Personal resilience and adaptability, with the ability to deliver results in a fast-paced and evolving environment.
What We Offer
We offer an annual salary of £78,000, plus £520 cash car allowance per month. Enjoy a competitive pension scheme, increasing holiday entitlement, and a range of employee benefits. For a full breakdown of our benefits, check out our brochure here:
Our values
We care passionately for our waterways, and as importantly, for those who look after and use them. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce where everyone can thrive. We are striving to represent the diverse communities that we are a part of and welcome applicants from across all sectors of the community.
We want everyone to have the opportunity to perform at their best during our recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments - whether for a disability, neurodiversity, or health condition - please let us know what you need and how we can support you. We’ll work with you to make any necessary changes.
All of our jobs can be considered on a part time flexible or job share basis.
We operate a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role. You are considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. We recognise not everyone who is classified as disabled under the Equality Act personally identifies this way, or with this definition of disability. Please do not let this discourage you from applying under the scheme.
Navigate your future and lock in your career as we keep our canals open and alive.
Canal & River Trust is the UK's largest canal charity, caring for a 2,000-mile network of stunning canals and navigable rivers.
Head of Health Information and Education
We’re the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity. We’re determined to save lives and improve the quality of life of everyone affected by bowel cancer. We support and fund targeted research, provide expert information and support to patients and their families, educate the public and professionals about the disease and campaign for early diagnosis and access to best treatment and care.
We currently have around 95 staff based in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we’re in a privileged position to be able to grow our staff team to deliver our ambitious strategy, On a mission. There are huge challenges facing bowel cancer patients across the UK and our community needs us now more than ever. We’re building a strong and united team to bring us closer to a future where nobody dies of bowel cancer.
Job summary for Head of Health Information and Education
The Head of Health Information and Education is a key role at Bowel Cancer UK, leading the delivery of our health information and health professional education. We currently provide high quality support, but we know we need to do even more, reach more people and have an even greater impact.
The Head of Health Information and Education will, alongside our Clinical Lead, lead the development and delivery of our services in this area. This is a pivotal role with key areas of focus:
• Drive innovation in health information.
• Drive innovation in the content and delivery of health professional education.
• Expand our reach and accessibility to ensure no one faces bowel cancer alone.
• Build strong partnerships with stakeholders.
• Champion technology and digital solutions to enhance service delivery.
You’ll work closely with the Director and the Services Leadership team to set strategic direction and ensure our services are impactful, inclusive, and evidence based.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and at Bowel Cancer UK we are committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Successful candidates may be subject to either a satisfactory basic, standard or enhanced DBS check from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) dependent upon the role.
We’re the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity. We’re determined to save lives and improve the quality of life of everyone affected by bowel cancer.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Role Overview:
The Talent Set are delighted to partner with Lesley Hynes Fundraising (LHF), a highly regarded fundraising consultancy specialising in charitable trusts and foundations. Led by founder and Managing Director Lesley Hynes, who brings over 30 years’ specialist experience, LHF works in close partnership with inspiring charities across the UK, delivering expert strategy and hands-on fundraising that creates real impact across causes including social justice, health inequalities, environmental protection and community support.
This Trusts Fundraiser role offers an exciting opportunity to join a collaborative, fully remote team with a long-standing track record of delivering exceptional service to charity clients. The postholder will deliver vital trusts and foundations fundraising across a diverse range of causes, contributing to the highest standards of fundraising practice within a supportive, ambitious and growth-oriented environment that values creativity, expertise and professional development.
Key Responsibilities:
- Develop and implement strategies to maximise trust and foundation income for client charities.
- Conduct detailed prospect research and maintain accurate records of funding opportunities.
- Prepare compelling grant applications and assist with funder reports and monitoring requirements.
- Support the organisation of events and attend external meetings with trust and foundation representatives as needed.
- Contribute to team capacity by providing expertise and additional support to colleagues.
- Maintain accurate client and fundraising data in line with GDPR and data protection legislation.
- Assist the MD in ensuring compliance with all relevant fundraising regulations.
- Keep up to date with trust landscape developments and fundraising best practices.
- Support business development activities, including website and social media updates.
Person Specification:
- Proven experience (minimum three years) in trust and foundation fundraising, ideally within small/medium charities.
- Track record of securing grants of £300,000+ annually.
- Ability to build and manage relationships with key funders and stakeholders.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with strong attention to detail.
- Skilled in research, data management, and analytical tasks.
- Capacity to interpret complex financial and grant information.
- Organised with good time management and the ability to work independently under deadlines.
- Strong interpersonal skills to collaborate effectively with diverse teams and clients.
What’s on Offer:
- Salary: £34,000-£44,000
- Location: Remote
- Contract: Permanent
- Fantastic Benefits Include: 5% employer pension, Healthcare Cash Plan, annual wellbeing budget and regular investment into training & personal development
How to Apply:
To apply, please submit your CV demonstrating your suitability for this role by clicking the 'apply now' button (please do not apply via email). We aim to get back to all successful candidates within 48 working hours.
Commitment to Diversity:
The Talent Set are committed to diverse and inclusive recruitment practices, ensuring equal opportunities for all applicants regardless of race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, disability, or age. We actively encourage applications from a wide range of backgrounds and are always happy to make reasonable adjustments to ensure a fair recruitment process.
Using Anonymous Recruitment
This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.
Shieldfield Art Works (SAW) is a project of the Methodist Church in Newcastle upon Tyne which is seeking the wellbeing of the city through creative practice. We are seeking an experienced, enthusiastic individual to build up Shieldfield Art Work’s fundraising programme and contribute to our strategy. This is a vital part of our work as we seek to become more sustainable and resilient in an ever challenging climate.
Our ideal candidate will have good experience in developing and implementing a robust fundraising strategy in order to take the strategic fundraising work of our community arts hub into a new chapter. You will also be able to articulate your active Christian faith, be able to explain SAW's Christian ministry and show ability to be able to write for both Christian and secular funders with different priorties.
You will need to be self-motivated and confident in your expertise. The role is suitable for candidates who are experienced in larger and multi-year applications to trusts and foundations (ideally in the cultural sector), developing individual giving campaigns and CSR channels, cultivating donor relationships and a good storyteller, to tell the story of and champion SAW. You must be motivated particularly by the social impact and outreach work that we deliver.
Closing Date: Tuesday 10th February, 10am
Location: At SAW/remote working
Contract Type: 12-month fixed-term
Period of work: March 2026 - February 2027
Rate of pay: £41,600 - £52,000 pro rata at 40 hours per week (£20-£25 per hour) based on experience
Number of days: 52 days, 8 hours per day
For full information on this role, including key responsibilities and person specification, please view the job pack.
About SAW
Shieldfield Art Works (SAW) is a project of the Methodist Church in Newcastle upon Tyne which is seeking the good of the city through creative practice. We are a team of artists who support others to be creative, and use our creativity to support others. We believe that the arts help us to articulate what it is to be human and that arts participation enables joy and flourishing in unique and unexpected ways. We are blessed with a gallery, workshop room and garden on our site in Shieldfield and so try to organise ways for these assets to be a blessing to our local community.
As a Christian organisation we believe each and every person has inherent worth, bearing the image of our creator. This motivates us to listen to and seek out those whose stories may not be being heard, so that we may better understand and love those around us.
We are particularly committed to our area of Newcastle, Shieldfield, just east of the city centre. We devise and commission art projects that tell Shieldfield’s story, and consider how stories from our local area relate to life outside of Shieldfield. In attempting to reflect a God who is interested in all areas of life, we are interested in the micro to the macro – art that speaks truths about the human condition, to art which speaks to the condition of our planet, and everything in between.
Our site in Shieldfield comprises a gallery, workshop room and community garden, from which we run:
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Four sessions of Painting for Fun each week
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Twice monthly Craft Action Collective sessions
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Gardening sessions (Shieldfield Grows) every week, with a pause in winter
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SAW Reflects events which provide time and space for deep thinking and conversation
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A programme of exhibitions in our gallery that changes throughout the year
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Our community garden is open to visitors all year round.
Shieldfield Art Works is a project of the Methodist Church in Newcastle upon Tyne, which is seeking the good of the city through creative practice



The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.