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About you
You’re entrepreneurial, independent, and driven. You treat your work like it’s your own business - spotting opportunities, testing ideas, and chasing results.
If you’re a traditional charity fundraiser, this probably isn’t for you. But if you’re excited by risk, growth, and pace - keep reading.
Over the past three years, we’ve bought and scaled swim events, turned others down, failed fast, and doubled our unrestricted income. We want someone who’s up for that kind of journey over the next three years too.
You’re as comfortable pitching to a corporate partner as you are writing fundraising copy, tweaking button text, or building a forecast. You can move between detail and vision, instinct and data, phone calls and spreadsheets.
You know how to deepen supporter journeys, grow fundraising per head, and develop new income streams. Bonus points if you like outdoor swimming.
About us
We’re a Founder-led charity working to solve learn-to-swim for disabled children - and we aim to do that in the next ten years.
We’ve grown our impact 5x in the past three years and now raise over £1m in unrestricted income annually through our swim events. Our events attract 5,000 swimmers and 3,000 fundraisers, and we own and operate some of the UK’s most iconic outdoor swims - including the Dart10k and Bantham Swoosh - alongside a growing series of 24-hour relays in lakes and lidos.
We’re small, ambitious, and fast-moving. Strategy and delivery happen side by side. We work on multiple projects, test constantly, and keep things flexible and responsive. You’ll need to thrive in that environment to enjoy the role.
The role
We’re all driven, and you’ll need to be too - this is a fast-paced, ambitious environment with lots of learning and change.
We’re looking for a strategic, creative Head of Fundraising to lead our next phase of growth.
Your first focus will be stewarding our 3,000 fundraisers - overseeing segmented email journeys, managing a £40k prizing fund, and improving supporter care through deeper, more personal touchpoints. That might mean calls, events, or just finding ways to help people feel more connected to their impact.
Beyond that, you'll help us develop and test new income streams - from matched giving and regular giving, to sponsorships, repeat fundraising, and post-event conversion. You'll also play a key role in evolving our Challenge Events portfolio across in-person, virtual, and blended formats.
This role requires someone with a strong track record in fundraising growth, a test-and-learn mindset, and the ambition to build something big.
Core Responsibilities
- Strategy Development and Implementation
- Develop and execute a fundraising strategy aligned with the charity's objectives.
- Identify and cultivate new fundraising opportunities to diversify income streams.
- Defining our fundraising growth strategies, specifically around our event series.
Community and Events Fundraising
- Oversee the planning and execution of community fundraising initiatives, specifically with our event fundraisers.
- Engage and mobilise volunteers and supporters for fundraising activities.
Fundraiser Care
- Customer Lifetime value / retention / regular giving.
- Build and maintain relationships with donors, ensuring effective stewardship.
- Develop and implement donor retention strategies to increase long-term support and regular giving.
Trusts and Foundations
- Working closely with our Head of Programmes to oversee our bids process, working with specialists and utilising learnings from previous years.
- Deepen strong relationships with grant-making bodies and ensure compliance with grant requirements.
Corporate Partnerships
- Manage and develop corporate partnerships and event sponsorships.
- Develop tailored proposals and pitches to attract corporate support.
Team Leadership
- Lead, inspire, and manage a small fundraising team, fostering a culture of high performance and collaboration.
- Provide mentorship and professional development opportunities for team members for both fundraising and marketing.
Monitoring and Reporting
- Track and report on fundraising performance against targets.
- Provide regular updates to the Senior Leadership Team.
Qualifications and Experience
- Proven experience in a senior fundraising role.
- Proven experience working on fundraising events and event fundraising.
- Demonstrable success in developing and implementing successful fundraising strategies.
- Strong track record of securing major gifts, grant funding and/or corporate partnerships.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to engage and inspire a wide range of stakeholders.
- Experience in digital fundraising and leveraging social media platforms.
- Strong leadership and team management skills.
- Highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
Optional / Ideal Responsibilities
Marketing & Comms
- Developing Level Water’s marketing and communications strategy
- Leading strategy implementation and ensuring that we’re representing our Programmes work and impact work in the best possible way to our different groups of stakeholders.
Digital Fundraising
- Leverage digital platforms, advertising and social media to enhance fundraising.
- Implement innovative online fundraising campaigns and initiatives.
Event growth and innovation
- Understanding the mass participation event landscape and its opportunities, ideally within the swimming sector but other sports experience very welcome.
Personal Attributes
- Passionate about the mission and values of Level Water.
- Strategic thinker with a results-oriented approach.
- Creative and innovative mindset.
- Resilient and adaptable, with a positive attitude.
- High level of integrity and commitment to ethical fundraising practices.
Please send a CV and Cover Letter (which can be a 2-3 minute video) to apply.
We equip pools and leisure providers across the UK to deliver specialist swimming lessons for children with disabilities.





The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full-time - 37 hours per week
Salary: £36,724.54 per annum
Remote: This role is homebased with occasional travel for staff residentials and other events.
What we do
As the national body for youth work, the NYA has a dual function. We are the professional statutory and regulatory body (PSRB) responsible for qualifications, quality standards, and safeguarding for youth work and services in England. In line with our charity mission and aims, we also champion youth work through research, advocacy, campaigns, and programmes.
We work in partnership and believe in collaborative leadership, listening to youth workers and the youth work sector so that we can understand their needs and respond to the challenges they face. We are ambitious for youth work and for young people and integrate youth voice and influence across our work
About the Role
As the National Body for Youth Work in England, we are ambitious for youth work and for young people and are determined that all young people should have the opportunity to benefit from the life-changing impact of qualified youth workers and trained volunteers.
To support our mission we are seeking enthusiastic, skilled and JNC qualified professionals to join us as Academy Tutors.
Our Academy Tutors will deliver inspiring training, develop and review resources and ensure all activities are in line with both NYA and external expectations of quality and expertise. The post will require a commitment to continuing engagement across the sector and beyond to ensure the NYA Academy’s work is rooted in the needs of young people and youth work.
The Academy Team are reflective expert trainers and facilitators. They can support the development of knowledge and skills; deliver innovative and engaging projects that benefit youth work and young people; and work with colleagues from the NYA and the wider field to ensure that youth work is promoted and protected, for the benefit of all young people.
The Academy Tutor will ensure the NYA is at the forefront of developing its products and services.
You will work alongside a committed, lively team working together to transform the lives of young people through the power of youth work.
Key responsibilities for this role will include:
- Developing and delivering training along with the development of programmes (including accredited training).
- Supporting learners and monitoring their progress through regular reviews and assessments.
- Contributing to the ongoing development and improvement of resources and processes.
- Building positive relationships with learners to promote their engagement and to achieve successful outcomes.
- Ensure all learners have a supportive and positive learning experience
- The post holder should promote the NYA’s extensive offer and maintaining its reputation in the fields of expertise.
- Ensuring the voice of young people is heard loudly across the NYA and in all aspects of our work.
- Ensure the NYA follows best safeguarding best practice.
- Ensure all operational activity and youth work content is to the highest quality, representing the position of NYA as the National Body for Youth Work in England.
- Participating in team meetings, session planning and evaluation meetings.
- Compliance with all NYA policies and procedures.
- Compliance with all safeguarding policies and health and safety requirements.
- Undertaking any identified training in line with the role including safeguarding and undergoing a DBS check.
Please refer to our Candidate Pack for more information on the role and the requirements. Please note you MUST hold a JNC qualification at level 6 or above to be considered for this role.
Why Work for NYA?
- NYA operates as a people-first organisation, prioritising the well-being and needs of its employees.
- NYA offers an exceptional flexible working approach which encourages our team to balance professional responsibilities with their personal life.
- A remote based team, spread across England, fostering inclusivity and diverse talent. Despite geographical distances between team members, NYA maintains a highly motivated and connected team through the optimisation of digital tools.
- NYA is committed to supporting the continual personal and professional development of our team and helping them achieve their ambitions.
- We provide 25 days leave plus 8 days, life assurance scheme, 5% employer pension contribution and a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme via Spectrum.life with unlimited specialist support available to all NYA employees.
How to Apply:
Please download our applicant pack to find out more about the role and requirements
To apply, please submit the following via our online application platform by 12pm on Friday 29th August 2025:
- A detailed CV setting out your career history, with responsibilities and achievements in line with the person specification in the About You section.
- A covering letter (maximum two sides) highlighting your suitability for the role and how you meet the requirements in the About You section.
- We will request data for our EEDI monitoring purposes, providing this is optional.
Please note: the covering letter is an essential part of the application process and will be assessed as part of your full application. We use AI detector software, so cover letters or CV’s with over 30% AI generated content with be disregarded. We understand that AI tools can offer support to candidates who have learning differences, which is why we will accept applications with some AI assistance. CV’s will not be accepted without a cover letter.
Interviews to be held W/C 8th September (subject to change).
The National Youth Agency is an equal opportunities employer.
At NYA our inclusive culture means that we embrace individual differences and understand that we need a diverse team to achieve our organisations mission.
We wish to recruit candidates from all backgrounds to ensure our team reflects the rich diversity of the communities we serve. We encourage applications from anyone regardless of disability, ethnicity, heritage, gender, sexuality, religion, socio-economic background and political beliefs but we particularly welcome applications from global majority candidates and those from other minoritised ethnic groups in the UK as they are currently underrepresented in our team.
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