Senior major gifts fundraiser jobs

Trusts and Foundations Manager
Alton, Hampshire (flexible/hybrid working considered with a minimum of one day per month at Head Office)
37.5 hrs per week or Part Time considered. Permanent
£35,000 to £39,000 a year, dependent on experience

About the role

For 50 years, Kidney Care UK has been at the forefront of supporting people with kidney disease. From our early days when we campaigned to introduce donor cards in the UK, we have worked hard to support and represent the interests of everyone affected by kidney disease.

We are looking for a passionate, talented Trusts and Foundations Manager to join our ambitious, successful Fundraising team that has been growing non-legacy income 34% year-on-year since 2021 as we approach our new 5 year fundraising strategy.

This role is responsible for managing and developing the charity’s portfolio of Trusts and Foundations, securing significant gifts and growing the long-term potential of this portfolio (target for this 12 months period is £378,000). There are no direct reports, however the successful candidate will be expected to work closely with Senior Management Teams, other departments and stakeholders to build and develop cases for support to help fund our much-needed work.

The successful candidate will utilise their expert writing skills to shape those cases for support into compelling, high-quality proposals and reports.

Building relationships with a wide range of audiences including funders is key. Inspiring them to support kidney patients across the UK and engage with the kidney community, enabling them to tell their stories and better communicate how larger trust grants can make a real difference for people with chronic kidney disease.

A dynamic, self-motivated, ambitious and pro-active fundraiser is required for this role, demonstrating enthusiasm for the projects and services we are seeking funds to support.

About you

The ideal candidate for this role will have experience and a proven track record of successful income generation and delivering against targets.

You will have demonstratable experience in researching potential Trust funders, submitting compelling proposals, securing funding and project managing successful bids through to completion of the grant award.

You will also have a background in report writing and demonstrating grant impact whilst being able to build relationships with funders, individual/major donors and senior stakeholders.

Experience of providing excellent supporter care, building mutually beneficial long-term relationships with funders is a must for this role.

Key responsibilities

Research and process management

• Work closely with our Director of Patient Support Services (Patient Grants, Hospital Grants, Advocacy and Counselling) to fully understand our work, and with our Director of Finance to fully understand the costs of delivering our work
• Build strong cases for support, ensuring that you have all the information needed to create compelling proposals and reports for high and mid-value funders
• Research and identify prospective trusts and foundations and other grant giving bodies
• Grow and maintain a strong trust funding pipeline, creating new trust prospects for our priority funding areas
• Develop our long-term trusts and foundations strategy, and agree ongoing budgets and targets for this income stream
• Maintain accurate records including tracking and analysing opportunities, results, and outcomes

Fundraising 

• Identify and manage a pipeline of high-value prospects and opportunities which have the potential to deliver five- and six-figure grants
• Work with colleagues across Kidney Care UK to develop and submit high-value and high-quality trust and foundation bids for a range of short, medium and long term projects
• Develop relationships with the Senior Management Team and other key stakeholders across the charity maximising every opportunity for cultivation and development
• Champion ways of working with the kidney community to enhance your fundraising approaches
• Plan and organise opportunities for funders to view Kidney Care UK’s work first-hand, ensuring all safeguarding procedures are followed and met

Reporting 

• Compile comprehensive and compelling progress reports to feed back to grant makers in a timely fashion and incentivise continued support
• Alongside the Director of Finance prepare accurate budgets detailing spending of specific grants
• Draw down on any multi-year grants as outlined in our annual budget
• Provide briefing notes and income pipeline on donor activities and potential funding opportunities

Employee Benefits:

Employee assistance programme | Generous annual leave | Pension | Cycle2Work scheme | Flexible working | Retail discounts | Family leave | Health cash plan

Salary                             £31,500 - £33,570 per annum - subject to skills and experience 

Hours of work               37.5 hours a week over five days (we wlcome flexible working requests)

Base                               Hybrid working for the foreseeable future, with attendance in the office

                                        two days a week, including  one day being a Thursday at our central office:

                                       · Pears Building, Pond Street, London, NW3 2PP

                                       Other office days may be worked from our other sites at:

                                      · Barnet Hospital, Wellhouse Lane, Barnet, EN5 3DJ

                                      · Chase Farm Hospital, 127 The Ridgeway, Enfield, EN2 8JL

The role

The trusts fundraising officer will report to the trusts dunfraising manager.

We are seeking an enthusiastic trusts fundraising officer to join our team to help deliver our ambitious plans for growth. This new role involves managing a warm portfolio of trusts and foundations and finding new prospective donors, submitting compelling applications and providing exceptional supporter experience.

You will be proactive and passionate about building strong relationships with charitable funders and have previous experience of securing gifts from trusts and foundations or institutional donors. Additionally, you will have experience of identifying and assessing new prospects and have excellent written and verbal communication skills, as well as strong organisational abilities.

The role will offer significant scope for development, giving you the opportunity to grow your relationship-building, communication, and prospect research skills in a supportive, ambitious, and high-performing team.

The team

Our dynamic fundraising department generated £4.5m through donations in 2023/24, and we are now preparing for an ambitious multi-million-pound campaign in support of a ground-breaking cancer centre on the site of the Royal Free Hospital.

We pride ourselves on being a supporter focused and agile function, working at the heart of the charity to deliver impact for patients and staff across our hospitals.

Responsible for attracting and retaining donors, and delivering an outstanding supporter experience, the fundraising department comprises two teams which work closely together to achieve our shared objectives:

• Our philanthropy & campaigns team builds relationships with individual philanthropists, trusts, foundations, corporate organisations and intermediaries, giving or facilitating donations of £10,000 or more to the charity each year. They lead major appeal activity for the charity, currently focused on our forthcoming cancer campaign, and special events to support these activities.

• Our public fundraising team harnesses the support and energy of individuals and groups, helping them to give back in the way that works for them. This includes committed giving, in memory support, gifts in wills, and fundraising events and challenges.

• Our database and supporter care colleagues underpin and support the entire department.

Organisation

The Royal Free Charity stands at the threshold of its most important period of development.

Our vision is for everyone served by the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL) to have access to world-leading healthcare, delivered by a thriving workforce, and driven by medical research that has a global impact. We support the 17,000 staff of the RFL and their two million patients across Barnet, Chase Farm, North Mid and Royal Free hospitals and more than 30 NHS services.

Through the services we provide, and the programmes and equipment we fund, we make a profound and immediate difference to patients’ experiences of care.

The recruitment process

To apply for this post please send your:

•  CV (please include your last employer and dates of employment)
• Cover letter addressing how you meet the criteria set out in the job description and person specification,

Please note, that applications submitted without a cover letter may not be considered for this role.

Closing date for application: 2 October 2025,12 noon.

Interview date: Monday 13 October 2025 

Please kindly note that we may close the job advert before the closing date if we receive a large volume of applications.

• You must be eligible to work in the UK

We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may require during the recruitment process. 

As an equal opportunities’ employer, the Royal Free Charity is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join the Royal Free Charity and act in line with our values of dedication, innovation, partnership, energy and respect.

Benefits:

Core benefits

· 25 days of paid holiday, plus three-day office closure rest period between Christmas and New Year, and UK bank holidays. This increases to 30 days leave after five completed years of continuous employment (all leave is pro rata for part time employees).

· A contributory pension scheme, where we match your 4% contribution towards your pension. If you choose to increase your payments into your pension scheme, we’ll match your contribution up to 9%.

· A sick pay package that offers one month’s full pay and one month’s half pay in any 12-month period if you’ve been with us for less than two years. This rises to two months’ full pay and two months’ half pay in any 12-month period after two years of continuous employment.

· Occupational maternity pay and paternity pay packages that provide more generous support than statutory pay alone.

· A flexible working policy to support our employees’ work/life balance.

Support for your financial wellbeing

As a member of the Royal Free family, you’ll be entitled to benefit from:

· Expert financial advice from our financial partner, the London Credit Union

· Savings on purchases with the Blue Light Card

· Our Death in Service benefit

Support for your health and wellbeing

· Subsidised gym, pool and classes at our Rec Club in Hampstead

· Secure bicycle parking and shower facilities at our Hampstead site

· Fortnightly guided meditation

· Free massage therapy from our complementary therapy team

· Menopause peer support group

· Employee Assistance Programme offering 24-hour access to free confidential advice and support on work and personal issues.