Application Pack
Corporate Fundraiser
AT HOME IN PORT AT SEA
CHARITY BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW
Sailors’ Society is a Christian maritime welfare charity that meets the practical, emotional and spiritual needs of seafarers and their families, irrespective of religion or ethnicity, in ports all around the world.
With their roots in the post Napoleonic war era when thousands of sailors returned to London destitute, the Sailors’ Society have helped seafarers in need for almost two hundred years.
From providing floating homeless shelters and chapels on the banks of the Thames in the 1800’s to the international network of chaplains and Seafarer Centres in the 20th century, the Society has always been a leading provider of maritime welfare, constantly revising its programme to meet the demands of a fast changing industry.
In the last 30 years the shipping industry has further increased pace, reducing the time a ship and her crew spend in port and therefore the contact a seafarer might have with the world beyond their vessel.
The average crewmember now spends 9 months at sea, often more, and it’s the place of maritime welfare charities such as Sailors’ Society to help them whilst they are away from home and family.
Sailors’ Society is responding to these changes with a robust programme of services to seafarers ‘At Home, In Port and At Sea’.
At Home: We work with seafaring communities providing education and welfare opportunities for families who are without a parent (husband or wife, brother, sister, father or mother) for months at a time. The Society’s recent work in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan is one example of this.
At Sea: The Society is committed to providing resources and publications to help seafarers whilst onboard. We are exploring new technology to enable services through virtual chaplaincy and engaging with seafarers through social media platforms. The Society’s Chart and Compass magazine has a reach of over 100,000 and we expect to see that double in the coming year.
In Port: Most obviously we reach seafarers through port chaplaincy and ship visiting activity. This is the core work of the charity and we intend to expand our port coverage in the coming years with a port expansion programme. To better enable this service, and help inform the strategy of expansion, we are embracing the use of modern technology including the development of our Ship Visitors App.
SAILORS’ SOCIETY FUNDRAISING DEPARTMENT
The Fundraising Department is a talented, fun and energetic department and currently consists of 11 staff, including an Events Team, Database & Individual Donor Acquisition Team, a Major Donor Fundraiser and the Trust and Corporate Team. The role of Corporate Fundraiser sits within the Trust and Corporate Team of 3 people.
The charity is currently going through an exciting period of growth, expanding our reach and developing new and innovative projects and programmes to support seafarers and their families worldwide. As such, our income targets are also growing year on year, and this role will be pivotal to ensuring new business is developed, putting us in a good position to expand our corporate supporter base going forward. We have a large amount of corporate support from within the shipping and related industries – an industry which is ever changing and developing, but which understands our need to support seafarers. In addition, the Trust and Corporate Team generates income from Trusts and Corporate Foundations, so although predominantly focused on corporate fundraising, the role will also involve some writing of applications to grant giving organisations.
We are fortunate to have recently moved to modern new offices in Woolston, providing an inspiring and comfortable working environment. We offer free parking, flexible working arrangements and development opportunities.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Title: Corporate Fundraiser
Reports to: Corporate & Trust Manager
Budget Responsibility: none
Based at: Head Office, Woolston, Southampton
Hours of work: Full-time [37.5 hours per week]
Team Association: Corporate & Trusts Team
Fundraising Department
Job Purpose To be pro-active in identifying and developing new and existing relationships with corporate partners and prospects in order to generate income and assist the team in reaching agreed income targets.
Key Responsibilities:
· Identify, research and approach prospective contacts in order to cultivate relationships and generate new business income.
· Support the Corporate & Trust Manager in maintaining and building upon existing corporate partnerships.
· Gain an in-depth knowledge and keep abreast of the progress of all Sailors’ Society’s programmes, projects and events in order to prepare high quality, commercially relevant and compelling proposals, reports and presentations.
· Take responsibility for own ‘portfolio’ of contacts, following all leads through to completion and accurately recording all correspondence.
· Manage Sailors’ Society’s Ambassadors Programme, including sending meeting notices, finding and liaising with meeting venues, managing Ambassador communications and being the first point of contact for all Ambassador enquiries.
· Manage employee engagement and external collection initiatives such as ‘Woolly Hat Week’ and after dinner collections at industry events.
· Prepare applications to Trusts and Foundations, as directed by the Corporate & Trust Manager.
· Keep accurate records of all correspondence with Society stakeholders on Raisers’ Edge.
· Attend internal and external meetings, events and presentations as required.
· Ensure donors are promptly thanked and their gift is accurately recorded.
· Provide administrative duties related to corporate and trust income generation, such as sourcing materials, preparing invoices and other activities as required.
Personal Development
The Corporate Fundraiser will be expected to maintain a high level of competence and capability, identifying appropriate training and development opportunities as required.
Person Specification (minimum requirement)
Essential Attributes
· Commercially driven with a proven track record in business development or B2B sales.
· Confident and competent at approaching new business prospects on the telephone, face to face and in writing.
· Excellent networking skills.
· Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to relate to people at all levels and to represent the Society in person.
· Ability to listen to the needs of corporate prospects in order to propose relevant ways of working together.
· Excellent writing skills with the ability to write accurate, powerful, compelling and persuasive copy in a range of formats e.g. proposals, reports, brochures and posters/flyers.
· Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to plan and manage a complex and demanding variety of tasks and to meet strict deadlines.
· Educated to degree level or equivalent in experience.
· Prepared to work outside of normal office hours in the evenings and occasional weekends, including some overnight stays and overseas travel.
Desirable Attributes:
· Experience in working in a busy corporate fundraising environment.
· Experience of using Raisers’ Edge or other CRM database.
· A good understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility, corporate community engagement initiatives and established corporate fundraising techniques.
· Experience of working for a charity and an understanding of charity law.
· An understanding of the global shipping and maritime industry.
Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR)
This role HAS NOT been identified as having a GOR to be filled by a Christian under the provisions of the Employment Equality (Religion and Belief) Regulations 2003 Section 7.2.
SAILORS' SOCIETY CHARACTER
As well as looking for ability, experience and expertise the Sailors’ Society is also interested in the character of its staff and would want to know how you demonstrate the following:
Awareness
You will be self-aware and able to recognise both your strengths and weaknesses as you grown personally and professionally. You will demonstrate awareness for colleagues, enabling you to help them flourish and achieve positive outcomes.
Teamwork
You will demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills, personal loyalty to colleagues and a collaborative style of solving problems through a shared sense of common mission and purpose.
Leadership
You will recognise that the trustees look to the executive leadership team of the Sailors’ Society to develop the cultural, relational, intellectual, spiritual and physical capital of the organisation. You will be expected to play your part in developing a successful organisation that is a world leader in the provision of maritime welfare, this means that you will bring valuable leadership qualities to your role. You will be expected to take responsibility for your actions and show initiative to excel in your role.
Vision and Values
The mission of the Sailors’ Society is Christian in essence. At its heart is a vision to transform the lives of seafarers and their families. Our values inform how we work and we look to you to uphold and promote these values as you help us in our work.
Society values
Integrity Innovation
Collaboration Compassion
Inclusivity Accountability
Community Leadership