Compassion in World Farming International was founded in 1967 in England by Peter Roberts, a British farmer who became horrified by the development of intensive factory farming. Over 50 years ago, Peter decided to make a difference and take a stand against this farming system. In his lifetime, Peter saw the demise of veal crates and gestation crates in the UK, and in Europe, achieved recognition that animals are sentient beings.

This is an exciting time to join the Global Philanthropy team at Compassion in World Farming and contribute to delivering their mission to end factory farming. With growing awareness of the impact of factory farming, not only on animal welfare, but on human health and the environment, now is a unique moment to help raise money for Compassion’s work and bring new supporters on board.

Annual gross income to Compassion was £14.1 M GBP in FY21/22, a growth of 57% since 2020. The Global Philanthropy team has a strong track record, increasing income from £300 K in 2012/13 to over £5.2 M in 2022/23. Compassion has just launched a new three-year strategy, alongside a fundraising growth plan that aims to significantly grow income by 2030.

In this role, you will be responsible for cultivating and soliciting significant gifts from individuals (philanthropists and HNWIs) based in the UK. You will manage relationships with some existing £10,000+ donors, providing them with first-class stewardship through written updates and reports. New business growth is a priority, with a focus on principal gifts (£100 K+), and you will work closely with programmes colleagues and heads of country offices to identify funding opportunities and create compelling proposals. Strong relationship management skills, an ability to think creatively, and excellent writing skills are essential to the success of this role.

You will have strategic oversight of our major donor fundraising in the UK, working closely with the International Head of Philanthropy to develop a robust set of income targets and growth plans in the coming years. This includes management of our events programme – planning, designing and executing in-person events and webinars to cultivate our donors and prospects.

You will line manage the Philanthropy Manager (Individuals) and support the growth of our mid-value fundraising programme called the Circle of Compassion (£1 K - £10 K).

You will report to the International Head of Philanthropy as part of a dynamic and supportive team of seven major gift and trust fundraisers based in the UK, Europe and the USA.

Position in the organization:

• Reports to the International Head of Philanthropy (Rachel Molho).
• Develops strong and effective working relationships with the wider Global Philanthropy team, CRM team and finance colleagues.
• Works in collaboration with global and regional programmes colleagues at HQ, country offices and regional representatives, including Brussels, UK, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, and China.
• Line management of the Philanthropy Manager (Individuals).

This role is part of the Global Fundraising Team of over 50 staff, consisting of Philanthropy, Individual Giving, Legacies, Digital, CRM database, and Brand & Production teams based in the UK (HQ) and 6 country markets in the EU and the USA.

Scope of the job

• Work to achieve personal and team annual fundraising targets and KPIs.
• Proactively grow our fundraising from UK individual donors (HNWIs, philanthropists and family foundations).
• Deliver first-class account management to a large and varied portfolio of supporters and prospects.
• Work with the Prospect Research Manager to proactively identify and cultivate new donors (through research, event attendance, networking etc.) to deliver to new business targets, including a team goal to secure a new 7-figure donor by 2025.
• Oversee our mid-value programme (the Circle of Compassion) and line-manage the Philanthropy Manager responsible for this.
• Organise and deliver our UK-based in-person events and international webinars for donors and prospects.
• Develop and write compelling funding proposals, cases for support and impact and stewardship reports.
• Work with colleagues in programmes teams and country offices to identify and cultivate funding opportunities.
• Prepare donor-facing project budgets, working with our Finance and Programmes teams.
• Work to our ethical fundraising policy, GDPR protocols and all procedures set out for the Global Philanthropy Team and by Finance, HR, and other business requirements.
• Track progress against income targets and KPIs.
• Maintain accurate donor records on our database for financial reporting and evaluation purposes.

Primary responsibilities

Essential duties and responsibilities include the following: 

1. Deliver first-class account management to a varied portfolio of donors.

• Build and manage meaningful long-term relationships with a large portfolio of existing donors to generate increased support and engagement with Compassion’s work, including multi-year grants.
• Exceed donor expectations through excellent and innovative stewardship (e.g., regular reports, updates, and donor meetings).

2. Proactively research and cultivate a pipeline of new prospects.

• Develop a fundraising growth strategy for UK major donors, identifying the biggest opportunities for growth.
• Develop a strong pipeline of new funding sources (through desk research, networking etc.), working with the Prospect Research Manager to identify and prioritise new prospects.
• Use Salesforce dashboards and reports to manage the prospect pipeline and achieve KPIs.

3. Strategic oversight of income targets and KPIs.

• Drive income to meet challenging annual targets by securing donations from new individual donors (with a focus on £10 K+ and particularly six figure prospects)
• Monitor progress against targets, using KPIs and data to develop and adapt the strategy, identify priorities and identify opportunities for growth.
• Input into income budgets and forecasts.
• Line manage the Philanthropy Manager (Individuals), with oversight of the mid-value programme (the Circle of Compassion).

4. Develop compelling funding proposals, cases for support and impact reports.

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of Compassion’s programmatic priorities, our ‘case for support’ and the impact of factory farming on animals, people and the planet.
• Produce high quality, well written funding applications, using plain English to distil complex programmatic information into compelling proposals.
• Use creativity and innovation to keep donor communications engaging and different.
• Extrapolate financial budgets and data for use in donor proposals and reports, working closely with the finance team to ensure accuracy.

5. Organise and deliver our donor events (in-person and online).

• Develop an events schedule for our donors and prospects, with a strategic approach to cultivating and stewarding our donors and driving new business.
• Organise and deliver 1 – 2 in-person events annually, and a similar number of webinars (with support from the Philanthropy Manager (Individuals)).
• Monitor the impact and success of our events, and adapt our events plans accordingly.

6. Oversee our mid-value donor programme (the Circle of Compassion)

• Line manage and support the Philanthropy Manager to grow our mid-value donor pool.
• Support the Philanthropy Manager with the strategic oversight of the Circle of Compassion, including the communications plan, monitoring KPIs and income.

7. Maintain accurate donor records for financial reporting and evaluation purposes.

• Keep comprehensive records (including financial) of all fundraising related activities, in line with GDPR and data protection guidelines.
• Work with finance and programme colleagues to provide timely, precise and appropriate updates to key funders regarding the charity’s activities (including the use of restricted funds).
• Use Salesforce to record donor activity and financial reporting.

8. Contribute to the wider team’s activity and success.

• Contribute to the strategic direction of the Global Philanthropy team, contributing expertise on Trusts and Foundation fundraising and inputting into growth plans and objectives.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of the Global Philanthropy Team’s policies and processes.
• Ensure fundraising literature is kept up to date, and available to members of the team and other colleagues as appropriate.

Additional responsibilities and requirements:

• Actively support the promotion and delivery and embedding of equality, inclusion, and diversity
• Help create a fundraising ethos within the organisation to benefit the work we do now and in the future.
• Provide formal and informal training at the request of your line manager, senior manager, or director, on your areas of expertise, to other members of staff, work experience students, trustees etc.
• Take due and reasonable care of oneself and others in respect of Health & Safety at Work.
• Act in accordance with the principles of Compassion in World Farming International’s Ethical Policy.
• In all work activities, comply with data protection legislation and Compassion in World Farming International’s requirements for the protection of personal information and the privacy of individuals.
• The job description is not exhaustive, and you may be asked to carry out additional tasks which are appropriate to your job role, as required by your line manager.

Requirements to carry out the job effectively (and which may be developed). The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Proven ability, qualifications and training

• Proven ability in fundraising from HNWIs.
• Demonstrable experience of successfully soliciting personal gifts of £25,000 or more.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills, ability to write clearly and persuasively.
• Able to be entrepreneurial, identifying and seizing new opportunities.
• An analytical and questioning mind.
• Able to pioneer new ideas, adapt processes and create innovative solutions.
• Truly can-do attitude used to thinking strategically AND making it happen.
• Working with targets and KPIs to plan workload, prioritise and learn.
• Personal motivation that inspires energy and commitment throughout the team.
• Budgeting and financial management skills.
• Good IT skills including Microsoft Office applications.
• Knowledge of your responsibilities in relation to GDPR and the Code of Fundraising Practice.
• Experience of fundraising for an animal welfare, environmental or climate NGO would be an asset, but it is not essential.

Skills, knowledge & attributes

• Excellent understanding of philanthropic fundraising including prospect research, cultivation, gift solicitation and stewardship.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills.
• A well organised, methodical approach with fantastic attention to detail.
• Positive disposition; approachable and adaptable.
• Interest in, combined with the ability to communicate enthusiasm for, Compassion’s mission and work.
• Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team.
• Uses information effectively to present a persuasive case.
• Able to present complex information to small and large groups of people in an appropriate manner.
• Excellent proofreading skills.
• Excellent event management skills and proven track record of delivering events.
• Working knowledge of other European languages would be an asset.
• Good working knowledge of Salesforce or an equivalent CRM database is desirable.

Core values & competencies

Compassion values

• Treats people with dignity and respect.

• Maintains high ethical standards.

• Demonstrates commitment to Compassion in World Farming’s mission and goals.

Core competencies

• Communication – level 1

• Working with people – level 1

• Drive for results – level 1

Functional competencies

• Level 1

For definitions of these competencies and levels please download this guide

Working hours: Part time/ Full time

Terms and conditions

• As part of your employment, you may be required to travel anywhere within the UK to carry out the duties of your employment.
• There may be a requirement to carry out some work out of office hours. This work is to be arranged in accordance with procedures.

To apply for this role, please submit a copy of your CV/resume and a cover letter outlining your interest in the role and how you fulfil the requirements set out in the job announcement by clicking on the link above.

This is a rolling process, apply as soon as possible. Final deadline for application is October 8th 2023

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Daryl Upsall International actively promotes equality, diversity and inclusion. In recruiting candidates, we seek candidates with the proven skills required, irrespective of race, gender, religion or belief, age, disability or sexual orientation.