Sporting Events Manager

Sitting within the Supporter Led Fundraising (SLF) department, the Sporting Events Team at Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) is responsible for securing over £3.5m income from individuals and groups fundraising through mass participation events including The London Marathon, International Marathons, The Great North Run, Threshold Events and more!

As one of two Sporting Event Managers, you will join a busy and successful team of 10 responsible for the delivery and optimisation of our events portfolio. We are looking for an exceptional individual, who will lead on the planning, project management and delivery of ARUK’s flagship third-party events, including London Landmarks, Own Place in Event Fundraising and challenge events.

This is a line management role, currently responsible for 4 direct reports and the strategic oversight of the events they manage. You will work closely with the other Sporting Event Manager to ensure consistency with supporter stewardship, manage budgets and support in financial planning, review team capacity and identify and manage priorities throughout the event calendar year, ensuring efficiency and a first-class supporter experience, with an overall goal of maximising income for dementia research.

You will be an integral part of the SLF Managers Team, helping drive our ambitious organisation growth and ultimately helping us find a cure. The role is managed by the Head of Sporting Events & Volunteering (HoSV).

Main duties and responsibilities of the role:

Line Management

· Line management of the high performing 2x Sporting Events Officers and 2x Sporting Events Executives; inspiring and driving their success to ensure they remain highly motivated in their roles, achieve their targets and play a key part in the performance of the wider Sporting Events Team, and Alzheimer’s Research UK.

· Monitor, review, and empower direct reports to ensure effective communication across the wider team and with key stakeholders e.g. volunteering, RFO’s and wider SLF.

· Support your direct line reports in their development, helping them to spot opportunities for growth.

Monitoring and Reporting

· Manage the Sporting team’s income and expenditure budget, including monthly reporting, and supporting HoSV with monthly reforecasts, and annual budget and operational plan setting.

· Review participation and income against event targets to track impact, ROI and cost income ratio and report back to HoSV regularly.

· Ensure the fundraising CRM (salesforce) is being used effectively to facilitate accurate supporter stewardship and financial reporting.

· Use data insights and trends to support the HoSV in budgeting, forecasting and event portfolio reviews.

· Continue to review and be willing to change Sporting Event Team processes and contribute to wider organisational process changes where necessary.

· Support the embedding of our CRM system: Salesforce, including writing processes and ensuring CRM best practice across the team.

Relationship Management

· Build and maintain excellent working relationships with our third-party event providers and identify new opportunities and ensure all avenues are being optimised for ARUK.

· Identify and steward alongside the Regional Fundraising Officers’ high-value supporters to ensure we are spotting opportunities beyond their current event.

· Work collaboratively within SLF, to ensure all fundraising opportunities are shared and communicated and resources are available.

· Work closely with the Marketing & Engagement Team to brief in marketing requirements, share trends, learnings, and results to optimise future activities.

· Work closely with managers from SLF Departments and work together as a management team to support on the strategic direction of ARUK, as well as deliver any tactical projects.

· Support and consult with any cross functional teams to deliver our third-party events portfolio.

Strategy & Operational Planning

· Work in consultation with the HoSV to develop the sporting events strategy and annual tactical plan for ARUK to continue to build income in this area.

· Work with HoSV to further develop our events strategy for 2026 onwards.

· Stay abreast of sector sporting events activity to ensure effective positioning and marketing of events.

Stewardship and Supporter experience:

· Plan and deliver an excellent communications journey for sporting event participants including exploring new technologies and how we can talk to our supporters in the way most effective and relevant to them- whether that be email, phone, face to face or SMS. Whilst also ensuring it aligns with wider stewardship goals with the charity and future cross-sell asks.

· Attend third-party events and oversee appropriate staff and volunteer representation to give the maximum brand presence and give the supporters the best possible event day experience e.g. Cambridge Half, London Marathon, London Landmarks, Great North Run and any other events where we need staff.

· Work with the wider SLF team to share best practise, ‘surprise and delight’ success and re-engagement activity to help drive long-term loyalty.

· Work with Regional Fundraising Officers, Philanthropy and Corporate Partnerships teams to pass over warm and relevant supporters at the best points in their individual stewardship journeys.

· Work alongside Data and Insights Teams to understand the potential lifetime value of our sporting events participants and ensure opportunities are developed for supporters to hold a long-term fundraising relationship with ARUK.

What we are looking for:

· Experience of delivering mass participation fundraising, in particular managing high-profile/ large third-party event partnerships

· Great knowledge and passion for building excellent supporter relationships and ensuring supporters feel valued and thanked appropriately.

· Good practice and understanding of GDPR and compliance.

· Supporter/stakeholder management experience. 

· Project management experience.

· Proven track record of meeting or exceeding financial and non-financial targets.

· Line Management experience.

· Excellent CRM/database management skills.

· Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written. 

· An ability to manage a busy and varied workload.

· First-class organisational skills.

· Excellent attention to detail.

· Skilled at building excellent relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

· A positive and contagious enthusiasm to inspire others.

· An approachable team player who is always seeking opportunities for collaboration.

· An interest in data analysis and financial aptitude.

· Flexibility to work unsociable hours and willingness to travel.

Additional Information:

Ways of working: As part of our Agile ways of working you will be required to work approximately 2 days a week from the office, which is subject to the requirements of the role and the business needs. Flexibility on where you work can be split between working from home and our office.

Roles that are classed as part of the Agile ways of working are not able to claim any costs for Mileage/Travel on Public Transport, Accommodation and/or Meals.  This includes when attending the office for various meetings/events.

Our Office: Our office is at 3 Riverside, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge, CB21 6AD. 

Salary: Circa £43,000 per annum, plus benefits

Please download the Vacancy Pack on our website for more information.

The closing date for applications is the 5th May 2025, with interviews being arrange once shortlisting has been completed. Please indicate in your covering letter if you are unable to attend an interview on a certain date. We would encourage you to submit your application at the earliest opportunity, as on occasion we may have to bring forward the interview date and/or the closing date based on the needs of the business. Although a possibility, this will only happen in exceptional circumstances. Please indicate in your covering letter if you are unable to attend an interview on a certain date.

We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential.  We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.  Any offer of employment is however subject to you having the right to work in the UK.

As part of our commitment to being an inclusive employer and ensuring fairness and consistency in our selection process, we will handle your CV and application with the utmost confidentiality. While we strive to anonymise your CV where possible, there are certain sections, such as the application question, that cannot be fully anonymised. We kindly ask that you remove any personal information, including your name, when answering the application question. The hiring panel will not have access to your personal details, such as your name and address, until you are invited for an interview. Should you require any adjustments at either the application or interview stage, please contact us via our website.

How to apply: Please create an online account using our Online Recruitment Platform which can be accessed through our Job Vacancies page. You will be able to attach your CV to your application and track the status of your application.

About Alzheimer’s Research UK: Alzheimer's Research UK is the UK's leading dementia research charity. Our mission is to accelerate progress towards a cure.  Today 1 in 2 people will be impacted by dementia, either through caring for a loved one, developing it themselves or tragically both. But there is hope. 

There has never been a more important and exciting time in dementia research. With promising new drugs in clinical trials that slow the progression of the diseases that cause it, and revolutionary new ways to diagnose them on the horizon, we are now at a tipping point. Working with the smartest minds globally and across the UK, with industry and academia, Alzheimer’s Research UK is uniquely placed to invest in the very best research identifying barriers to a cure and knocking them down so that there are more and better treatments for everyone with dementia. For the first time in history, we can see a future where people with dementia can get a swift and accurate diagnosis, and effective treatments that could slow or even stop their disease. We stand for everyone affected by dementia. We stand for a cure. 

In 2024, we were incredibly proud to be awarded a 3-star accreditation by Best Companies which recognises ‘World Class’ levels of workplace engagement. This is the second consecutive time; we have been awarded a Best Companies 3-star accreditation.

We were also listed in the prestigious Best Companies lists:

· 18th in the 100 Best Large Companies to Work For in the UK.

· 10th in the 50 Best Companies to Work For in the East of England.

· 2nd in the 30 Best Companies to Work For in the Charity Sector.

In addition, we were also shortlisted for a special award recognising the work undertaken on reducing our environmental impact.

In 2021, we were awarded the HR Management award by The Charity Times for our Wellbeing initiatives throughout the pandemic.

In 2020, we demonstrated our commitment to changing the way we think and act about mental health in the workplace and signed the Time to Change Employer Pledge. 

ARUK really does look after its people, where you will be able to add value and make a difference. 

To view further details about working for us and the benefits we offer, please visit Alzheimer’s Research UK