Development Manager

Are you an entrepreneurial fundraiser with a collaborative approach and an aptitude for leadership?

Centre for London, the capital’s dedicated think tank, is looking for a new Development Manager to help take the charity’s fundraising to the next level.

By helping to secure funding for our research and events programme, your work will be vital in ensuring Centre for London can continue to influence policy and create an inclusive city, where everyone can benefit from London’s prosperity. In this role, you’ll be helping to tackle some of London’s biggest policy challenges, focusing on employment and skills, transport and public realm, neighbourhood resilience, and London’s place in the UK and the world.

As Development Manager, you will lead on the delivery of our fundraising strategy, bringing in new ideas and ways of working to help us achieve our annual income target, build new funding relationships and identify new income streams and innovative fundraising methods. You will report directly to the Director and manage two Development Officers (one currently in post, one you will recruit).

At Centre for London, we pride ourselves on our strong culture of collaboration. As such, you will work closely with the research, events and communications teams to ensure continued fundraising success.

• We think this role would best suit someone who already has some managerial experience in fundraising, or a related field, and who is either looking to diversify their expertise or take on responsibility for fundraising across a whole organisation.
• You may have a particular specialism in one of our key areas of fundraising with awareness of other methods and an aptitude for learning, you may be a fundraising and development all-rounder
• Alternatively, you may have significant relevant experience in managing relationships, market or product development, and are looking for a new challenge.
• We don’t ask that you are an expert in London policy issues – though understanding of and interest in urban policy, and relationships in those fields, would be helpful. But you will need to be able to learn quickly, think creatively and communicate compellingly

Full details of the role can be found in the job description. If you meet the criteria in the person specification and are excited about this opportunity, we’d love to hear from you. Unfortunately, we cannot accept applications from individuals without the right to work in the UK.

How to apply

To apply for this role please send a CV and cover letter showing how your experience and achievements to date would make you a suitable candidate for this role (no more than three pages total). Your application should be saved as a single PDF with your name as the title.

Applications can be made via Charity Jobs with the subject line ‘Development Manager’. Please include where you saw this advert.

We may close applications earlier than the deadline.

We do not want any contact from recruitment agencies regarding this vacancy.

Centre for London

Centre for London is a politically independent think tank and charity focused on solving London’s critical challenges. Through its research and events, the Centre acts as a critical friend to London’s leaders and policymakers, promotes a wider understanding of the challenges facing London, and develops long-term, rigorous and radical solutions for the capital.

About our culture

We’re a small charity with eighteen members of staff. Everyone is passionate about London and committed to making it a better city. We have a friendly, fun and collaborative team culture. We invest in our team to help them succeed; offering on the job support, learning lunches, whole team and individual training, as well as opportunities for career progression within the organisation.

We celebrate London’s rich and diverse culture and we want our team to reflect the city we serve. We’re a London Living Wage and an equal opportunities employer – an ethos which also informs our work. We value the ideas and input of every team member and we regularly hold team-wide sessions to give everyone the opportunity to shape our future work.

We also know that there’s much more to life than work. Our flexible hours policy allows staff to make sure work fits around their personal lives. Benefits include 25 days holiday per year (plus extra days during office closure between Christmas and New Year), a generous contributory pension and a cycle scheme. People who have worked with us for more than two years are also able to take career breaks of up to six months, giving them time for personal or professional development or to simply take an extended holiday!

We are now in our new home in the heart of Clerkenwell. It’s the perfect time to join the team as our Development Manager, to help us make a difference for London at a critical time.

Development and fundraising at Centre for London

We have a varied fundraising portfolio with an established corporate sponsorship programme, relationships with trusts and foundations, and a growing number of major donors. The Centre is currently primarily funded on a project-by-project basis, though core funding and individual giving is growing. Initiating a High Net Worth Individual scheme and exploring new income streams are priorities for the Development Manager.

Day-to-day you will be responsible for driving fundraising activities across Centre for London, ensuring we meet our annual income target, and that funders are stewarded to a high standard. Though a move to Salesforce has been fully implemented, there is still plenty of scope to develop the system to further support fundraising and relationship management. This is an exciting time to join the team; our next business plan is in development and there is a real opportunity to play a crucial role in the organisation’s next phase of development.

Job description

The purpose of the role is to: drive and direct all development and fundraising activities across the organisation; develop the organisation’s overarching fundraising strategy, working closely with senior management and implementing its day-to-day delivery; plan the strategy for achieving the organisation’s annual income target of over £1million and manage its achievement in accordance with the organisation’s aims and objectives.

Key responsibilities include:

Organisational relationship management and fundraising activities

• Develop the organisation’s overarching fundraising and development strategy, working closely with senior management.
• Develop the organisation-wide approach to relationship management, in line with Centre for London’s values, and implement it.
• Work closely with the Director to plan and implement the solicitation of gifts from individuals.
• Fundraise directly for projects and core support from corporate sponsors and trusts/foundations, producing compelling sponsorship proposals and grant applications and representing the organisation in external meetings.
• Ensure all the organisation’s existing funders are stewarded to a high standard and that those relationships are managed effectively, personally managing relationships and delegating relationship management as necessary.
• Ensure relationships with prospective funders are developed effectively, working towards further diversification of funders.
• Manage the development of a series of cultivation events, informed by the organisation’s priorities, and oversee their delivery (ensuring coordination with the Events Manager and the main events programme).
• Develop new income streams for the organisation, including the initiation and implementation of a patron’s scheme for individuals and including individuals associated with Corporates.
• Develop the organisation’s case for support, working closely with the Communications Manager to ensure its integration across all communication channels, internal and external.

Reporting and administration

• Managing the Development team (two officers)
• Manage all administration associated with fundraising, ensuring the prompt sending and payment of invoices, receipt of signed funding agreements, and accurate record keeping.
• Manage the organisation’s CRM system, Salesforce, leading its ongoing development to support fundraising activities and coordinating its development across the organisation, towards the further integration of systems.
• Report on the health of the fundraising pipeline and secured funds for all financial reporting requirements e.g. management accounts, trustee reports, annual report.
• Ensure the organisation complies with the best practice fundraising standards, ensuring our independence policy is upheld.
• Manage the Development team’s annual budget, ensuring resources are used in the most effective way.

Development and Promotion of Centre for London

• Contribute to the development and growth of the organisation through working in accordance with its wider objectives, corporate philosophy and values of integrity, excellence, collaboration, growth, respect and fun.
• Promote the ideas of Centre for London in public and in private to relevant audiences (business, government and civil society), extending the organisation’s reach and influence.
• Present the organisation in an appropriate and professional manner to its stakeholders.
• Undertake other projects and tasks as appropriate.

Person specification

Experience

• Significant senior level experience of fundraising and development in any of the following areas:

1. Building relationships with corporate prospects and securing funding of £25k to £200k.
2. High Net Worth/Major donor fundraising, ideally with a track record of building relationships and securing major gifts.
3. Fundraising from Trusts and Foundations.

• Alternatively, significant senior level experience in a related field.
• Experience of strategic planning.
• Experience of managing relationships with funders or senior level stakeholders.
• Experience of managing income targets of circa £1million and departmental budgets, or similar

Skills/Competencies

• Dynamic, self-motivated and focused leader with a proactive approach.
• Highly developed interpersonal skills, outstanding communications skills (written and oral) and ability to negotiate.
• Able to identify problems and opportunities, shaping successful solutions with colleagues and stakeholders on board.
• Highly organised with acute attention to detail.
• Ability to ensure compliance with the Institute of Fundraising Code of Practice; maintain confidentiality and work with financial data and personal data within ICO and GDPR regulations framework.

Appreciation for Centre for London’s mission and values

• Awareness of the role think tanks play in the development of public policy.
• An appreciation of London and the particular challenges it faces.
• An interest in cities and the urban environment is an advantage.