Senior trusts and grants fundraising officer jobs in edinburgh, scotland

Over the last four years, the current Head of Funding & Partnerships has secured over £10m from trusts, foundations and housing associations to help HACT deliver its charitable purpose. In the next three years, our objective is to increase this amount. We want to hear from you if you believe you can support HACT deliver on our ambition. 

ROLE DESCRIPTION

The Head of Funding and Partnershipsis a key member of HACT’s Leadership Team and leads the organisation’s business development, tendering and fundraising function. As part of the management tier, the role is responsible for scaling HACT’s impact across and beyond the housing sector through innovative commercial approaches, strategic fundraising, and exceptional customer relationships.

This position combines fundraising expertise, partnership building, developing and maintaining high-value relationships with funders, partners, and clients, as well as market intelligence. It identifies new opportunities for R&D development, pipeline growth, product sales and tender submissions while managing core business development activities that support HACT’s strategy.

The Head of Funding and Partnerships creates and executes annual fundraising and commercial plans, fosters collaborative relationships across the organisation, and embodies HACT’s values through transparent, supportive leadership. From time to time, the role presents to the Trustee Board and provides strategic advice and leadership to the executive team.

JOB PURPOSE

To lead HACT's fundraising, tendering and business development function, delivering ambitious fundraising targets while providing strategic market insights that drive organisational growth and innovation.

Responsibilities

Strategic fundraising leadership

• Create and deliver a fundraising strategy aligned with HACT's business strategy and ambitious growth target, with annual and multi-year targets
• ·Identify new funding opportunities through market research, relationship building, and strategic intelligence
• Lead the development of high-quality tender responses and proposals
• Maintain a register of frameworks and procurement opportunities aligned to HACT’s strategic priorities
• Oversee the production of high-quality client proposals within agreed deadlines, ensuring compelling cases for support

Partnership building:

• Develop and maintain relationships with corporate sponsors, foundations, and other organisations to create mutually beneficial partnerships.
• Manage existing funder relationships to ensure satisfaction, retention, and growth of funding commitments
• Support cross-sector collaborations, innovation pilots and consortium funding bids.

Market intelligence & business development

• Contribute to organisational strategy development through participation in Leadership Team activities
• Proactively identify collaboration and innovation opportunities, supporting business growth and diversification
• Provide market insights that enable R&D development, supporting innovation and new service creation and market analysis to support pipeline growth in new markets and enhance existing product sales
• Collaborate with colleagues to identify emerging trends and opportunities in the housing and social value sectors
• Contribute to strategic decision-making through robust market intelligence and competitive analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

• Work closely with the Head of Communities and Projects to ensure project delivery meets funder expectations, leading on managing key grant funding relationships
• Work closely with the Head of Marketing to align fundraising and marketing strategies for maximum impact
• Work closely with the Head of Services to create proposals that maximise income opportunities
• Work closely with Head of Customer to identify commercial opportunities and enhance service delivery, using insights form Social Value Insight to strengthen funding propositions.
• Work with the Head of Business Functions to develop commercial pricing and funding models and ensure compliance with due diligence and funder requests.
• Support colleagues across the organisation by providing proposal support, market insights and funding intelligence

Team leadership & operational excellence

• Line manage and develop the Funding and Insights Officer, providing coaching, guidance, and performance management
• Develop and implement Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for proposals and grant applications to ensure consistency and quality
• Establish accessible, reliable management information systems to track performance and inform decision-making
• Ensure efficient processes and systems that support high-quality proposal development, tender submissions and relationship management
• Leverage AI tools and platforms to enhance business development processes
• Champion the adoption of AI-enabled solutions to improve productivity, personalise engagement strategies, and uncover new opportunities for innovation and collaboration.

Strategic leadership & culture

• Actively model HACT's values and behaviours by consistently demonstrating supportive, transparent and collaborative leadership
• Contribute to an inclusive and respectful organisational culture through positive leadership and team engagement
• Lead by example as a key member of HACT's Leadership Team, embodying our values across all internal and external relationships
• Champion cross-functional collaboration and knowledge sharing to maximise organisational effectiveness

REQUIRED SKILLS

Experience & skills

• Proven track record in senior fundraising roles, with demonstrated success in securing and managing significant grants from charitable foundations, government, and other funding bodies
• Demonstrated success in proposal writing, developing tenders and commercial bids
• Strong background in business development and market research, ideally within the charitable or public sector
• Experience in relationship management with high-value stakeholders and complex funding organisations
• Strong communication, influencing and project management capabilities
• Demonstrated ability to create and deliver strategic fundraising plans aligned with organisational objectives
• Strategic thinking ability combined with practical execution and attention to detail
• Resilience and adaptability in a dynamic funding environment.
• Knowledge of the social housing sector (desirable).
• Ability to identify and apply AI-driven tools to enhance business development activities and using AI to streamline workflows, personalise engagement strategies and uncover new growth opportunities.

Knowledge & understanding

• Deep understanding of the UK funding landscape, including charitable foundations, government funding streams, public procurement frameworks and social investment
• Knowledge of the housing sector, social value, or community development preferred
• Understanding of R&D funding mechanisms and innovation support programmes
• Familiarity with grant management processes and funder compliance requirements
• Knowledge of market research methodologies and competitive intelligence gathering

Personal qualities

• Exceptional relationship-building and networking skills with ability to engage stakeholders at all levels
• Strategic mindset with ability to identify opportunities and translate them into actionable plans
• Strong communication and influencing skills, both written and verbal
• Collaborative leadership style that embodies transparency, respect, and inclusivity
• Excellent project management and prioritisation skills with ability to manage multiple complex workstreams
• Resilience and adaptability in a dynamic funding environment
• Passion for HACT's mission and commitment to social impact in the housing sector

Technical competencies

• Proficiency in CRM systems and database management for relationship tracking (ideally HubSpot or Salesforce)
• Advanced skills in proposal writing, bid development, and presentation creation
• Experience with project management tools and budget management systems
• Understanding of due diligence processes and compliance requirements
• Knowledge of social impact measurement and evaluation frameworks

Desirable requirements

• Professional qualifications in fundraising (IoF membership) or business development
• Experience working in or with housing associations, local authorities, or social housing sector
• Knowledge of social value frameworks and impact investment principles
• Experience in managing EU or international funding programmes
• Understanding of research and development processes in policy or practice areas

JOB ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Leads the successful delivery of strategic fundraising and business development projects, ensuring high-quality outputs, stakeholder engagement, and funder satisfaction.
• Secures project funding through strategic relationship-building, proposal development, and targeted fundraising activities.
• Develops and maintains accessible management information systems to support .
• Implements service level agreements (SLAs) for proposals to ensure consistent quality and timely delivery across grant applications and business development outputs.
• Builds new relationships with charitable funders while sustaining and growing existing partnerships to diversify income streams.
• Embeds HACT’s values through inclusive leadership, fostering a collaborative culture and modelling best practice across the organisation.

Employees are also expected to be flexible in undertaking the duties and responsibilities attached to their post and may be asked to perform other duties that are consistent with the grade, responsibilities, and typical scope of the role. Any additional tasks should remain appropriate to the nature of the post and not extend into unrelated functions or specialisms.

All employees are expected to work in accordance with the organisation’s values and behavioural standards, which include being supportive, transparent, respectful, kind, honest, and collaborative. This means fostering a culture of empathy, openness, integrity, and teamwork in all interactions, and contributing positively to the organisation’s mission and strategic objectives.

ABOUT HACT

Innovation. Collaboration. Insights.

It’s what we’ve always done.

As the charity of the social housing sector, these are the core values that have driven the transformation and development of housing providers for over 60 years.

We believe the provision of housing is about more than just bricks and mortar – it’s about enhancing peoples’ lives.

By partnering with organisations across the housing sector, we drive value for residents and communities through insight-led products and services which encourage innovation and foster collaboration.

This position is currently based remotely with the occasional day in the London office and travel to UK based events as required.

To apply for this role, please share your CV with a one-page cover letter setting out why this role appeals to you and how your skills and experiences meet the key skills points in the job description.

Interviews expected to take place on week commencing the 15th December. 

About the role

You will be home based and will need to travel in the UK, Eire, Europe and further afield as the role develops. 

You will need some storage space available for Charity materials.

If you are self-driven, motivated, and want to help others achieve something amazing in support of Histiocytosis UK, we would love to hear from you.

You are likely to be in a similar role at another charity or have the right experience and transferable skills from another sector. You’ll be confident, enthusiastic, and an exceptional influencer with great customer care and communication skills.

There will be ample opportunity to shape the role, lead on specific projects and put your ideas into action.

The role will be mainly remote working so your experience and motivation will be key in this role so that we can achieve tangible results. 

Who we need?

You will be an excellent communicator, face to face, online, phone or email. You know the importance of listening, and you are the sort of person that brings focus and calm to difficult situations. Prioritising your workload is second nature. Perhaps most importantly of all, you’re energised and driven by a passion for learning and making life better for those with a long term and/or serious illness.

A degree is not essential, but a communication and fundraising skills qualification is desirable. It is important that you have a high standard of writing, and that you are on good terms with your computer, particularly MS office, email and maybe even Mailchimp, Zoom, Sage Accounting, Spreadsheets etc.

Job Title: Head of Trusts & Foundations
Reporting to: Director of Fundraising & Communication
Manages: Trusts and Foundations Manager, Trusts and Foundations Officer, Grants Officer, Team expected to grow in line with fundraised income increase
Location: Remote (Occasional travel to Leicester office & other UK locations as necessary)
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time (36 hours per week)
Salary: £48,000 per annum

About Home-Start UK

Home-Start is a federated charity consisting of a central national office – Home-Start UK - and over 170 geographically dispersed local Home-Start organisations, all working together under the same identity.

We recognise that being a parent has never been easy. Every Home-Start volunteer is trained to work alongside parents to overcome the challenges they are facing. We work with parents to build on their strengths and give them the support that they tell us they need. We offer no judgement – just compassionate, confidential help and expert support. This peer-to-peer support is key to the difference Home-Start makes and often our volunteers have lived experience of the challenges their families are facing themselves.

About The Role

This role will lead the Trusts & Foundations team at Home-Start UK and drive the development and delivery of a fundraising strategy that builds on a recent period of significant growth. With projected income of £1.5 million in 2025/26, the successful candidate will focus on generating sustainable, high-return income through charitable trusts and foundations.

Key responsibilities include:

• Establishing a robust process for researching and identifying suitable funders.
• Submitting high-quality funding applications.
• Providing excellent stewardship to existing grant funders.
• Building a strong pipeline to secure long-term income from trusts and foundations.

In addition, the role will support the organisation in cultivating key philanthropic relationships - particularly with high-net-worth individuals who may give via their trusts or foundations—leveraging the skills, experience, and resources of the Trusts & Foundations team.

Ultimately, this work will enable Home-Start UK to support more families with young children through challenging times.

The people at Home-Start are its most important resource. Home-Start UK has been accredited with Investors in People since March 2005, which recognises the commitment we give to developing our staff.

Benefits of working for Home-Start

• Flexible working
• Family friendly policy
• PayCare health cash plan
• Enhanced employer contribution pension
• Learning and development
• DAS Employee Assistance

If it sounds like your type of challenge, we would be delighted to hear from you.

The closing date for applications is Friday 14th November 2025 at 4pm.
First interviews will take place virtually on week commencing 24th November 2025.
Second interviews will take place in-person at our Leicester office on week commencing 1st December 2025.

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.

Home-Start UK is committed to Equality of Opportunity and Diversity. We wish to encourage applications from all parts of the community irrespective of gender, race, colour, age, sexual orientation or disability. 

No agencies please.

Funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, Better Together for Healthy Bone Marrow is a three-year partnership programme of work (following a previous three-year funding period of collaboration) that supports people in England who are affected by a range of related rare bone marrow failures that are not caused by cancer.

Because of Better Together for Healthy Bone Marrow, people affected by these rare bone marrow failures will be better informed, less isolated, more connected, and more resilient.

Better Together for Healthy Bone Marrow builds on an existing collaboration between four small but mighty charities that support people living with related rare conditions that include bone marrow failure as a symptom.

The four partners in the Better Together for Healthy Bone Marrow project, are:

• The Aplastic Anaemia Trust – the grant holder and project lead 

• DC Action 

• Fanconi Hope 

• SDS UK

About this role 

This role is fully funded by The National Lottery Community Fund Partnerships programme to 31st August 2028. The role is 17.5 hours with flexible working to meet the needs of the right candidate. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Providing administrative support for the Steering Group, Delivery Team and Community Reference Group meeting cycles 

• Providing administrative support for the partners and all aspects of project work 

• Keeping the delivery plan up to date 

• Managing day to day requirements of the partners and their volunteers, such as fundraising tools and volunteer recruitment information. 

• Social media posts – supporting the creation and scheduling of posts 

• Event support (online and in-person) - marketing, ticketing and responding to enquiries 

• Answer general emails, and/or ensure they are answered by the right person from our team  

• Provide basic website support for people making donations or using our fundraising pages and keep relevant areas of the website up to date  

• Work with the Project Manager and team to plan communications to go to our supporters and think of new and interesting ways to engage them  

• Maintain contact records in the database and keep them up to date  

• Send occasional post  

• Provide project management / logistical support on projects that support our community  

• To attend and represent the Better Together partnership at events (occasional) 

• Collect and record data using the CRM and project dashboard for monitoring and evaluation purposes 

Person specification 

Are you excellent at document management? Do you love a well-maintained project plan and spreadsheet? Are you looking for a way to develop your joy for completing tasks into a role with more senior experience?

We’re looking for someone who loves speaking to people, problem solving and working out how best to support them. This role will involve speaking to lots of different stakeholders and responding to their needs, alongside supporting the

Better Together for Healthy Bone Marrow Project Manager with the overall programme delivery.

We want someone with a creative eye, who understands how to make appealing social media posts, and write communications in a clear and engaging way. 

You will bring experience of: 

• Administrative project tasks 

• Working multiple workstreams within a programme of work 

• Helping support people on email and phone

• Writing and creating basic web and social media copy 

• Marketing online events

We welcome applications from non-graduates. 

What we can offer you 

• Being part of a transformational multi-year project, which will have a huge impact on the lives of people living with very rare diseases.

• The chance to work alongside sector experts and ‘get stuck in’ to a wide range of activities within the project. 

• Job security to August 2028 as part of a programme team at an ambitious organisation 

Staff benefits 

• Flexible, remote working 

• A great team and team culture, including twice yearly staff meet ups in person 

• Pension contributions 

• Investment in training and development 

• Annual leave allowance of 28 days of holiday, plus bank holidays (pro-rata for part time staff) 

We welcome an informal chat with anyone who is interested in the role, get in touch with us via the email address on our website to arrange a call. 

The Executive Director has overall responsibility for TOLFA UK’s fundraising, financial management, marketing and communications, and personnel, to implement its mission of providing vital and preventative healthcare to India’s ownerless animals and those belonging to low-income owners, as well as educating communities in their welfare and value 

Initially  a salary of £19,000 per year for 24 hours per week; both the hours and salary could potentially increase based on the organisation’s income and financial assets 

A minimum 18-month commitment is expected; longer is preferred 

Reporting to the Board of Trustees
 

Responsibilities 

• Proactively diversify and sustainably increase TOLFA UK’s fundraising, such as: 

• Submitting grant proposals and reports to trusts and foundations 

• Cultivating individual donors and major donors 

• Using TOLFA UK’s donor database to raise funds more effectively 

• Collaborate with the Board of Trustees to develop the strategy of TOLFA UK, which will include becoming a more impactful organisation with increasing revenue and additional staff 

• Provide the vision and leadership to ensure the implementation of TOLFA UK’s strategy 

• Maintain excellent communication with the Board of Trustees, including providing monthly reports 

• Lead, motivate, and evaluate other staff, freelancers or consultants of TOLFA UK 

• Oversee TOLFA UK’s finances, collaborate with a bookkeeper to create and monitor budgets and ensure strong financial controls are in place, and promptly notify the Board of Trustees of any concerns. Lead on oversight of processes such as submission of year end accounts with third party accountancy partners. 

• Liaise with TOLFA India, including to understand their funding needs and obtain content for communications and fundraising 

• Manage TOLFA UK’s public communications, such as enquiries from the public and the media 

• Fill other roles and complete additional tasks as needed
 

Person Specification 

• UK Based 

• Demonstrated leadership skills which are necessary to expand TOLFA UK

• Proven success in fundraising

• Proven success in leading fully remote teams 

• Exceptional interpersonal skills with donors, trustees, staff, collaborators, and others 

• Excellent administrative skills including organization and attention to detail 

• Demonstrated efficiency, versatility, and ability to complete tasks within deadlines, when working independently and remotely. Strong ability to manage simultaneous ongoing tasks, projects or deadlines. 

• Strong writing skills, including writing in diverse styles and for diverse audiences 

• Demonstrated passion for animal welfare 

Please note that early applications are encouraged and we reserve the right to close the advert if we find the right candidate before the closing date of 12th Dec.

Reporting to: Co-Executive Director

Benefits:

25 days annual leave per annum, plus UK public and bank holidays (pro rata)
Office closure for a week in December and August
Annual leave allocation increases annually by one day (up to a maximum of five days)
10% employer pension contribution
Other standard Foxglove benefits 

Application deadline: Monday 19 November 2025 at 9am 

About us

Foxglove is a non-profit that exists to make the use of technology fair for all. When Big Tech companies abuse their power, their workers or the planet – and when governments use technology to oppress, exclude or discriminate – we litigate and campaign to fix it.  

Big Tech companies have become so large – gobbling up a huge slice of the global marketplace and an unprecedented treasure hoard of user data – that they’re now more powerful than many states. The harmful effects of this concentration of power are everywhere – threats to our democracy, to our privacy, decimated workers’ rights and platforms rife with disinformation and hate. Big Tech and AI data centres are rapidly expanding, resulting in huge strain on energy and water supplies. Worldwide governments are ploughing ahead with the use of algorithms and mass data systems to cut costs and increase efficiency often resulting in digital tools that entrench unfairness and leave the most vulnerable in society in crisis. All these problems are only getting worse with generative AI. 

Foxglove works to bring the rule of law to the tech and AI giants who have upended our public square, workplaces, and social lives. We have a strong track record. We’ve launched landmark cases seeking structural changes to big tech’s harmful business models, supported 180+ Facebook content moderators fired for trying to form a union to sue Facebook and their outsourcing company, Sama – winning world-first judgements. We're urging competition regulators worldwide to stop Google’s theft of independent news. We’ve filed the UK’s first legal challenge to a data centre permission decision over the government’s failure to properly assess their environmental impact. We’ve forced disclosure of secret contracts between tech giants and the NHS, stopped a racist Home Office visa streaming algorithm, helped make grading fair for UK A level students, forced the government to pause the NHS Data Grab and challenged the Department of Work and Pension’s use of an algorithm unfairly flagging disabled people for benefit fraud investigations.

We are a small but growing team of lawyers, communications experts, and campaigners. Our work is global, and we work in partnership with lawyers, civil society, unions, and people impacted by Big Tech.

The role

As Head of Operations, you will lead all operational functions of Foxglove. You will ensure that our finance, HR, legal compliance, fundraising, systems and internal processes enable the organisation to carry out its mission effectively. You’ll work across Foxglove and closely with leadership, as well as with external partners to build a resilient and well-governed organisation, able to manage growth and complexity while staying mission driven. This role manages one member of staff and multiple consultants. 

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Financial Management & Accounting

1.Oversee financial operations: budgeting, forecasting, cash flow, expenditure controls, financial reporting, payroll.

2.Ensure compliance with accounting standards, audit requirements and donor / funder financial reporting obligations.

3.Manage relationships with external accountants, auditors, banks, and financial service providers.

4.Ensure appropriate and best practice financial policies and controls are in place. 

5.Ensure financial risk is identified and managed appropriately.

Fundraising & Development

1.Contribute to the organisation’s fundraising strategy in collaboration with the Co-Executive Directors and Head of Strategy.

2.Ensure systems are in place to track and manage grants, philanthropic donations, and other income streams.

3.Support the preparation of funding proposals and reports and ensure accurate and timely reporting to funders.

4.Support relationship management with key donors, foundations and partners.

Operational Systems & Processes

1.Develop and maintain efficient operational processes and systems (e.g. finance, HR, IT, data protection, office management).

2.Ensure proper policies and procedures are in place for procurement, vendor management, travel & expenses, and record-keeping.

3.Oversee the infrastructure that supports remote / hybrid working, ensuring tools and systems support collaboration, security, and productivity.

Compliance, Risk & Governance

1.Lead on organisational compliance: legal, regulatory, health & safety, data protection / GDPR, employment law.

2.Ensure the organisation’s policies and procedures are best practice, legally compliant and up to date.

3.Establish and monitor risk management frameworks and our risk register.

4.Support governance structures (internal reporting, director meetings etc.), ensuring decisions are well informed and documented.

Human Resources & People Operations

1.Oversee recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and staff development.

2.Ensure policies on equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing are embedded in how we work.

3.Foster a positive culture in line with Foxglove’s values.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

1.Lead the operations team, ensuring clarity of roles, responsibilities, performance and support.

2.Work closely with the rest of organisation including the legal teams and advocacy to ensure operations enables, not hinders, impact.

3.Contribute to organisational strategy, helping translate strategic ambitions into operational plans.

Person specification

Below are the essential and desirable criteria for a successful candidate.

Essential

·Qualified accountant (e.g. ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent), with proven experience in financial oversight and reporting 

·Minimum of 5-7 years of senior operations / finance / business operations experience, including line management 

·Strong experience of budgeting, forecasting, audit & financial compliance 

·Excellent strategic thinking and planning skills, able to bridge between high-level strategy and operational detail 

·Strong risk-management and governance experience; familiarity with compliance, data protection / GDPR, employment law etc. 

·Highly organised and able to manage multiple priorities; excellent time-management skills 

·Excellent verbal and written communication skills; ability to present complex operational, financial or legal information clearly 

·Strong collaboration skills; ability to work across teams; good leadership and people management skills

Desirable

·Experience of operating in non-profit / mission-driven / legal organisations 

·Legal or compliance experience

·Experience of international operations, dealing with cross-border legal / regulatory issues 

·Experience of change management and scaling teams or systems 

·Understanding of, or interest in, legal, tech justice issues 

·Experience of hybrid / remote team leadership 

·Experience with fundraising finances, grants management, donor reports

Please note we know this role is wide in scope, if you meet some but not all the criteria and are interested in applying please reach out – we are keen to hear from you. 

Length and salary

This is a permanent full-time role with six-month probation period. 

How to apply

Please make your application via Applied here, answering the application questions and uploading your CV. We will not review applications sent via a job board or to our email. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with first round interviews likely to take place in mid to late-November for selected candidates.

Foxglove does not use AI in its recruitment processes, except to detect applications for AI use. As a tech-justice organisation, we ask the same of our candidates.

Foxglove is growing and we are striving to build a team that is inclusive. We will create a diverse and adaptable environment where we support people to do their best work. We believe an effective and creative team is made up of people from different walks of life. You can read more about how we work and what we offer our staff here. 

If you require any reasonable adjustments to complete this process, or have any questions, please get in touch with us.

If you would like to know more about how we process your data as part of the recruitment process you can read our recruitment data use policy here.