Philanthropy Manager

The Sutton Trust is a charity (approx. £7m turnover) committed to improving social mobility in the UK. Our work is focused on improving social mobility through education opportunities. We want to level the playing field for young people from low- income backgrounds so that they have a fair chance of accessing leading universities, apprenticeships and jobs.

The Role

The purpose of the Philanthropy Manager is to raise income from individuals. We are currently setting ambitious fundraising targets to substantially increase income for the next phase of our 2030 strategy to grow activity across the organisation. The Development team has secured a relatively stable income of c.£6M of income over a number of years. 22/23 was our strongest year yet with an income of £6.8M and pledges of £12.8M. Philanthropy income accounted for c £3.5M of the income in 22/23 and we believe there is potential for much more as the world around us continues to recognise and embrace the need to support social mobility to create a fairer society where everyone can succeed no matter their background. The Philanthropy Manager will play a key role in growing philanthropic income, primarily focusing on individuals.

Main Duties

• Working with the Director of Development to support the stewardship and management of the Board.
• Working with the Director of Development to devise and implement an ongoing legacy giving campaign
• Managing and growing the Trust’s Fellows scheme, broadening the individual giving offer including developing a wider variety of gift levels (£1k, £5k, £10k etc.) and devising appropriate and corresponding engagement tiers.
• Working with the Director of Development and Head of Philanthropy to identify and cultivate a prospect pool of potential donors to the Fellows scheme, looking at lapsed supporters, current low-level donors, stakeholder network mapping through the Board and Trustees, as well as philanthropists with an active interest in education/ social mobility.
• Work with the Head of Alumni Engagement to proactively identify Sutton Trust alumni with the capacity and inclination to support our work, developing relationships, matching with relevant opportunities, and influencing alums to start and continue their giving journey.
• Work with the Senior Donor Relations and Operations Manager to build a structured stewardship programme for the Fellows scheme with regular touch points to the Trust.
• Work with the Donor Relations and Operations Assistant to design, implement, and promote a low-level online giving campaign, including automated stewardship activation
• Being accountable for achieving agreed philanthropic income targets
• Managing reporting for philanthropy supporters
• Supporting with donor/ prospect-related event organisation
• Staying up to date with fundraising best practice and keeping abreast of developments and opportunities within the wider fundraising space, including new or emerging trusts and foundations
• Ensuring appropriate recording and monitoring of philanthropic relationships through Salesforce
• Working with the Finance team to allow accurate forecasting, income tracking and reporting
• Working with the Senior Manager: Donor Relations and Operations to ensure that due diligence and other fundraising processes are followed
• Other duties as necessary from time to time

Person Specification

We welcome applications from individuals who have experience in:

• Knowledge and experience of the education and/or not-for-profit sector
• Knowledge of the UK fundraising environment, ideally with knowledge or awareness of philanthropic fundraising
• Experience building and managing relationships with individuals, ideally in a philanthropic or other fundraising capacity and through structured giving schemes
• Excellent verbal and written communication, including the ability to write persuasive and engaging funding applications
• Strong analytical skills
• First-class interpersonal skills - a natural ambassador able to represent the Sutton Trust in a range of settings
• Able to use CRM software to record fundraising activity (desirable)

We are also looking for an individual who:

• Sympathetic to the aims of the Trust and its mission to address educational disadvantage
• Excellent attention to detail
• High degree of initiative and the ability to take responsibility for a range of philanthropic fundraising activity
• Able to work independently and as part of a team
• Able to multi-task and prioritise multiple funder relationships
• Is eligible to work in the UK (see here for information about right to work)

Terms of Appointment

• Contract: Part-Time (32 hours, 4 days), Permanent
• Salary: £40,000 FTE
• Working location: Minimum of 2 office days per week
• Office location: The Sutton Trust, 9th Floor, Millbank Tower, 21-24 Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP. Our home working policy gives staff the option to work from home for up to 60% of the time, with approval from their line manager.
• Hours: The standard working hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and may also be required to attend events / meetings outside of their normal working hours during weekday evenings and occasionally at weekends
• DBS check may be required.

Interviews

Applications should reach us by 10am, 5th March with first round interviews held over Zoom on Wednesday, 13th March, and second round interviews held at our London offices on Thursday, 21st March.

To Apply

To apply, please upload your CV and cover letter (maximum of 2 A4 sheets) covering:

• Why the Trust?
• How you meet the person specification?
• What makes you the perfect candidate?
• What would your approach be to expanding the Trust's fellow scheme? 

The information you provide will be the basis for shortlisting. 

Safeguarding statement

The Sutton Trust believes that a child, young person or vulnerable adult should never experience abuse of any kind. We all have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people and to keep them safe. Therefore all posts undergo a safer recruitment process, including but not limited to, disclosure of criminal records where necessary and eligibility to work in the UK. We have procedures in place to promote safeguarding and a safe culture at the Trust.

Contextual recruitment

The Trust is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity and that all applicants receive equal consideration for employment. We strongly encourage individuals from all backgrounds, including those underrepresented at present at the Trust, to apply for this role. As such we particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities, Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ and from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds. We are committed to being an inclusive and welcoming place to work and know that greater diversity will lead to even greater results for the young people we support.

We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for disabled candidates throughout our recruitment process and during employment.

We also operate contextual recruitment at the Sutton Trust. Our application process gives you the option to include information about your background, such as whether you were eligible for free school meals, whether your parents went to university, or whether you attended a state school. For more examples and information on contextual recruitment, please see our website.