About us
We are an international development organisation putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change their world.
We help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems. Challenges made worse by catastrophic climate change and persistent gender inequality. We work with communities to develop ingenious, lasting, and locally owned solutions for agriculture, water and waste management, climate resilience, and clean energy. And we share what works with others, so answers that start small can grow big.
We’re a global change-making group. The group consists of a UK-registered charity with community projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America, an independent development publishing company, and a technical consulting service. We combine these specialisms to multiply our impact and help shape a world that works better for everyone.
About the role
This role with our Philanthropy team is responsible for managing and developing a portfolio of high-value supporters and prospects made up of trusts, companies and individual donors.
You will also oversee the development and delivery of our Small Trust Programme, which generates vital unrestricted funding via a regular appeal.
The Philanthropy Officer will also support the wider Partnerships and Philanthropy team with donor research, proposal development, stewardship and relationship management as well as liaison with colleagues in the UK and international offices.
About you
You must have a good knowledge and understanding of fundraising from trusts, foundations and major donors built on a solid comprehension of fundraising principles and legal requirements.
We are looking for someone with some fundraising experience ideally within a trusts or philanthropy team. You will have exceptional written communication skills and you need to be able to proactively seek (often complex) information from a variety of sources, or colleagues, and turn this into engaging and inspiring communications relevant to the donor.
The ability to build relationships with people at all levels both internally and externally is also key to this role informed by excellent research and prospecting skills and underpinned by experience with Microsoft Office and CRM databases, preferably Raiser’s Edge.
Why join us?
The opportunity to work for an organisation that is making a positive difference to the lives of people worldwide, a friendly and supportive culture, working with values-driven and highly engaged colleagues, work-life balance and flexible working – these are just some of the reasons
we think Practical Action is a great place to work.
Our open plan offices are in the centre of Rugby near to the train station.
In addition, we offer the following benefits:
- Flexible working/hours – full-time roles are contracted at 35 hours per week
- It is our practice normally that we operate a hybrid working policy, where flexible working hours are enabled as well as remote working (between 6-15 days per month in our Rugby office).
- 27 days of holiday in addition to public holidays which increases with the length of service.
- A pension scheme that new employees can join from day one of employment – (rules apply) employer contributes 10.5% of salary and the employee contributes 5%.
- Life assurance (3 x annual salary).
- Cycle to Work scheme.
Additional information
Practical Action believes that having a diverse workforce and inclusive workplace culture based on respect will enable us to be an effective organisation. We seek to create an inclusive workplace in which people are accepted as individuals, regardless of their differences and where they feel their contribution is valued. Practical Action is an equal opportunities employer and we encourage applications from under-represented groups.
We stay committed to cultivating an inclusive and diverse working environment and believe that people from different backgrounds or cultures give us different perspectives, and the more
perspectives we have, the more successful we will be. By building a culture where everyone feels heard, respected and valued we give everyone working with us the opportunity to achieve their full potential.
Practical Action is committed to safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults and as such candidates will be subject to pre-employment checks including criminal checks and terrorist financing.
Please note that should we recruit a suitable candidate before the closing date, we will close applications earlier than the specified date.
The successful applicant must have the pre-existing right to both live and work in the UK.
Closing date for applications: Tuesday 11th April 2023
HOW TO APPLY – Previous applicants will not be considered for this position
If you want to work for a charity with significant people ambitions, then we would like to hear from you. To apply, please submit a copy of your CV and a supporting statement that describes your suitability for the role to [email protected]