Head of Fundraising

100% of staff would recommend Settle as a great place to work. 95% of staff would agree that Settle is a welcoming and inclusive organisation. When young people in care turn 18, all the support they’ve relied on can fall away, literally overnight. Suddenly, they have to navigate adulthood on their own. This would be tough for any teenager, even if they could fall back on their family for help. So it’s not surprising that two out of three care-experienced young people feel unprepared to leave care. Too many still don’t get the support they need to make it safely past this cliff edge. Care leavers aged 18-21 are nine times more likely to experience homelessness than their peers. Settle exists to change this. We’re an award-winning charity, supporting care-experienced young people as they move into their first home, so they can confidently transition into independent living, avoid eviction and homelessness, and establish the foundations they need to thrive in adulthood. We are on a mission to end homelessness among care-experienced young people.

With our current Head of Fundraising leaving us to go travelling, we’re seeking someone new to help us achieve this ambition. You’ll have a lot to build on. Over the last three years, we’ve grown our income dramatically, and diversified our funder portfolio. We have strong relationships with our committed and supportive funders, underpinned by an organisation-wide commitment to fundraising. This is a crucial role for Settle, and you’ll have the support you need to excel. In 2025, we grew our fundraising team from one (this post) to three. You’ll take on the leadership of an engaged and enthusiastic team, increasingly responsible for day-to-day management of trust and foundation fundraising. As well as inspiring the team to great things, you’ll have the opportunity to develop and deepen our relationships with philanthropists and high net worth individuals. You’ll have active support and engagement from me and the Board, with regular opportunities to involve trustees in your work. As we head into future years, you’ll lead the development and delivery of our next fundraising strategy.

We’re proud of our welcoming, inclusive and collaborative culture. We’re committed to staff wellbeing, with regular socials and time away as a team, and four wellbeing days every year on top of generous annual leave. You’ll play a key leadership role in fostering this culture and shaping Settle as we grow.

If this opportunity sounds as exciting to you as it does to us, we’d love to hear from you. We are also happy to share more about our fundraising so do request this when you get in touch.

We’d love to hear from you if:

• You are passionate about making a significant contribution to our mission to end homelessness among care-experienced young people, and want to use your skills to help Settle reach more young people.
• You are an outstanding communicator, with excellent storytelling skills in person and in writing, and the ability to craft and share a compelling vision and case for support.
• You’re a strategic thinker with excellent analytical skills and the ability to translate strategy into clear decisions and action.
• You are a values-driven leader, committed to bringing out the best in your team and supporting them to stretch and develop.
• You are self-motivated and organised, with the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines, and maintain progress while responding to emerging opportunities.
• You are financially literate and able to work effectively with numbers and financial information.
• You are willing and able to support managers in other teams, cover for other members of Settle’s Senior Leadership Team when necessary, and play a wider leadership role in the organisation.
• You are dedicated to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion into all areas of your work.

EXPERIENCE NEEDED FOR THIS ROLE

ESSENTIAL

• Significant track record of raising funds from trusts and foundations.
• Experience of securing major gifts, donations or grants from high net worth individuals or family foundations.
• Experience of building and maintaining strong relationships with funders or other senior external stakeholders.
• Substantial experience of preparing funding applications and reports.
• Experience of line managing and leading high performing teams, with the ability to coach, motivate and develop others.
• Experience of developing and effectively delivering strategy.

DESIRABLE

• Knowledge of youth homelessness, the care system or other relevant issues facing young people.
• Experience of leading a growing team or contributing to organisational growth.

BENEFITS

• Scope to take real ownership of a key strategic priority in a fast-growing charity.
• Flexible working arrangements.
• 40 days paid leave per year: 25 days annual leave, 8 bank holidays, 3 days between Christmas and New Year and 4 personal wellbeing days.
• Regular 1:1s with the Chief Executive and active support of the Senior Leadership Team and Board for Settle’s fundraising strategy.
• Strong commitment to professional development with a dedicated individual training budget and a line manager dedicated to supporting your growth.
• Annual performance and pay progression reviews.
• Up to 6% pension contribution.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Employee Assistance Programme offering free therapy.
• Work phone and laptop.
• A supportive and inclusive culture with regular team social events and annual all staff away day.

MORE KEY INFO

Hours: The hours are full-time (35 hours per week) preferred, with attendance at funder events outside core hours as needed from time to time – part-time will be considered for the right candidate but we envisage at least 0.8FTE / 28 hours per week.

Location: Hybrid working between our office in London Bridge and working from home – our standard expectation is at least 2 days a week of contact time (in the office, funder meetings or events). We have a monthly in person team meeting on a Wednesday, and hold our monthly SLT meetings in person on a Tuesday.

Flexibility: Settle is committed to flexible working and will work with the successful candidate to agree mutually positive working arrangements.

HOW TO APPLY

Charlotte Wilmot at Eardley Wilmot is managing this appointment on our behalf and will be delighted to support you with your application. Please send your CV together with any questions to her directly in the first instance. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and a member of the Care Leaver Covenant. We are actively trying to increase the diversity of our workforce and we encourage applications from people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds. Please see our website for more information on our approach to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. We also guarantee an interview for care-experienced applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role because we want to increase the representation of lived experience in the team. We aim to make the interview process as accessible as possible so please do not hesitate to let Charlotte know if you require any reasonable adjustments. The closing date for the role is Friday 17 April with interviews taking place in the week commencing 27 April. We really look forward to hearing from you!