Senior Fundraising Officer - Flexible in England (WFH)

Job Description

Do you have the passion, drive, professionalism, and enthusiasm to raise funds for the RSPB, and play your part in saving nature in the coasts, countryside, and towns/cities of England?

We’re offering a fantastic opportunity to hone your skills in fundraising and helping project development as part of our dedicated fundraising team. If you are enthusiastic about the RSPB’s mission and can demonstrate your talents and transferable skills for fundraising, line management and leadership, we would like to hear from you.

About the Role

We are looking for a dynamic and motivated individual for maternity leave cover (fixed term, nine months), with charisma, resource and initiative, a collaborator who can embody our one-team approach to fundraising and communications. You will oversee and directly contribute to income generation, be flexible and adaptable to changing priorities and enjoy getting things done. As a bold ambassador for the RSPB, you will develop excellent relationships across RSPB teams and with a range of significant funders and partners.

The role will involve you working alongside the Fundraising Manager to develop and implement a fundraising strategy. You will line manage a Fundraising Officer and play a vital role in fostering team culture and developing fundraising expertise. You will make a significant contribution to developing projects and be responsible for compiling high-quality funding applications to secure income for our fantastic portfolio of work including nature reserves, visitor facilities, people engagement and nature recovery projects. You will have experience of line management, working with and through others to achieve results, being part of project teams, extracting the best from individuals and achieving success through partnership working.
Working knowledge of due diligence and legal compliance in the charity sector will enable you to ensure contractual obligations are communicated to project executives and budget holders, ensuring the RSPB upholds its reputation as an NGO that can deliver.

In this role, you will: (Non-Exhaustive)

• Lead on the development of funding plans for priority work on our nature reserves, projects, research &/or core work to align & build on RSPB activity, as allocated by the Fundraising Manager
• Manage complex funding relationships & multi stakeholder bids to optimise opportunities & ensure successful funding arrangements
• Identify external funding sources & match these to priority areas of our core and project work to maximise funding
• Complete & submit high quality funding bids tailored to external funding bodies in order to secure income
• Ensure our funders have an excellent supporter experience with us & increase their understanding & awareness of RSPB vision & work
• Identify the requirements of our funders, including communications to ensure effective dialogue
• Manage the communication of contractual obligations to relevant Project Executive & budget holders, to ensure delivery of funding conditions
• Contribute to the implementation fundraising plans and lead on large funding bids across one or more income stream (grants, trusts, corporates)

What we need from you

Essential skills, knowledge & experience

• A-level education or equivalent
• GCSE Maths & English or equivalent
• Understanding of fundraising (grants, trusts, businesses) & donor and supporter motivations
• Understanding of & application of project management principles
• Sales &/or fundraising
• Proven excellent writing skills
• Budget management
• Able to interpret complex information & communicate it simply to target audiences
• Able to deliver high level of customer service to a variety of audiences
• Persuasive communicator & negotiator with the ability to influence
• Able to work under own initiative, with the confidence to ask for support & direction when needed
• Solutions focused approach, with the ability to overcome setbacks to get the right outcome for the RSPB
• Able to organise oneself effectively and prioritise work to get the right things done
• Able to deliver a high level of customer service to a variety of audiences
• Competent user of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint & Outlook
• Proven experience in fundraising/sales & delivering to income targets
• Proven experience of relationship development in an outward facing role in not for profit or private sector
• Proven experience of teamwork

Desirable qualifications, knowledge, skills & experience

• Interest/passion for nature
• Degree or equivalent
• Understanding team dynamics, what it takes to lead a team/be part of a successful team: recognising motivation, confidence, and competence as drivers for success
• Professional or academic qualification in fundraising
• Experience of working with volunteers
• Understanding of the charity sector and associated fundraising techniques

Additional Information

For all application role enquiries please contact - Fiona.Taylor@rspb.org.uk

Please note that you will be required to complete an application form where you will have the chance to tell us how you meet the criteria set above.

We are looking to conduct interviews for this position from the 7th of November 2022.

Before applying for this role we would encourage you to read through the candidate guidance notes attached to the top of this advert.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.