Philanthropy Manager

You know how good philanthropy is built. What if you could put that experience behind work trying to change the systems that shape society?

We are supporting a growing UK non-profit that builds confidential movements of senior professionals inside powerful industries.

People inside major organisations often understand things that are difficult to see from the outside: how decisions are really made, where power sits, which incentives shape behaviour and why meaningful change can be so difficult to achieve.

The organisation brings those perspectives together, identifies where change may be possible and works with the people and institutions capable of influencing what happens next.

The ambition is not simply to respond to social and environmental problems.

It is to understand the systems producing them and find where insight, relationships and influence can help shift them.

The model is already operating across several influential industries. The organisation has philanthropic backing, growing momentum and ambitious plans for what comes next.

We are now looking for a Philanthropy Manager to help build the donor relationships, research and fundraising infrastructure behind that growth.

This is a hands-on role for someone who already understands major gifts or individual philanthropy and wants broader exposure and responsibility.

You will help build and manage a pipeline of philanthropists, wealth holders, family offices and donor networks likely to connect with the organisation’s work.

That means researching who matters, understanding their interests, helping prioritise where time should be spent, preparing strong donor briefings and materials, and supporting relationships from initial engagement through cultivation and stewardship.

You will also help build the practical systems behind the work: keeping the pipeline moving, maintaining good information and making sure promising relationships are followed through properly.

This is a small organisation rather than a large development department.

You will be close to the relationships, the thinking and the decisions, with the opportunity to take on more as the philanthropy programme develops.

You may currently be working in Major Gifts, Individual Giving, Philanthropy or Development within a charity, university, cultural institution or another sophisticated fundraising environment.

You might already manage donor relationships yourself, or you may be supporting more senior fundraisers while taking increasing responsibility for research, cultivation and stewardship.

What matters is that you have already developed a real understanding of relationship-led fundraising and want to build on it.

You will probably bring a combination of:

• experience in major donor, HNW or individual philanthropy fundraising
• strong research instincts
• clear and concise writing
• good judgement and attention to detail
• confidence around senior people
• discretion with sensitive information
• strong organisation and follow-through
• genuine interest in social and environmental change

You do not need to have done every part of the role already.

For someone building a career in philanthropy, the attraction is partly the work itself and partly the exposure.

You will work around philanthropists, wealth holders, senior industry insiders, investors, policymakers and people tackling difficult social and environmental questions.

You will see how significant philanthropic relationships are identified, developed and converted into long-term support.

And because the organisation is still building, you will have the opportunity to contribute to how the philanthropy function develops rather than simply inherit an established process.

The work also creates a distinctive fundraising proposition.

Rather than only responding to problems once they emerge, the organisation is interested in the incentives, institutions and systems that shape outcomes in the first place.

For someone interested in where philanthropy can create real leverage, this is an unusual opportunity to learn, contribute and grow.

UK-based, largely remote, with some London / in-person meetings