Senior fundraising officer jobs in London

We are almost two years into our ambitious organisational strategy, and this is an exciting moment to join Cycling UK as our Senior Philanthropy Officer. Cycling UK’s public fundraising programme is entering a new phase of growth, with increased ambition for philanthropy as a sustainable income stream.
 
The Senior Philanthropy Officer plays a pivotal role in delivering this ambition, taking ownership of a portfolio of mid to high-value donors and prospects and driving their progression through the Major Gifts and Legacy pipeline. Working closely with the Philanthropy Manager, the postholder will lead the development and delivery of tailored cultivation, solicitation and stewardship strategies for their portfolio, securing significant gifts and building long-term supporter relationships.
 
You don’t need to be a cyclist to work at Cycling UK, but you do need to have a strong commitment to our work. This is a senior delivery role requiring strong judgement, excellent relationship management skills and the confidence to operate with a high degree of autonomy, while contributing insight and expertise to shape the wider Major Gift, Legacy and In-memory programmes.
 
We are an inclusive organisation and would particularly welcome applications from candidates from a broad range of backgrounds. We strongly believe that diversity strengthens our work. If you are already passionate about cycling, that’s great, many of us are too! But if you are simply really excellent at what you do, no matter what your background, that is what matters most to us.
 
Explore the attached job description for full details on this exciting opportunity. Complete the application form expressing why you are the right candidate for this opening. Focus on gearing your supporting statement to exemplify how your skills and experience match the requirements of the role, directly referring to the person specification. This enables the selection panel to assess your relative strengths against the specified criteria.
 
The role is home based in the UK, with regular meetings in London and travel across the UK as required. 
 
 Applications close at 9:00am on the closing date shown.
 
REF-228 979

• Reports to: Director of Fundraising & Partnerships
• Hours: Full time with flexible hours. Core hours are 10am to 4pm. 
• Contract length: 13 months, starting in mid-July 2026.
• Location: Hybrid. London (Embankment) two days per week and remote working.

Benefits: 

• 25 days annual leave, UK bank holidays and one volunteering day a year, one day for moving home 
• A highly competitive pension (up to 11% employer contribution for 5% employee contribution) 
• Private health insurance, eye tests and medical checks 
• Flexible working: core hours from 10am to 4pm with a minimum of two days spent in the office in London each week (Wednesdays and Thursdays)
• 24/7 access to counselling and wellbeing resources through our Employee Assistance Programme
• Income protection insurance and life assurance 
• Cycle to work scheme, season ticket loan and gym membership loan
• Free access to The Economist content, including an online subscription, our range of apps, podcasts and more 

ABOUT US

The Economist Educational Foundation is a fast-growing charity on a mission to ensure that every child is empowered to think critically and communicate effectively about the world’s most complex current issues.

Last year, 10,800 teachers downloaded Topical Talk lessons, reaching 532,000 children in over 86 countries. We are on track to double this number, reaching over 1 million school children by the end of this academic year.

Topical Talk helps children join inspiring discussions about the news by providing:

• Topical Talk Headlines – award-winning teaching resources for classroom discussions about global news stories
• Topical Talk Festival – the world’s biggest news festival for young people
• Leadership for Change Prize – child-led solutions to complex global issues
• Community partnerships – support and training for teachers via partnerships with Multi-Academy Trusts in the UK and School Districts in America

Our programme has received international recognition, including from HundrED as one of the top 100 education initiatives, from UNESCO as a winner of the Global Media and Information Literacy Awards 2022 and from the Money And Inclusion Awards (MAIA) for best content in 2025.

THE ROLE

We are looking for a highly organised and proactive Senior Fundraising Officer to join our team on a fixed-term contract.

Working closely with the Director of Fundraising and the Senior Fundraising Lead, you will ensure our high-value corporate partnerships run smoothly, our high-net-worth events are a success and our external pitches are sharp and well-researched. 

This role offers a fantastic opportunity to develop your hands-on experience across corporate, trusts and foundations and individual giving within a fast-growing charity backed by a globally recognised brand.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Research and opportunity generation

• Support the team by researching and keeping abreast of new funding opportunities across trusts, foundations, and corporate prospects.
• Compile background research to help the team evaluate and pursue new business leads.

Funding applications and pitch support

• Assist the Senior Fundraising Lead and Director of Fundraising with writing funding applications.
• Help structure and draft compelling pitch documents to support the team’s new business goals.
• Design and adapt templates for various fundraising documents and pitches.

Partnership coordination

• Take ownership of the day-to-day coordination of our corporate and institutional partnerships, ensuring exceptional donor care and seamless communication with external stakeholders (e.g., tracking partnership metrics, coordinating meetings, monthly data reporting and managing external communications).
• Deliver external logistics, such as school visits and workshops for corporate partners.
• Draft and prepare comprehensive reports for funders, while managing and responding to all ad hoc requests efficiently.

Fundraising operations support

• Be a key, dependable member of the team, supporting various fundraising work streams to ensure targets are met and team effectiveness is maximised.
• Draft supporter newsletters for our donor communications. 
• Coordinate in-person and online events (e.g., roundtables, fireside talks).

REQUIRED SKILLS, ATTRIBUTES AND EXPERIENCE

Skills and attributes

• Organised: You can manage multiple tasks and deadlines across different projects and teams.
• Compelling communicator: You can write with clarity and warmth, tailoring your tone to engage corporate partners and institutional funders.
• Team player: You are a positive, helpful presence who is motivated by helping others succeed and willing to lend a hand whenever the team needs you.
• Reliable: You are disciplined with deadlines and act as a dependable anchor for the team, managing requests with consistency.

Experience 

You must have:

• Fundraising experience: Experience working and/or volunteering in a fundraising capacity.
• Pitch and proposal support: Proven ability to write funding applications, grants, or persuasive pitch documents.
• Task management: Experience managing multiple tasks or priorities effectively, whether in a work, volunteer, or educational setting.
• Professional communication: Experience communicating clearly and professionally in person, via email and phone.
• General IT proficiency: Experience using standard office software (such as Microsoft Office and Google Workspace) and a readiness to learn new digital tools.

You might have:

• Research skills: An ability to conduct thorough background research to identify new potential funding opportunities.
• Events and logistics: Experience helping to coordinate events (virtual or in-person), including handling bookings and catering.
• Coordination experience: Experience in a support, coordination, or customer-facing role within a charity, sales, or account management environment.

We’re particularly keen for you to apply if you are from a community under-represented in the charity sector or have lived experience of facing extra barriers because of your background. 

Salary: £31,000 - £36,500
Contract: Permanent
Location: Hybrid (1 day pcm in Peterborough)
Closing date: applications reviewed on a rolling basis, apply early to avoid disappointment
Benefits: Flexible working policies, free gym membership at Peterborough office, life assurance

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Senior Challenge Fundraising Officer to join a UK-wide health charity dedicated to improving the lives of people and families affected by a serious, life limiting lung condition. Reporting to the Head of Fundraising, this role sits within an ambitious and growing fundraising team.  This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced challenge or mass participation fundraiser who is motivated by growth, creativity and supporter experience. You will play a leading role in expanding the charity’s challenge events portfolio at a pivotal time, contributing to a new five year strategy that places income growth, inclusion and long term supporter engagement at its heart.

As part of this exciting role, you will lead the delivery and growth of third party and mass participation challenge events, managing the full supporter journey from recruitment through to stewardship and re-engagement. You will use insight and data to monitor performance, improve ROI and refine future activity, this is a great opportunity to develop your skillset.

To be successful as the Senior Challenge Fundraising Officer you will need:

• Proven experience in third party or mass participation challenge fundraising
• A strong track record of growing participation and income
• Confidence using CRM systems and fundraising data to track performance

If you would like to discuss this role with us please email your CV to [email protected] or contact us and quote the reference 2952AJ.
Ashby Jenkins Recruitment are a specialist charity recruitment agency, we use our extensive sector knowledge and experience to match candidates to the most suitable charity jobs. We are passionate about improving equality across the sector, you can read more about our commitment to diversity here.

We take a relationship-led approach to recruitment in the charity sector and partner with you as the leading charity recruitment agency.
If enough applications are received the charity reserve the right to end the application period sooner.