Events & Community Fundraiser (Maternity Cover)

ABOUT US

School of Hard Knocks (SOHK) is a charity that exists to empower and support children who are struggling to thrive in their education. By fostering an environment of genuine acceptance and through the use of physical activity and group and one-to-one support sessions, SOHK enables people to find meaning and purpose to life. All of SOHK's activities are underpinned by an evidence based sport for development framework called the 5Cs.

OVERVIEW

School of Hard Knocks is embarking on an ambitious new 3-year fundraising strategy that will see us more than double our income and increase our audience reach so we can support more young people to complete their education and reach their potential. We have not yet proactively explored challenge events or community fundraising and yet we believe this could be an exciting growth area for the charity. We currently run one special event a year, but again, we see opportunity to grow our calendar of special and donor engagement events.

The purpose of this role is to build challenge and special event and community fundraising to support the delivery of our ambitious fundraising strategy. You will be an enthusiastic fundraiser, focused on building growth in our events portfolio and bringing creativity and events knowledge to the role. You will develop excellent relationships with our donors and corporate partners who engage in our events, supporting them to maximise their fundraising for the charity.

You will need to use your experience, creativity and proven event planning skills to ensure the success of our ambitious plans for achieving an effective events calendar for the charity.

This is a maternity cover contract with the potential to extend after the initial 12 months.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Events Fundraising:

• Work to achieve the Fundraising strategy by effectively initiating and delivering a calendar of challenge and special events suitable for our audiences across the UK, that will drive audience reach and income, focusing on delivering a good return on investment and achieving set objectives.
• Develop excellent donor journeys for all participants and attendees, putting in place effective and efficient processes and procedures.
• Work with the Marketing and Communications Manager to design and implement appropriate marketing strategies to maximise participation for all events including pre-, during- and post-event publicity.
• With support from the Communications team, develop timely social media content and achieve local media coverage by gathering compelling supporter stories.
• Ensure all supporter records are kept up to date with all interactions and the highest quality data is captured.
• Effectively follow all appropriate protocols and policies for the handling and receipting of donations and sponsorship monies and accurate recording of supporter information. Ensure all information is recorded in line with data protection legislation (GDPR).
• Work with the wider Fundraising and Communications Team to ensure a seamless donor experience for all and optimise cross-selling opportunities where appropriate.
• Monitor progress against set KPIs, report analysis of challenge events to the Director of Fundraising and review performance to ensure effectiveness. Provide relevant data and insight to inform next steps and plans for future growth.

Community Fundraising:

• Work with the Director of Fundraising to devise and implement an annual fundraising plan for community fundraising.
• Work with the Regional Fundraising Managers to maximise opportunities for Community fundraising in the areas we work in.
• Steward all community fundraising activities in England, ensuring our supporters have all the information and materials they need to make their events a success.
• Proactively seek new community partnership opportunities. Liaise with relevant members of staff to attend new business meetings and write compelling cases for support to win local community partnerships.

Other:

• Deliver safe fundraising events and activities ensuring the charity always operates within legal requirements and best practice. Ensure risk assessments are completed on events.
• Be willing and flexible to work outside of office hours to attend events, when necessary. Must be willing to travel around the UK on occasions to attend fundraising events and activities.
• Foster effective and productive relationships with key stakeholders including Corporate Social Responsibility Managers, Chairs & Trusties, senior volunteers and event coordinators.
• Represent the Charity’s Mission by speaking passionately about the charity to donors, and delivering presentations and talks on occasions, inspiring them to join in our mission to make a difference.
• Proactively seek out new opportunities for the charity to grow our income.
• Always work to collaborate across teams to enhance fundraising efforts and strengthen donor engagement.
• Assist in developing fundraising strategies and contribute innovative ideas.

ABOUT YOU

Knowledge & Experience:

• Fundraising Expertise: A proven track record of achieving financial targets through fundraising activities, ideally in mass participation and/or special events.
• Relationship Management: Demonstrable experience in building and nurturing strong relationships with a wide variety of individuals – ranging from community fundraisers to senior volunteers or senior-level corporate executives – to drive engagement and income. Skilled in identifying, establishing, and retaining new supporters, with a focus on effective supporter care and stewardship.
• Digital Proficiency : Strong working knowledge of CRM systems and relevant digital platforms to manage supporter data, track engagement, and enhance communication strategies. Experience using digital tools to streamline processes and optimise fundraising outcomes.
• Fundraising legalities and health and safety . Demonstrable understanding of Fundraising legalities and requirements to hosting a safe fundraising event for all. Excellent understanding of GDPR and integrity in data handling and management.

Skills :

• Communication: Excellent written and verbal skills to recruit and retain supporters, with experience in creating engaging presentations and delivering public speeches to diverse audiences.
• Teamwork and Independence: Confident and self-motivated, able to work autonomously and as part of a multi-disciplinary team, with strong interpersonal skills.
• Strategic Thinking & Creativity: Able to translate strategic aims into plans, with strong research and problem-solving abilities. Quick to identify and act on new opportunities.
• Organisation: Strong planning and organisational skills, able to manage multiple priorities and maintain attention to detail.

TERMS OF APPOINTMENT

• This is an interim role, for 12 months from January 2025.
• The salary is £30,000 – 32,000 depending on experience.
• You will get 25 days annual leave per year plus UK National Holidays. Also, we give any normal working days between Christmas and New Year as additional holidays.
• Reasonable flexible working arrangement offered, but you must have the ability to work outside of core hours and travel across the UK when necessary.

HOW TO APPLY

Please send a current CV (no more than three sides) and a separate covering letter (no more than two sides of A4). Express in your covering letter what makes you the right person for this role at School of Hard Knocks. Please send these as separate documents – attached to an email to