Senior Donor Relations Executive

Supporting exceptional experiences for our valued supporters.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer. We’re united by one ambition: to beat cancer, sooner. Our lifesaving research is only possible thanks to the generosity of our supporters—and this role is central to ensuring they feel inspired, valued and connected to the impact they make.

As a Senior Donor Relations Executive, you’ll play a pivotal role in delivering exceptional experiences for our high-value supporters, helping to power our £400m campaign, More Research, Less Cancer. Working closely with fundraisers and partners across CRUK and the Francis Crick Institute, you’ll help bring donor journeys to life—turning support into lasting impact.

You’ll be joining a collaborative, passionate team that champions creativity, excellence and meaningful supporter engagement.

What you’ll be doing:

• Act as a trusted operational partner to frontline fundraisers, coordinating seamless cultivation and stewardship activity.
• Deliver high-quality donor experiences, from briefings and proposals to meetings, events and stewardship milestones.
• Lead on the preparation of gift agreements and pledge confirmations, ensuring accuracy and a great donor experience.
• Project manage key materials, including proposals, impact reports and recognition initiatives.
• Coordinate donor engagement opportunities, including meetings, lab tours and interactions with researchers and leadership.
• Support fundraising strategy through CRM reporting, pipeline tracking and campaign delivery.
• Build strong relationships across CRUK, the Crick and wider teams to deliver joined-up, donor-centric experiences.
• Provide guidance to colleagues and contribute to continuous improvement across the team.

What we’re looking for:

• A brilliant communicator with strong stakeholder management skills.
• Highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver to tight deadlines.
• A confident project manager who can coordinate activity across multiple teams.
• Excellent writing skills, with a keen eye for detail.
• A donor-first mindset and strong customer service approach.
• Comfortable using databases and Microsoft Office tools.
• A proactive, problem-solving attitude with a “can do” approach.
• Experience in fundraising or a strong interest in philanthropy and major gifts.

Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do:

• Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination.
• Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism.
• Human: Act to have a positive impact on people.
• Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively.

We’re looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.

What will I gain?

We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.

Internal Eligibility criteria:

Internal candidates should ideally have completed their 6-month ‘getting started’ period before applying for other roles. You should also advise your current line manager at the point you make an internal application, or at the latest, at the point of being invited for an interview. All internal candidates applying for a secondment must have completed their getting started period, discussed their intention to apply and gained approval to apply with their line manager, and been in their substantive (home) role for at least 6 months (this is only applicable if you have previously been on secondment).

If you do not confirm that you meet these requirements, we will not be able to progress your application.

Additional information:

For more information about working with us please visit our website or contact us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk. For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.

We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen. Please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.