Head of Philanthropy

The Organisation

The Brilliant Club is an award-winning charity that exists to increase the number of pupils from underrepresented backgrounds who progress to highly-selective universities. We do this by mobilising the PhD community to share its expertise with state schools. We recruit, train and place PhD researchers to work with state schools: either part-time as tutors through The Scholars Programme or our new Brilliant Tutoring Programme; or full-time as classroom teachers through Researchers in Schools (RIS).

The Opportunity

As The Brilliant Club enters our tenth year, and we develop our next five-year strategy, we are looking for a Head of Philanthropy to grow our fundraising income, to support our mission. The Head of Philanthropy will report to the External Affairs Director and will work closely with the Executive Leadership team to deliver our fundraising target of over £800,000 per year. They will lead a small fundraising team and be responsible for the delivery and diversification of our fundraising income. This includes introducing major donor fundraising and growing our corporate partnerships, alongside the continued development of the charity’s well-established Trust and Foundations fundraising. The Head of Philanthropy will ensure that that the charity is compliant with fundraising and data protection regulations, and share fundraising best practice. They will build relationships, create fundraising opportunities and engage our supporters.

The Head of Philanthropy will work with the External Affairs Director and the Executive Leadership Team to develop a five-year fundraising strategy, aligned with our charity strategy. The successful candidate will have experience of working with major donors and developing new business. They will feel confident engaging with senior stakeholders, be proactive in identifying opportunities and have excellent relationship building skills.

The Brilliant Club has three core values, which we expect all employees to embody: 1) We get to a solution, 2) We seek and act on the best data available, and 3) We understand that little things go a long way. The successful candidate will have examples of where they have demonstrated these values in the past.

The Brilliant Club exists to increase the number of pupils from underrepresented backgrounds progressing to highly selective universities. We think it is important that our charity reflects the lived experience of our beneficiaries, and we want to be an organisation where employees from any background can thrive. We particularly welcome applications from disabled, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME), Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans including non-binary (LGBTQ+) candidates, and candidates from low income families. These groups are currently underrepresented at The Brilliant Club and we are committed to increasing representation and diversity at the charity.