Trust officer jobs in Bermondsey, greater london

Senior Trusts Officer

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At Sense, we believe everyone should be able to take part in life—no matter their disability. Every day, we work alongside people who are deafblind or have complex disabilities so they can communicate, connect and thrive.

We’re now looking for a Senior Trusts Officer to join our ambitious and friendly High Value Relationships team in London on a six months fixed term contract covering maternity. This is a fantastic opportunity for a motivated and relationship-driven fundraiser to play a key role in growing income from charitable trusts and foundations, making a direct difference to people’s lives across the UK and internationally.

About the Role

As Senior Trusts Officer, you’ll lead on securing and developing trust and foundation partnership, building a sustainable income stream that fuels Sense’s life-changing work.

You’ll manage your own portfolio of funders, both warm and new, developing strong, long-term relationships and writing compelling, bespoke proposals and reports. Working towards an income target of £250,000 and above, you’ll help shape and deliver our trust fundraising strategy.

This role offers real variety: researching new opportunities, meeting with funders, crafting persuasive cases for support, and collaborating with inspiring colleagues across Sense’s projects and services.

Key Responsibilities

• Work in partnership with the Trusts Manager and Head of High Value to develop and implement a strategy and Annual Plans for the Trusts Team to maximise income
• Contribute to the pipeline of Trust funding opportunities through upkeep of and additions to existing systems
• Research, approach and establish relationships with prospective funders with the view of achieving long term relationships
• Establish and develop positive strategic relationships with key people in the funding organisations
• Develop strong and effective relationships with other members of the team and colleagues in Sense operations.

Please review the full job description attached for further details about the role responsibilities and person specification. 

What we're looking for

You’ll be someone who combines strategic thinking with creativity and care. With at least two years’ experience in trust and foundation fundraising and a track record of meeting or exceeding income targets, you’ll be confident managing relationships and writing outstanding funding proposals.

You’ll bring:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience cultivating and stewarding trust relationships
• Strong organisational and research abilities
• A proactive, collaborative attitude and the confidence to work independently

Experience using CRM systems (ideally Dynamics) and a genuine passion for Sense’s mission will help you thrive in this role.

About Sense

We believe that every disabled person should have the opportunity to connect with others and be included in the world. We use our knowledge and expertise to deliver personalised, creative and flexible support at every stage of life. Sense is proud to be a disability confident leader.

Working at Sense can be incredibly rewarding; we offer the opportunity to work in a large, diverse and successful charity where people can develop their skills, knowledge and careers in a supportive and flexible environment. In addition, we have excellent training and development, the opportunity for you to join our Group Personal Pension scheme and a generous annual leave entitlement.

To apply

Please use the link below to complete your application. Managers will use your application to shortlist candidates for interview; in relation to the Personal Specification. Therefore, it is very important you complete this section thoroughly.We would recommend that you read the candidate guidelines, job description and person specification (found at the base of this advert) before applying.

Please note to avoid disappointment, we advise you to submit your application as soon as possible as we will be screening candidates as we receive applications and reserve the right to close posts at any time.

Sense is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable children and adults and expects all employees to share this commitment. Therefore, all offers of employment, where appropriate, are subject to a DBS check; level dependent on the nature of the role.

For this role we particularly welcome applications from candidates from underrepresented ethnic minority backgrounds and candidates with disabilities. Sense is committed to equality of opportunity, and to promoting and celebrating the diversity of staff, volunteers and the people we work with. Everyone's contribution is valued and we ensure they're given the opportunity to realise their potential.

No agency submissions please: any submissions without prior authorisation from the Sense Recruitment Team will be treated as our own and as such no fee will be payable.

Salary: £38,688 £3,090 London Weighting
Contract: 6-month FTC
Location: London / Hybrid – two days per week in office
Closing date: Rolling
Benefits: 24–28 days annual leave & option to buy/sell more, up to 5% pension contribution, Employee Assistance Programme, Life assurance cover, Health cash plan

We’re delighted to be supporting Sense, the national disability charity supporting people with complex needs, as they recruit a committed Senior Trusts Officer to join their High Value Relationships team on a 6-month FTC.

Sitting within the Trusts Team, and reporting to the Head of High Value Relationships, you will take ownership of a diverse and evolving portfolio of warm and cold trust prospects giving up to £50,000, leading the full lifecycle of trust fundraising: from prospect research and pipeline development, to developing compelling proposals, stewarding funders, and ensuring timely, accurate reporting.

To succeed as Senior Trusts Officer, you will need:

• Experience securing 5-figure grants and developing successful proposals
• Strong relationship?building skills and confidence engaging with funders and internal stakeholders
• Excellent written communication skills, with the ability to translate complex information clearly

If you would like to discuss this role further, please contact us and quote the reference 2937JP.

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 on our website.

We take a relationship-led approach to recruitment in the charity sector and partner with you as the leading charity recruitment agency.

If sufficient applications are received, the charity reserves the right to close the role early.
 

1. Role Purpose

A key element of Trussell’s high value income is from individual donors and Trusts, who support our work and mission. The Philanthropy Officer is accountable for managing a caseload of trusts and major donors who are giving up to £10k annually, stewarding them effectively to help secure income to fund Trussell’s work.  

The Philanthropy Officer is responsible for developing appropriate engagement and stewardship journeys for this group of donors, with the aim of retaining and increasing financial support for Trussell.  

This role is part of the Together with Trussell programme, the goal of which is to build stronger connections with our supporters, partners and donors in order to increase funding, campaigning, and other forms of support for our work.   

2. Key Responsibilities

1. Steward a caseload of major donors and trusts

Manage a caseload of c.150 major donors and c.600 trusts (c. £5k-£10k per annum giving levels). Effectively steward a cohort of donors and Trusts who support Trussell’s work and mission to ensure that Donors and Trusts are updated, understand the impact of their support, loyalty is strengthened and income secured.

2. Deliver high‑quality stewardship communications

Produce personalised thank‑yous, updates, impact reports, and tailored asks, and developing some one-to-one relationships to ensure donors and Trusts receive timely, meaningful engagement that demonstrates the impact of their support and inspires them to continue giving.

3. Develop and submit funding applications

Prepare and submit bespoke applications to trusts when required, in order to secure additional income through compelling funding applications. Opportunities to secure income and cultivate relationships are maximised.

4. Maintain accurate supporter records

Maintain accurate records on our database; facilitating accurate data management and effective stewardship. Delivering analysis, forecasting and segmentation for mailings, to enable compliant, insight‑led fundraising activity.

5. Design and manage supporter journeys

Context: Work collaboratively across the team to design and manage supporter journeys for Major Donor and Trusts which enhance the consistency and quality of engagements, building stronger donor experience and improved engagement.

6. Provide administrative and team support

Context: Support the team with administrative tasks, when required to ensure smooth operations and timely delivery of team projects and tasks, supporting efficient team delivery and coordination.

3. Person Specification

Core Knowledge:

- Understanding of major donor and/or trust fundraising principles.

- Knowledge of GDPR and fundraising‑related data protection.

- Knowledge of CRM systems and data management.

Essential Skills:

- Excellent written communication.

- Strong verbal communication.

- Ability to manage multiple projects and meet conflicting deadlines.

- Ability to distil complex information into compelling and succinct communication.

- Accurate data handling.

- Collaborative and proactive approach.

Key Experience:

- Experience in high‑value fundraising or transferable experience.

- Experience using CRM databases.

- Demonstrable relationship‑building experience.

4. Stakeholders

Internal: Line Manager, Philanthropy Manager (Trusts), Supporter Care, Comms & Marketing, High Value Team.

External: Major Donors, Trusts, Donor Research Consultant, Suppliers.