JOB DESCRIPTION

Head of Fundraising

REPORTING TOChair of Trustees

LOCATIONWestminster, London

HOURS35 hours per week

DIRECT REPORTS1 x Fundraising Executive (part-time)

CONTEXT

The Share Foundation operates the Junior ISA scheme for Looked After Children on behalf of the Department for Education. This scheme, announced by the Chancellor in Budget 2011 and launched by The Share Foundation in December 2012, provides each young person in care (for at least one continuous year and who does not have a Child Trust Fund) throughout the United Kingdom with a Junior ISA account opened with £200 provided by Government.

Under instruction through Statutory Guidance each Local Authority provides the details of all eligible young people in their care to The Share Foundation. All administration is carried out centrally: The Share Foundation is responsible for all aspects of further fundraising, administration and communication, including financial education. The Department for Education pays for administration and financial education, but The Share Foundation is responsible for all fundraising expenses.

Currently all such costs are met by donations from the Gavin Oldham No. 4 Trust, so that all other voluntary contributions to The Share Foundation are 100% applied to the purpose for which they are intended. This could be directly to Junior ISA accounts on a UK wide, nationwide, regional or local authority basis, or it could be as awards for one of a number of schemes designed to foster financial capability and the engagement of young people.

The Share Foundation’s strategy is to build an inheritance for young people in care in terms of both resources and financial capability, and thereby to break the cycle of deprivation. There are over 100,000 looked after children and young people in the United Kingdom, and the proportion of thechildren of looked-after young people who themselves enter care is significantly higher than the rest of the population. By providing targeted support in preparation for adulthood The Share Foundation will provide encouragement and confidence for many young people leaving care, so that their life chances can be significantly improved.

We will be able to measure this improvement by tracking those young people who have engaged closely with the scheme and benefited most from it. Our 2014 Annual Report charts progress thus far: operationally the scheme is working smoothly, and has co-operation from all Local Authorities throughout the United Kingdom, with the exception of eight Scottish councils (the Scottish Assembly is working with us to ensure their participation).

Engagement is also improving as a result of a number of initiatives directed at 15-17-year-olds, as explained in the Report, and the active support of many Local Authorities. Engagement, and therefore financial capability, improves significantly as account values rise.

Our key problems are low media profile and a low level of voluntary fundraising. The media is not well disposed to reporting successful schemes, especially those with Government involvement. A higher media profile would help considerably with voluntary fundraising.

The amounts needed are also substantial for such a focused charity. For example, the amount needed to raise account values for all Junior ISAs to £1,000 is in the order of £30 million, and the average contribution needed to double the Governments initial £200 payment for a single local authority is c. £38,000 (this has been achieved in five local authorities so far).

Under the previous Government, Child Trust Funds were provided for each child born between 1st September 2002 and 1st January 2011. These were considerably more generous than the Junior ISA scheme, and their account values now average c. £850. The Share Foundation is seeking to take on the administration of these accounts from the Official Solicitor, thereby generating savings in public expenditure.

We are also requesting HM Treasury to set aside £24 million from the Financial Services Industry fines pool to bring Junior ISAs into parity with these Child Trust Funds. This is particularly important as the large majority (90%) of Junior ISA holders will leave care within the next five years, well before the average Child Trust Fund holder (now aged 8 years old).

We are therefore looking for a person who can inspire support from very high value corporate donors and philanthropists. We would like their focus to be on a UK wide or national basis, with work at the local level being developed in tandem with our 15-17 engagement schemes by our existing team.

The role will be based in London and the person concerned will also help unlock the doors of quasi-governmental schemes such as Big Society Capital and the Financial Services fines pool.

FUNCTION

This role forms a key part of our organisational Growth Strategy. The post holder will bring considerable expertise of income generation orfundraising. You will lead our fundraising operation, increasing income year on year through current and new donors and diversifying our income base to ensure that looked-after young people leave care with a significant resource, in terms of both money and financial capability, to enable them to achieve their potential as adults. You will also have a ‘hands on’ fundraising role, leading on the strategic development. You will be highly motivated,able to manage and work with staff and donors effectively, target driven and able to work under pressure to meet challenging deadlines.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES

  1. To set, meet, monitor and exceed fundraising income targets
  2. To lead, motivate and mentor others involved in fundraising in order to nurture talent, skills and abilities.
  3. To write, deliver and monitor a fundraising strategy including annual KPIs.
  4. To set an exceptional standard in donor management and development, research and acquisition.
  5. To liaise with the Board of Trustees to identify, research, approach and develop their fundraising prospects, using their networks to secure donations from both organisations and individuals.
  6. To communicate the work of The Share Foundation effectively and enthusiastically to a range of donors and other external stakeholders, professionally representing the organisation at all levels and building networks to inform the organisation’s future fundraising strategy.
  7. To work with operational colleagues to identify new projects, or additions/extensions to current projects, for which voluntary funding can be sought and secured.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Head of Fundraising

Education, qualifications and background

  1. Considerable experience of setting and exceeding fundraising targets, including working with income targets of £1m+.
  2. Considerable experience of, and preferably qualifications in, hands-on fundraising including securing large donations from both organisations andindividuals.
  3. Confident in building proactive, long-term donor relationships with proven success.
  4. Experience of developing and delivering a fundraising strategy.

Knowledge

  1. Extensive knowledge of the full range of fundraising income streams and how they can be best executed for maximum return.
  2. Good knowledge of the range of funders that may support the work of The Share Foundation and their motivations for doing so.
  3. Knowledge of project innovation and experience of developing pilot services and projects.

Skills and abilities

  1. Highly motivated by challenging targets.
  2. A self-starter, able to lead from the front with an enthusiasm to share knowledge, experience and ideas with others and to offer practical hands-on support.
  3. Ability to develop internal and external networks at all levels.
  4. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, both verbal and written with strong presentation and negotiation skills.
  5. Ability, enthusiasm and flexibility to work creatively, both independently and in partnership, to develop ideas for new and additional services.
  6. Excellent IT skills including competency in all Microsoft Office products and fundraising databases.
  7. Flexibility to travel across the country, sometimes at short notice.

To apply for this role:

For an informal discussion on this role please contact our recruitment consultant, Simon Callaghan at Peridot Partners on 07702 678 658 or

CV only in application.

The closing date for applications is Monday 26th January 2015.

Thank you.