War Child is looking for an experienced fundraising leader to step into a key senior leadership role during a year of real momentum.
As Interim Director of Philanthropy and Partner Engagement, you’ll lead a high-performing team of around 15, covering major donors, principal giving, trusts and foundations, institutional funding, corporate partnerships, and gaming. Together, the team brings in around £10m of War Child’s £15–16m annual income.
You’ll report to the CEO and sit on the Senior Leadership Team, with shared responsibility for income generation, strategic planning, and organisational leadership. This is an opportunity to guide a strong team through its next phase of growth, support exciting developments already underway, and help shape the future of War Child’s fundraising.
We’re looking for a confident, strategic leader with experience at director level, or someone ready to step up from a senior head role in a complex organisation. You’ll bring a strong track record in high-value fundraising, with the credibility and judgement to operate at executive level and lead a diverse team through a period of delivery and growth.
About the role
As Interim Philanthropy and Partner Engagement Director, you will:
- Oversee and support a multi-disciplinary fundraising team spanning major donors, partnerships, gaming, principal giving, institutional funding, and events
- Lead strategic planning and budgeting across the function, ensuring strong performance, income growth and long-term value
- Maximise outcomes from Winter Wassail (December 2025), War Child’s flagship gala event with a £2m target and major stewardship opportunity
- Support and strengthen the corporate partnerships function, working closely with the Head of Partnerships to refine strategy and unlock potential
- Guide the development of the principal gifts function, with a new senior hire expected before the handover
- Shape next steps for gaming and digital partnerships, following an external review
- Take a strategic view of events-based philanthropy, identifying opportunities to evolve and diversify
About you
Ideal skills and experience:
- Significant experience in corporate partnerships, with the ability to develop strategy, support senior fundraisers and identify long-term opportunities
- Strong knowledge of high-value fundraising, including major donors, principal giving and events-led philanthropy
- Experience leading managers and senior fundraisers across multiple income streams, ideally within a similarly sized or complex organisation
- A strategic mindset, with hands-on involvement in planning, budgeting, forecasting and performance reporting
- A collaborative, emotionally intelligent leadership style that combines high challenge with high support
- The ability to influence across teams and departments; experience in international development is helpful but not essential
- The confidence to represent War Child with major donors, partners, and senior stakeholders, both internally and externally
- Willingness to take ownership of compliance areas, including GDPR, gambling regulation and trademark risk, with support from internal specialists
Employee benefits
Benefits include:
- Flexible working – War Child recognise the considerable benefits that flexible working can bring and are happy to discuss any possible flexible working options with employees from hiring. For most roles, the following types of flexibility are usually possible: flexible hours, an element of working from home, compressed hours.
- Annual leave – 28 days per year (full-time), plus UK bank holidays
- Pension – all eligible employees automatically enrolled into a Group Personal Pension Plan with a 5% employer contribution, with minimum employee contribution on a salary sacrifice basis
- Health & wellbeing – employees may take advantage of a healthcare cash plan and a range of wellbeing initiatives and training. In addition, all employees have access to free, confidential one-to-one wellbeing consultations with trained counsellors.
- Learning & development – dedicated to the investment in learning and continuing professional development for all our employees
- Range of flexible benefits such a Cycle to Work scheme and season ticket loans