Head Of Fundraising And Business Development

Doorstep Library is a community-focused literacy charity dedicated to bringing the magic of books and the joy of reading directly into the homes of children who need our support. We are looking for an experienced fundraiser to head up our Fundraising and marketing teams.

With one in four 11-year-olds leaving primary school unable to read or write properly, we recruit and train home and online reading volunteers to go into disadvantaged areas of London to help introduce young children (aged 0-11 years) to the pleasure and benefits of reading.

Our unique home-based service, whether in person or online, enables us to find the most appropriate books for every child we visit and build a relationship with the whole family. Our goal is to help children develop the self-confidence and essential skills they need to access all the opportunities that will come their way in life.

We also empower parents/carers to create and maintain a supportive environment by signposting them to local services and community support. Our projects not only improve literacy but also increase family wellbeing and bonding. Our tailored service enables us to help prepare children for school and broaden their opportunities in later life.

Our impact is long-lasting.  For us, the ‘happy ever after’ is when we know the power of literacy and the joy of reading are helping a child change their own story for good.  Every story shared is a story changed. 

JOB SUMMARY

Job Title: Head of Fundraising

Contract Type: Full Time, Permanent

Hours per week: 35 (excluding breaks)

Working pattern: Monday – Friday

Main Location: Hybrid

Reports to: CEO

Direct Reports: Fundraising and Marketing Officers

Annual Salary: 40k

Full Time Annual Leave Allowance: 28 days per annum (includes 3 mandatory days between Christmas and new year), plus bank holidays

Pension Contributions: 6% (based on a 2% minimum employee contribution)

Additional Benefits:   flexible working, employee assistance programme, employee discount scheme (Benefit Hub)

JOB PURPOSE

·     Strategic responsibility for fundraising, including partnership development and maintaining the charity’s strong relationships with our wide range of funding partners;

·     Strategic responsibility for marketing, to increase the charity’s profile and increase engagement;

·     To work closely with the SMT and actively contribute to the overall strategy and direction of the charity;

·     To manage and build upon the income streams for the charity;

·     To manage the charity’s fundraising operations including coordinating prospect research and prioritisation, managing workflows, and ensuring effective stewardship of donors, corporate supporters and trust and foundations grants;

·     To oversee the charity’s marketing operations, including digital and printed content creation.  

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are looking for a Head of Fundraising to report to the Chief Executive Officer. The successful candidate will sit on the Senior Management Team, working closely with the CEO, Head of Operations and Head of Delivery and Engagement.

You will have substantial, proven experience of working in Fundraising and of developing and sustaining partnerships, ideally in the third sector, and of how to build financial sustainability. You will be a highly organised people-person and will be responsible for line managing two Fundraising and Marketing Officers.

You will bring excellent communication skills and the ability to inspire others about our work.  With outstanding interpersonal skills, you will have the ability to forge new relationships and you will thrive on enhancing our current partnerships and identifying and creating new ones. 

Finally, you will be truly passionate about the work that we do to support children and families in disadvantaged areas of London and be driven to share our work with as many people as possible.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES

Development and delivery of the charity’s fundraising strategy

·     To work closely with the CEO and trustee board to lead on the development, planning and delivery the Doorstep Library’s fundraising strategy, with further development of a longer-term strategy;

·     To manage and build upon the income streams for the charity;

·     To take a lead on application bids, including managing, monitoring and evaluating all funding applications;

·     To work closely with the SMT and actively contribute to the overall strategy and direction of the charity;

Grow, develop and sustain our partnerships and income streams

·     To lead, deliver and grow our existing relationships with all of our funding partners; foundations, corporates, independent schools and individual donors to raise circa £850K pa;

·     To identify new potential partners, working closely with the CEO and board of trustees to develop these partnerships;

·     To establish a corporate supporters programme and individual giving campaigns, plus develop effective stewardship systems;

·     To have responsibility for retaining and engaging the charity’s supporters, this includes providing formal reports and updates on the work of the charity;

·     Working with the Fundraising and Marketing Officers to effectively communicate the impact of our work to internal and external stakeholders;

Communications

·     Work with the Marketing Officer to implement improvements to our digital presence, including website optimization, social media strategy, and online advertising campaigns;

·     Research and analyse sector news/ developments; 

·     Oversee the creation of the annual report and impact report;

·     Create and maintain a stock of case studies/ success stories and photos; 

·     Monitor and report on the effectiveness of Fundraising strategies and campaigns; 

Line Management

·     To have direct line management responsibility for the Fundraising and Marketing Officers;

·     To create an environment where the team feels fully supported and enabled to grow and develop under your management;

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential Criteria

1.     A proven track record of delivery results in Fundraising and/or partnership management

2.     Knowledge of successful fundraising from a variety of sources, including at least two of corporates, major donors, individual giving, local authorities and trusts & foundations

3.     Proven experience in securing five figure gifts, managing the donor cycle from initial stages through to stewardship

4.     The ability to maintain current income streams and identify opportunities for growth

5.     Excellent communication skills with the ability to communicate clearly, succinctly and in an engaging manner in person and in writing to a variety of audiences

6.     Strong relationship building skills – experience of working with a wide range of people, from large corporate teams to potential individual donors

7.     Highly organised – ability to manage a number of projects and tasks at the same time

8.     Ability to generate and implement new ideas and see them through to completion

9.     A positive team player, working with, supporting and encouraging colleagues

10.   Ability to work flexibly, adapting to rapidly changing demands and opportunities while retaining a clear strategic focus

11.    Excellent organisation and administration skills, with the ability to pay attention to detail and use office systems

Desirable Criteria

1.   Experience of line managing and developing staff in their fundraising abilities

2.   Experience of working as part of a senior management/leadership team providing leadership on fundraising strategy to colleagues

3.   Experience of working in a small, close-knit team

4.   A knowledge of and/or interest in children’s literature/education sector

RECRUITMENT STATEMENT

Doorstep Library is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and all those it comes into contact with. All employees undergo rigorous safer recruitment processes including specified interview questions, a DBS check, and the collection of written and/or verbal references.  Safeguarding training is a mandatory part of the induction process for all employees, and employees are expected to always adhere to our safeguarding policies and procedures.