Philanthropy Lead

Hybrid (minimum 2 days per week in-person working)

About the role and team:

Our Philanthropy Lead will join an established Major Gifts team, who collectively raise in excess of £5m+ a year. We are looking for a visionary, dynamic, entrepreneurial and empathetic leader who is excited to work closely with the Parkinson’s community to secure vital donations towards our strategic priorities - including our multi-year Parkinson’s UK Nurse Appeal, ground-breaking Parkinson’s research and the Virtual Biotech, our international drug discovery programme. 

Maximising the value and contribution of our supporters is fundamental to Parkinson’s UK delivering the impact we want to see for people affected by Parkinson's. Building networks, understanding what motivates our supporters, and aligning our programmes to their philanthropic interests is key to our growth plans for Major Gifts.

This role will lead, influence and embed the major donor strategy and line manage a high performing team. You will deliver your own prospect/donor cultivation activity and generate new leads through working with senior volunteers.  You will work with colleagues and leaders across the charity to identify prospects and opportunities to give at a transformational level. You will present and inspire philanthropic support for our work including our information and support services and our Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech drug development programme which is leading the way in driving forward new pioneering treatments. 

You’ll contribute to a step-change in the charity’s income, particularly in soliciting gifts from new supporters. Now is an exciting time for Parkinson’s UK as we accelerate our ‘Transforming Parkinson’s Together’ strategy and we drive forward our growth ambitions within major gifts. 

What you’ll do:

• Lead the Philanthropy team to deliver our ambitious multi-year income targets 

• Build on the team’s existing strategy, working closely with the Head on the overall strategic direction

• Identify, cultivate and manage relationships with your pipeline of donors and prospects (focused on £100k+ gifts)

• Collaborate with colleagues to build the £1m+ transformational gift pipeline

• Oversee, support and coach the Philanthropy team with their prospect/donor cultivation and stewardship activity 

What you’ll bring:

• Extensive experience of successful major donor fundraising, with a track record of securing five and six figure gifts through making verbal and written asks

• The ability to proactively identify, qualify and generate new prospects to help grow the team’s pipelines 

• Strong leadership skills and the ability to manage, coach, motivate and inspire a high performing team 

• Excellent relationship building and communication skills

• Experience of delivering activity with fundraising boards/senior volunteers

Whilst this is advertised as a full-time position, we are committed to being flexible in our roles and would consider part-time working and compressed hours. Please specify in your supporting statement if you are interested in a specific working pattern. 

Please apply through our career portal on our website, with your CV and a detailed supporting statement to show how you match what we’re looking for, as outlined in the ‘’What you’ll bring’’ section of the job description. 

Interviews will be held: w/c 1st July 2024 and will be in person at 215 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1EJ

Anyone can get Parkinson’s. It’s vital that the people who work for Parkinson’s UK are representative of our diverse community. We actively encourage people from all sections of the community to apply, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, age, disability, sexual orientation, or religion.