Trusts officer jobs

We are currently looking for a Trusts and Grants Officer to work with the Grants and Project Development Manager and Somerset Wildlife Trust (SWT) teams to help nurture and grow our portfolio of Trust, Foundation and other Grant income to support core Trust activity and individual projects.

Trusts and Grants Officer
Salary: Banding Level 2 £27,000 - £30,500 FTE. (£21,000 - £24,400 per annum actual for 30 hours per week)
Contract type: Permanent
Working hours: Part time, 30 hours per week
Location: Taunton, Somerset, Opportunity for Hybrid working

About Us

Somerset Wildlife Trust is a local independent charity and the only organisation uniquely focused on improving the natural environment of Somerset for the benefit of wildlife and people. We champion Somerset’s stunning, diverse, and important natural environment, making the case for nature to the public and politicians. We protect wildlife and lead the recovery of the environment by example, including on our nature reserves.

About You and the Role

This is a fantastic opportunity for an ambitious individual who is confident in managing a portfolio of small trusts and foundations and would like to gain experience working on major trust and grant applications.

We are looking for an experienced trusts and foundations fundraiser to join our team. This role will be a key part of our fundraising team, managing a portfolio of trust and foundations with the capacity to give up to £25,000 and the opportunity to assist with major grant funding bids which will enable us to drive forward our ambitious goals.

• You will deliver high quality written applications and reports in line with funder deadlines and keep in touch with donors and prospects via phone, virtually and in face-to-meetings and visits. We are looking for someone who has:
• Ability to manage tasks from start to finish and prioritise work to meet set deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to engage with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to think creatively to generate income in line with our strategy.

Key responsibilities and tasks to meet the fundraising strategic targets:

Responsibility 1: Income generation

• Managing a portfolio of Trusts and Foundations to complete funding applications and, working with the Grants and Project Development Manager, to agree an annual programme of grant and trust applications to meet defined income targets.
• Assisting the Grants and Project Development Manager on major grant-funding applications and aligning smaller funds to secure match-funding for larger projects.
• Carrying out prospect research to identify new trust and grant funding opportunities.

Responsibility 2: Fund Relationship Management

• Stewarding an agreed portfolio of existing Trust and Foundation relationships, ensuring funder contributions are appropriately recognised and acknowledged and that grant criteria are met.
• Co-ordinating reports to funders, ensuring reports meet requirements and are sent on time.
• Developing new relationships with trust and foundation prospects identified to secure new income.
• Ensuring data on grant income and funders are updated and maintained to a high standard on the Trusts’ customer relationship management system (Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT) and SWT SharePoint.
• Assisting with the administration of the Trust’s Programme Management Board (PMB) and project development documentation, helping develop cases of support and content for funding applications.

Responsibility 3: Supporting Wilder Fundraising Strategy

• Highlighting funding opportunities to SWT teams and contributing to funding applications led by other teams.
• Liaising with SWT Finance team to ensure grants are properly recorded, allocated and spending tracked.
• Providing additional support to the Fundraising & Marketing Team (F&M) and other SWT teams, as required and agreed with your line manager.

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

• 7% employer pension contribution
• Life assurance
• Flexible and agile working
• Wellbeing support – EAP, wellbeing champions
• Diversity networks through RSWT/TWT
• Paid volunteer days
• Continuous Professional Development opportunities
• 33 days of holiday (25 + bank holidays) + Christmas shutdown
• Staff social calendar and events

The opportunity to make a real and positive difference to nature, communities and the climate

Closing date: Friday 24 April 2026
N.B. We encourage you to apply as soon as you can. Shortlisting will begin upon receipt of applications, and the position may be closed ahead of schedule if we receive sufficient interest.

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.

We believe everyone is part of nature and should have the opportunity to experience nature, and in turn value and want to protect our natural world.

Our people are the most valuable asset we have in achieving our strategic goals. We know that while we have amazing people with an amazing diversity of skills, experiences, and backgrounds we have work to do to make sure we are as inclusive and representative as possible.

No agencies please.

The Trusts and Foundations (T&F) Officer is an integral part of the Philanthropy team, managing relationships with high value supporters. They are responsible for a portfolio of approximately 40-50 Trusts and Foundations donors, primarily giving between £25k-£100k, but also with the potential to include those giving below and above that level, to support with team capacity and best stewardship. The Trusts and Foundations (T&F) Officer will build strong and strategic relationships with donors, ensuring continued support of MSF.

They are also responsible for seeking and securing new funding from prospective trusts and foundations at the £25k-£100k level. Their overall focus is on delivering stable, new and increased income for MSF's work, and feeding into the  Philanthropy team strategy around the retention and acquisition of new trust donors. 

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.

Job Title:                     Trust & Foundations Officer 

Reporting To:             Trusts and Foundations Manager 

Salary Range:             £33,000 per annum 

Contract Type:            Permanent 

Location:                   Hybrid, across London sites and Sheffield, with expectation to attend meetings in London, once a month minimum                                         
 

Working days/hours per week: 35 hours per week, 9AM – 5PM
 

Our Vision: A UK where “No good food goes to waste”. 

The Felix Project and FareShare have recently merged to form the UK's largest food redistribution charity. Its vision is a UK where good food is never wasted, and nobody goes hungry. 

The organisation rescues high quality edible surplus food, from across the food industry and gets it to over 8,000 organisations across the UK who are working to strengthen communities and improve lives. 

The charity manages seven depots across London, Suffolk, Merseyside and Hampshire and works with 16 network partners who operate a further 26 regional depots across the UK. 

Over the next year our ambition is to rescue enough food nationally to provide nearly 200 million meals, turning an environmental problem into social good with measurable impact for people, planet, and the economy.

Purpose of the Job 
Supporting the step change in growth of the Statutory, Trusts and Foundations income stream.

Duties & Responsibilities 

• Collaborate with Manager and Senior Managers to manage portfolio through excellent stewardship
• Supporting the creation of a high-quality pipeline of new funding opportunities
• Manage a portfolio of low-level trusts and foundations, with opportunity to progress to mid-level funders
• Write compelling and visually engaging funding applications to new and existing trusts, working in collaboration with finance colleagues to ensure accurate budget and income allocation
• Manage significant mailing programmes to prospects, each campaign focused on specific projects or urgent appeals, including follow up contact  
• Supporting the timely and accurate submission of funding proposals considering finder deadlines and application requirements
• Excellent stewardship of existing funders through timely submission of repots  and thank you correspondence
• Monitoring and evaluation of projects
• Supporting colleagues with important bid administration and activity 
• Supporting and attending stewardship events as required
• Adherence to GDPR and relevant legislation and guidelines of the Fundraising Regulator