Head of Fundraising & Communications in London

Overview

Bonus / OTE: Up to 10% annual performance bonus, linked to delivery against agreed income and communications targets.

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

About Us

The AVOCADO Foundation is a UK charity that operates in the UK and overseas. We are on a mission to eradicate the economic inequalities experienced by youth, entrepreneurs and non-profit organisations, from underrepresented communities. We envision a world where no one is poor because of the colour of their skin or their ethnicity.

The Role

We are seeking a strategic and delivery-focused Head of Fundraising & Communications to lead income generation and external communications at a pivotal stage of organisational growth. This role has clear accountability for delivering agreed fundraising income targets, alongside responsibility for setting and leading the organisation’s communications strategy, brand narrative and stakeholder engagement. You will translate ambition into funded activity, ensuring income, impact and messaging are tightly aligned. This is a hands-on senior leadership role, suited to someone who can both set strategy and deliver results. It is a growth role, with scope to scale in responsibility and remuneration as income performance strengthens.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver a multi-year fundraising strategy with clear annual income targets.
• Own responsibility for delivering income from trusts & foundations, corporate partnerships and strategic opportunities.
• Manage and prioritise the funding pipeline to ensure timely, high-quality submissions and strong conversion rates.
• Build, steward and convert relationships with funders and partners into secured, sustainable income.
• Track performance against income targets and report regularly to the CEO and Trustees.
• Note: day-to-day delivery of individual giving, memberships and trading activity sits with the Sales & Marketing Officer, under this role’s strategic direction.

Communications & Brand Leadership

• Set and deliver the organisation’s communications strategy in support of fundraising and growth objectives.
• Ensure all external messaging strengthens credibility, visibility and funder confidence.
• Act as senior editorial lead on campaigns, funding narratives and organisational messaging.

Campaigns, Marketing & Audience Growth

• Lead integrated fundraising and communications campaigns with defined performance targets.
• Ensure marketing activity directly supports income delivery, engagement and reputation-building.
• Use insight, impact data and performance metrics to refine campaigns and improve results over time.

Leadership, Impact & Accountability

• Line manage the Sales & Marketing Officer, Social & Digital Comms Officer, and Data & Impact Analyst, setting clear objectives and delivery expectations.
• Ensure high-quality impact data, learning and reporting underpin fundraising, communications and bids.
• Work closely with Finance, Programmes and Operations to ensure income delivery is realistic, evidence-led and aligned to organisational priorities.
• Contribute to SLT decision-making, organisational planning and performance reviews.

Governance & Standards

• Ensure fundraising and communications activity complies with Charity Commission guidance, data protection requirements and ethical fundraising standards.

Working Conditions

This is a hybrid role based in The AVOCADO Foundation’s London office as required, and from home. Regular attendance at meetings is expected. Evening and occasional weekend work will be required.

The job description may be updated from time to time with other duties and responsibilities to meet the evolving needs of the organisation. It is not intended to be rigid or inflexible but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which you are expected to work.

The Charity operates an entire shutdown each year in August and December and requires all employees to take annual leave to cover this period. This period is not in addition to annual leave entitlement, so employees need to retain sufficient annual leave to cover this period. It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure that sufficient annual leave entitlement remains each year available for this period. Employees who do not have sufficient entitlement remaining should speak to their line manager about other available options.

Ready to Make an Impact?

Join us in making a huge difference in the lives of underrepresented groups. Take the first step towards an exciting and rewarding career with The AVOCADO Foundation. We can’t wait to hear from you! Join us at The AVOCADO Foundation and become part of a team of #WorldChangers dedicated to creating lasting positive impact.