Trusts and Foundations Manager

Impetus is looking for a talented and ambitious fundraiser to join us in this exciting new role as Trust and Foundations Manager. The Trusts and Foundations Manager will join our dynamic, collaborative Impetus Philanthropy Team and have responsibility for developing and managing their own portfolio of Grant Making Trust and Foundation prospects and donors who support Impetus’s core work.

The Trusts and Foundations Manager will also make a significant contribution to writing proposals and reports for our existing partnerships to ensure we can deliver our mission: helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed at school, work and in life.

In order to be successful in this role you will have; significant experience of generating income from UK Trusts and Foundations; excellent relationship management skills with the ability to work through the fundraising cycle with donors to initiate, renew and grow gifts; and a commitment to Impetus’ mission with the ability to grasp and interpret complex ideas, including the venture philanthropy model of Impetus and the private equity industry. Alongside this you will have excellent written and verbal communication skills including strong bid-writing and story-telling skills. You will also be a strong and organised, project manager competent with a range of IT applications.

Key responsibilities

1. Manage a portfolio of Trust and Foundation prospects and donors at the £10k to £100k level, to develop and maintain strong and long-standing partnerships. 
2. Take primary responsibility for conducting and co-ordinating detailed prospect research on Trusts and Foundations that support our areas of work, liaising with Philanthropy Team colleagues on network mapping current supporters, and keeping abreast of newly established Trusts and Foundations that are keen to have impact at the heart of their work.
3. Manage the cultivation plans and process for Trusts and Foundations in your portfolio.
4. Responsible for creating presentation decks, writing proposals and reports to Trusts and Foundation in your portfolio and support the Development Directors and the Director of Philanthropy and Partnerships with these activities for major Trust and Foundation prospects and donors.
5. Support the Development Directors and the Director of Philanthropy and Partnerships to build and maintain a pipeline of prospects and report on progress of current prospects through the fundraising cycle. 
6. Work with the Development Directors and the Director of Philanthropy to identify new grant funding opportunities and themes for Impetus.
7. Work closely with the Head of Engagement to ensure the Philanthropy Team are delivering on time in line with renewal and reporting schedules and criteria across all Trusts and Foundations, including liaising with our charity partners to create report content.
8. Work closely with the Head of Engagement to develop stewardship plans tailored to the needs of our Trusts and Foundations donors.
9. Ensure all communications with external stakeholders are prompt, clear and well written. 
10. Ensure research, prospect and donor activity and reporting is accurately captured on our CRM system (Salesforce).
11. Create and monitor processes and systems to deliver reports to the Senior Management Team and Philanthropy and Partnerships Committee. 
12. Stay abreast of good fundraising practice, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and guidance.
13. Support the Philanthropy and Events Team with the delivery of our major fundraising and challenge events as well as smaller cultivation and stewardship events and supporting ad-hoc activities of the Philanthropy Team when needed.
14. Demonstrate professionalism and best practice in all duties, comply with the organisation’s policies and procedures and proactively support the wider team to deliver our mission effectively. 

Person specification

Essential

1. Significant and demonstrable experience of generating income from UK Trusts and Foundations.
2. Experience in the grant application and bid-writing process.
3. The ability to work through the fundraising cycle with donors to initiate, renew and grow gifts.
4. Experience in developing partnerships. 
5. Excellent research and prospecting skills.
6. Strong experience and knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite Technology especially PowerPoint and, substantive experience in using Salesforce or a comparable CRM system. 
7. An organised, strong project manager with the ability to devise donor engagement plans as well as use and create project/account plans, budgets, and other financial information.
8. Excellent written and verbal communication skills with strong bid-writing and story-telling skills in particular.
9. Able to grasp and interpret complex ideas, including the venture philanthropy model of Impetus and the private equity industry and convey these concepts to a range of audiences.
10. Presence, credibility and ability to look beyond own area of expertise.
11. The ability to work well under pressure and meet tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment while managing multiple projects and maintaining excellent attention to detail.
12. A commitment to Impetus’ mission
13. Committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Desirable

1. Knowledge of the sector – young people, education, employment 
2. Experience fundraising for grant makers, infrastructure organisations or other intermediaries
3. Digital fundraising skills
4. An ability to think innovatively

About the team

The Philanthropy team raises income for Impetus and for Impetus partner charities. The team consists of eight staff, expanding to eleven with the recruitment of three new hires to help us implement our new strategy. Impetus has an annual income of c.£7-8 million which we are looking to grow to £10 million within the next few years. The team is led by the Director of Philanthropy and Partnerships.

The Philanthropy team works with major donors, corporates and grant making trusts. We work collaboratively with colleagues across the organisation to ensure we make a compelling case to generate new financial commitments and wider support for our work.  The team also deliver a high-quality engagement programme of volunteering and pro bono for Impetus’s corporate supporters and well as an ambitious events programme, including a gala dinner which raises over £1m annually.  

Impetus is driven by a shared belief in tackling the barriers that hold back young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in education and employment. Alongside investing extensive financial and non-financial support in our charity partners through our Investment Team we also seek to influence decision makers to design and implement evidence led policy and direct new resources to get young people the support they need through our Public Affairs team. We are resolutely focused on outcomes, driven by quality evidence.

You would be joining a team that is passionate, rigorous, determined, creative and warm. We care deeply for our colleagues, our charity partners and the young people we serve.

About Impetus

Impetus transforms the lives of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds by ensuring they get the right support to succeed in school, in work and in life.

We find, fund and build the most promising charities working with these young people, providing core funding and working shoulder-to-shoulder with their leaders to help them become stronger organisations.

In partnership with other funders we help our charities expand and we influence policy and decision makers so that all young people get the support they need.

Impetus currently has 35 members of staff, supporting 20 charities with programmes across England, Wales and Scotland.

Our Values

We are wholly orientated towards more and better outcomes for young people, invest in trust-based relationships to drive meaningful change, believe diversity of thought, background and experience makes us smarter as an organisation, are committed to the benefits of collaboration and partnership and try to practice joy, care, a focus on results and intellectual challenge in our culture.

We believe that a diverse workforce leads to an organisation that is more open, creative and gets better results. We want our team at Impetus to represent the diversity of the people and communities we serve. We also want our team to be one where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are valued, and where everyone is encouraged to grow and develop. We want to reach a diverse pool of candidates. We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful. We recognise the importance of a good work/life balance. We do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including working from home, working part-time job shares and other arrangements. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore.

Benefits
We offer a wide range of benefits, including 28 days of annual leave, enhanced family friendly policies, pension and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to an employee assistance programme.

How to apply

Please send a comprehensive CV and supporting statement to us by 9am Friday 21 January 2022. The supporting statement should be no more than two sides of A4 and should address the criteria in the person specification.

In order to complete your application please also complete the equal opportunities monitoring form (link to form included in job brief).

You should also include the contact details of two referees, one of whom must be your current or most recent employer. Referees will only be approached with your express permission. You will also be required to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the UK. As part of our commitment to flexible working we will consider a range of options for the successful applicant. All options can be discussed at interview stage.

First round interviews will take place week commencing 31 January 2022

Second round interviews will take place week commencing 7 February 2022

Your personal data will be shared for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes our HR team, interviewers (who may include other partners in the project and independent advisors), relevant team managers and our IT service provider if access to the data is necessary for performance of their roles. We do not share your data with other third parties, unless your application for employment is successful and we make you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you. We do not transfer your data outside the European Economic Area.

Impetus is an equal opportunity employer and is determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, race, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, or marital status. We value diversity and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.