Major Gifts Fundraising Manager in Newark

Permanent, Full Time (35 hours per week)

Office facilities are available at our Newark office at The Kiln, Waterside, Mather Road, Newark, NG24 1WT for those within easy travelling distance. There is a requirement to attend our Newark Office on a monthly basis.

Closing date for applications: 6 December 2026

First interview: 6 & 7 January 2027 (Online)

Second interview: 12 January 2027 (Online)

About Us

The Wildlife Trusts are a grassroots movement of people from a wide range of backgrounds and all walks of life, who believe that we need nature and nature needs us. We have more than 945,000 members, over 33,000 volunteers, 4,100 staff and 600 trustees. There are 46 individual Wildlife Trusts, each of which is a place-based independent charity with its own legal identity, formed by groups of people getting together and working with others to make a positive difference to wildlife and future generations, starting where they live and work.

Every Wildlife Trust is part of The Wildlife Trusts federation and a corporate member of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, a registered charity in its own right founded in 1912 and one of the founding members of IUCN – the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Taken together this federation of 47 charities is known as The Wildlife Trusts.

The next few years will be critical in determining what kind of world we all live in. We need to urgently reverse the loss of wildlife and put nature into recovery at scale if we are to prevent climate and ecological disaster. We recognise that this will require big, bold changes in the way The Wildlife Trusts work, not least in how we mobilise others and support them to organise within their own communities.

About You

An exciting opportunity to manage and develop our Major Gifts team, helping to grow transformational philanthropic support for nature. Are you an experienced major donor fundraiser with a passion for building meaningful philanthropic relationships with individuals that deliver lasting impact for nature?

The Wildlife Trusts are seeking an inspiring and experienced Major Gifts Fundraising Manager to lead and support our Major Gifts team, helping to secure transformational support from high-net-worth individuals and philanthropists. You will play a key role in delivering our major gifts fundraising strategy, managing significant donor relationships and supporting a talented team to achieve ambitious income targets.

You will take responsibility for developing and growing a network of major donors, identifying new

opportunities for philanthropic investment and building long-term partnerships that deliver significant impact for nature recovery across the UK.

Working closely with the Head of Major Gifts, senior leaders, trustees and colleagues across The Wildlife Trusts Federation, you will help create compelling opportunities for donors to support our work and deepen their engagement with our mission. You will also champion knowledge sharing and best practice across the Federation’s major donor fundraising community, helping to strengthen capability, collaboration and fundraising success across the network.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to combine relationship fundraising, leadership and strategic thinking in support of one of the UK’s most respected environmental movements.

We are looking for an experienced and ambitious Major Gifts Fundraising Manager with a proven track record of securing high-value philanthropic support and building meaningful, long-term donor relationships.

You will be an effective and supportive people manager, able to set clear priorities, develop and motivate others and create a collaborative environment in which your team can thrive. Working closely with the Head of Major Gifts, you will help translate strategic priorities into effective fundraising activity, overseeing donor pipelines and supporting the team to achieve ambitious income targets.

You will bring sound judgement and strong decision-making skills, balancing opportunities, risks and competing priorities to maximise fundraising impact. You will be proactive, innovative and self-motivated, taking ownership of opportunities and identifying new approaches to donor engagement, stewardship and solicitation. Alongside leading and developing others, you will share knowledge and best practice to strengthen major donor fundraising capability across The Wildlife Trusts Federation.

You will also be a confident and compelling communicator, able to build trusted relationships with high-net-worth supporters, senior leaders and colleagues, and translate the impact of our work into inspiring cases for support. Alongside leading and developing the team, you will bring your own major gifts experience to key donor relationships, supporting high-quality cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.

You will be comfortable using data, CRM systems and performance measures to understand progress and inform decisions, with a commitment to good fundraising practice and continuous improvement.

Most importantly, you will share our passion for nature’s recovery and be motivated by the opportunity to help grow philanthropic support for The Wildlife Trusts’ work tackling the nature and climate emergencies.

Our Culture

At RSWT, people are at the heart of everything we do, we are committed to promoting positive wellbeing, supporting our colleagues to grow, make a meaningful contribution and help deliver greater impact for nature, climate and communities.

Through learning, development and collaboration, we aim to foster an inclusive, supportive and values-led culture where colleagues feel confident to share ideas, contribute their perspectives, challenge constructively and learn from experience. We are committed to providing a safe, respectful and inclusive environment and maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination, harassment (including sexual harassment) or abuse. This extends to all interactions with our employees by third parties, including clients, contractors, suppliers and visitors.

We encourage everyone to bring their authentic selves to work and to feel comfortable and confident in their working environment. Whether working from home, in the office, outdoors or in the community with key stakeholders, we trust colleagues to use their judgement and managers’ guidance to dress appropriately reflecting our values and professionalism.

Learning and Development

At RSWT, we believe that learning and development are essential to helping people thrive, grow and make a real impact. From a supportive induction that helps you feel welcomed from day one, to formal qualifications, mentoring opportunities and access to high-quality learning from across The Wildlife Trusts, we’ll support your development in a way which works best for you. You can explore new skills through our learning platform - WildLearn, join colleagues from across the federation through Wild About Learning external training, take part in Communities of Practice or stretch yourself through cross-team projects and new challenges. We’ll also support you to share your expertise and build connections with colleagues from across the Federation. Whether you learn best through training, collaboration, hands-on experience or by developing others, you’ll find a wide range of opportunities to grow your knowledge, share your skills and build your confidence.

Safeguarding

Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts take our Safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously and are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk. Please click here to read our commitment statement. For applicable roles, applicants must be willing to undergo checks with past employers and Disclosure and Barring Service checks at the eligible level.

The Wildlife Trusts embrace passion, respect, trust, integrity, pragmatic activism, and strength in diversity. We are passionate in promoting our aims, and we pride ourselves on being inclusive. We strongly encourage applications from people who are underrepresented within our sector, including those from minority backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creating a movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities.

Disability Confident Scheme

At Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts we are committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming recruitment experience for all applicants. Applicants with disabilities will be considered for the next stage of the selection process should they meet all the minimum criteria for the role outlined in the person specification detailed as essential criteria in the recruitment pack. As part of our Disability Confident Scheme, RSWT offers an interview to a fair and proportionate number of applicants with disabilities and therefore not all applicants with disabilities would be entitled to an interview as they must still satisfy the minimum requirements for the job. This commitment is designed to help reduce barriers and promote equal opportunity. We actively work to remove barriers throughout the recruitment journey and are dedicated to creating an accessible and supportive recruitment experience by offering reasonable adjustments at every stage of the recruitment process, as well as within the workplace. If you would benefit from any adjustments to support you during your application or interview process, please let us know and we will be pleased to put the appropriate support in place.

Levelling the Field Pledge

Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts are committed to increasing the diversity of its staff through its Levelling the Field recruitment pledge. We strive to ensure a fair and welcoming recruitment process for all applicants, encouraging those from ethnic minority backgrounds to apply. Our pledge underlines our determination to foster diversity and equal opportunities within our organisation. We particularly encourage applications from people who are underrepresented within our sector. Applicants from ethnic minority backgrounds, will be considered for the next stage of the selection process should they meet all the minimum criteria for the role outlined in the person specification detailed as essential criteria in the recruitment pack. RSWT offers an interview to a fair and proportionate number of applicants of ethnic minority background and therefore not all applicants of ethnic minority would be entitled to an interview.

Use of AI

Please be aware we may not accept applications if we have reason to believe they have been wholly produced using generative AI tools.

We need nature and it needs us. We’re here to make the world wilder and make nature part of life, for everyone. We’re helping to make life better – for wildlife, for people, and for future generations.

The Wildlife Trusts are a grassroots movement of 870,000 members, 38,000 volunteers, and 2,800 staff across the UK. We are at an exciting moment in our 110-year history, with an ambitious new strategy in development setting out a vision of nature in recovery, with abundant, diverse wildlife and natural processes creating wilder landscapes where people and nature thrive.

Each Wildlife Trust is an independent charity formed by people getting together to make a positive difference to wildlife and future generations, starting where they live.

The next 10 years will be critical in determining what kind of world we will all live in. We need to reverse the loss of wildlife and put nature into recovery at scale as a matter of urgency if we are to prevent climate and ecological disaster. This will require big, bold changes in the way we think and operate, and the development of a strong, collaborative culture. It will require key stakeholders and the public to take action for nature’s recovery.

We want our people to be as diverse as society, so we particularly encourage applications from people who are underrepresented within our sector, including people from minority backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creating a movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities.

As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to offering an interview to anyone with a disability that meets all the essential criteria for the post. Please let us know if you require any adjustments to make our recruitment process more accessible.