Interviewing Head of Fundraising

Voice 21

Voice 21 work with schools to transform young people’s learning and life chances through talk. The charity’s national network of Voice 21 Oracy Schools is changing the education system as we know it.

Unlike literacy and numeracy, too often spoken language skills (oracy) are left to chance rather than taught explicitly in our education system today. Voice 21 work with schools to change this, increasing access to high-quality oracy education for those that need it most. Since launching in 2015, Voice 21 have worked with over 2000 schools across the UK, helping more than a quarter of a million young people to find their voice for success in school and life. Today, over 450,000 children attend a Voice 21 Oracy School. By 2025, Voice 21 want to reach 800,000, as well as continue to build the case for an oracy rich curriculum. 

The Fundraising team at Voice 21 is at an exciting time in its journey. Over the past 8 years, they have built and refined how they work with schools and have collated a strong evidence base for their impact. Together with the arrival of a new CEO, Dr Kate Paradine, who joined in October, this marks a real inflection point in their history and they need an exceptional Head of Fundraising to ensure Voice 21 can take oracy into every school across the UK.

Last year, Voice 21's Annual Oracy surveys were completed by 8000+ of their teachers and 13,000+ students.

About the role

As the Head of Fundraising, you will report directly to the CEO and will be responsible for overseeing high value fundraising income streams, with current funders including Impetus, Mohn Westlake Foundation and Allen & Overy. You will build on the success of the trust and foundation funding, but also develop major donor and corporate fundraising partnerships. In addition, you will also have the unique opportunity to build out the fundraising team, with an organisation committed to investing now for future potential and growth.

As Head of Fundraising, you will: 

  • Lead the annual fundraising planning process to produce effective strategies to achieve income targets across Major Donors, Trusts & Foundations and Corporate Partnerships
  • Alongside the CEO, lead the development of a new Fundraising strategy, aligned with a new 5 year organisational strategy to launch in 2024
  • Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to help identify and subsequently develop captivating proposals and engagement opportunities
  • Deliver best-in-class stewardship of partnerships, building yearly engagement plans and providing high quality proposals and reports

About you

Ideal skills and experience: 

  • An entrepreneurial and creative approach to fundraising, with expertise in two or more of trusts and foundations, corporate partnerships or major donors.
  • Experience of managing large-scale pitches, including managing upwards and management of external stakeholders such as a Volunteer Fundraising Board or Trustees.
  • Proven ability to effectively lead and manage a team, setting targets, managing workloads, appropriately managing poor performance and helping guide team member’s career development.
  • Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across teams and departments remotely/online using persuasion and influence to achieve shared goals and objectives.

Employee Benefits

Employee benefits include:

  • 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, plus additional Christmas closure period
  • Additional annual leave with years of service
  • Employer pension contribution of 5%
  • Employee Assistance Programme, offering 24/7/365 support
  • Interest-free season ticket
  • Cycle and technology loans

Apply for this role

Application by CV and cover letter, In the first instance, please complete the form below with your availability for a chat with Emily (and ideally a copy of your most recent CV). The deadline for applications is Wednesday 29th November 2023. First interviews in w/c 4th December. Final Interviews w/c 11th December.

QuarterFive and our clients know fundraising could better reflect the diverse backgrounds and experiences of the people the charity sector supports. We encourage individuals with relevant skills and experience to apply for roles regardless of age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief. If you think you meet some of the criteria for a role and would like to discuss how your other experience might transfer, please ask us for a chat. We’re here to support you. Appointments will be made on merit alone and we will gladly make reasonable adjustments to always ensure a fair process.

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