Fundraising Manager in City of London

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: St Peter’s Walworth is an inclusive and welcoming Church. We welcome all applications from a wide range of candidates in our local community and beyond. We are an inclusive organization, and we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected characteristic or social background, and we actively promote equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent, skills and potential. We are especially keen to receive applications from people who are members of communities minoritised and under-represented in the heritage sector. We are a Christian church but this role may be filled by someone of any faith or of none.

The opportunity

Supported by National Heritage Lottery Fund

This is an exceptional opportunity to be at the heart of a truly exciting heritage restoration project to restore, renew and open up to new audiences, a nationally-important building in a thriving but economically and socially challenged central London neighbourhood.

St Peter’s Walworth is Sir John Soane’s first London church and one of only four Grade 1-listed buildings in Southwark. In November 2024, the Church submitted a First-Round application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) for Development Phase funding for the “Building Beyond: Soane Reimagined” project. The request was for a First Round Pass of £3.1m and a Development Grant of £438,000. A decision was received by NLHF on 13th March 2025 and pending Permission to Start, the Development Phase is set to run for 18 months, at which point a Delivery Round application will be submitted to activate a Delivery Phase. Staff, a Design Team, a QS and specialist consultants will need to be competitively appointed to complete a list of required documents/studies for the Delivery application. Design development needs to be completed to RIBA Stage 3, planning, Faculty and consents need to be in place and all partnership funding raised or pledged. Our fundraising target is challenging – we will need to secure more than £1m. We have already engaged a consultant to develop our Fundraising Strategy and Case for Support, and that consultant will be able to work alongside the Fundraising Manager to get them off to a strong start.

The Church has excellent local networks and a strong relationship with potential donors and partners. These include Southwark Council, from whom £150,000 has already been secured. We have strong foundations to build upon but there is no doubt we have a challenge ahead of us. We would love to hear your application.

The role

We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic, resourceful and a good communicator with excellent writing skills - a competent individual who has the right experience and qualifications to manage applications for heritage funding to Trusts and Foundations and Individual Giving, and co-ordinating with the Church team to do so, and to enable and encourage individual gifts to the Church. This role presents a fantastic opportunity for the post holder to make their mark, supported by the Heritage Manager, as well as working with the project’s Fundraising Committee.

As Fundraising Manager, the successful candidate will have natural detective instincts with proven ability to seek out and secure funding. They will be able to write with flair and creativity and be able to make presentations with confidence. It will also be important to ensure that Campaign and fundraising operations at all levels are conducted in accordance with charity law including adherence to ethical gift acceptance policies and data protection laws. A solid track record of fundraising experience, working within the full spectrum of development, including cultivation, gift solicitations, stewardship, and donor recognition.

The pay for this role is £50,000 per annum or the equivalent day rate. Part-time work is considered as is home working with occasional days on site.

Key tasks

• Working closely with the Heritage Manager to identify priority areas for funding and to develop innovative and persuasive proposals aimed at extending the support of new partners
• Prepare and submit high quality funding proposals and budgets in line with funder guidelines

• Keep track of deadline and maintain accurate records, analysis and reporting of newly secured funds

• Work closely with both the Line Manager, project staff and the Church team

• Undertaking administrative tasks for the Fundraising Committee.

• Build good working relations with the Fundraising Committee, PCC members and Steering Group members

• Thank funders promptly and ensure that regular progress reports and updates are received by supporters as and when required
• Meet and engage with supporters to inspire them with St Peter’s work and potential to create change – in person and virtually

Administration

• Maintain accurate financial and funder records

• Provide regular reports to the Heritage Manager and support their work where needed
• Represent St Peter’s at relevant forums, events and seminars – in person and virtually
• Willingness and ability to travel around London and possibly outside (occasionally outside of regular office hours) to meet supporters and colleagues

Person specification

As an employer committed to Equal Opportunities, we will assess applications in line with these criteria that we consider either as being essential or desirable in this role.

Essential Criteria

• Strong identification with our mission and beliefs.

• Heritage and Charity sector experience with demonstrable success of managing relationships with trusts and foundations to secure six figure grants

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with good copy writing and proof reading ability

• Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to connect with people from all walks of life, backgrounds and cultures

• Experience of creative proposal writing combined with the ability to demonstrate clear outcomes and impact

• Experience of preparing and presenting budgets and ability to interpret charitable financial accounts
• Experience of researching, identifying and engaging new prospects

• Proven ability to form good working relations, both internally and externally with people at all levels
• Highly organised and efficient at managing own time and workload with an ability to multi-task and work on own initiative to meet objectives and tight deadlines
• Excellent IT skills with a good working knowledge of MS Office programmes

Application Instructions

• Please send a cover letter of application stating the skills and approach that you would bring to the post, along with your CV/resume (no photos) to anna.stein@stpeterswalworth.org
• Please ensure that they are sent as Word documents with the titles “your name cover letter” and “your name CV” Please put “St Peter’s Walworth Fundraising Manager” in the email subject line. Also please let us know where you saw the post advertised and indicate your availability and potential start date.
• The deadline for applications is 9am, Monday 4 August 2025 but we reserve the right to close the advertising period early and aim to interview strong candidates before the deadline. Interviews will take place online.