Events Manager; Philanthropy

Philanthropy Events Manager

£35,000 - £43,000 plus benefits

Philanthropy Events Senior Manager

Strategy & Philanthropy

Permanent

Full time 35 hours per week

Stratford, London Office-based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office)

Friday 9th October 2026

Competency based interview

w/c 19th October 2026

You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

Our sector leading Philanthropy team have an exciting new opportunity to join as a Philanthropy Events Manager. You will be joining our Philanthropy Events team, who are responsible for the delivery of engagement and high value fundraising events.

As a part of the wider CRUK fundraising efforts, the Philanthropy Directorate is one of the largest and most successful fundraising teams in the UK. An ambitious and innovative team of 60 talented philanthropy professionals, our focus is the £400m ‘More Research, Less Cancer’ (MRLC) campaign which has four key priorities: the Francis Crick Institute, Cancer Grand Challenges, Translation & Innovation, and our Future Leaders’ programme.

We’ve recently reached the milestone of £200m.

Our events team brings in almost £2m pounds a year for our cause, through delivering relationship-building events which offer meaningful engagement for high-value audiences, connecting them to Cancer Research UK’s vision, cause and pioneering research. Our programme delivers identification, cultivation, stewardship and fundraising events including unique money-can’t-buy experiences, science talks, dinners and drinks receptions. Each event is tailored to our high-value audience, which includes philanthropists, trusts, foundations and corporate partners.

This is a great opportunity for an experienced event delivery professional to join one of the leading high value programmes in the sector. You’ll get to work on a variety of different events including music, politics and galas. You’ll bring experience of delivery and planning high profile events ideally in the philanthropy space, however we would also welcome applications from those that have experience working with high value audiences, potentially through working in academia, media, other research organisations or the arts.

• End-to-end management of events, from conception and planning through to delivery and reporting (inc Source appropriate venues, suppliers and speakers and developing new event concepts and content)
• Professionally and efficiently project manage the delivery of 1-2 of our high-value fundraising events per year (£100k+) maximising net income and long-term support for Cancer Research UK (CRUK).
• Work collaboratively as part of the wider Philanthropy team to lead the delivery of non-fundraising events with a focus on stewardship, engagement and cultivation of our Philanthropic supporters.
• Own the risk assessment, compliance and safety of your events and work with the legal team to ensure all suppliers are correctly contracted, minimizing and mitigating any risk to CRUK, our staff and supporters.
• Create a strong event fundraising strategy that your team can work towards. Work with team members on auction prize acquisition to help secure ‘money can’t buy’ auction prizes and create engaging fundraising moments on the night.
• Develop strong working relationships with your high-net-worth supporters (committees, sponsors, table hosts etc) and keep them informed/consulted on event progress and outcomes as needed. Work with them and their networks to align their event wishes with our event and wider philanthropy objectives.
• C…