Major Gifts Manager

This new role will identify, cultivate and steward long-term relationships with high-net-worth individuals to secure income for the charity. Hybrid working with 2 days per week from the London Bridge office.

Hours: Full-time (35 hours per week) - open to discussing reduced hours

Term: Permanent

Whizz Kidz: The facts

Over 75,000 young people aren’t getting the wheelchair or support that fully meets their needs. Without the ability to be independent, young wheelchair users are restricted in their ability to socialise and participate in society. We’re here to change that. As the UK’s leading charity for young wheelchair users (9 months - 25 years old), we empower young people by providing the wheelchairs, equipment, support and confidence-building experiences they need, and campaigning for a more inclusive society. Our vision is a society in which every young wheelchair user is mobile, enabled and included.

Our values: We are young people focused, ambitious, collaborative and inclusive.

Job summary

It’s an exciting time to join Whizz Kidz as we embark on an ambitious organisational strategy for the next three years. Major Gifts fundraising is relatively new to the charity and has seen great success in the last year, bringing on many new major donors and a growing prospect pipeline. This new role will work closely with the Head of Major Gifts and Special Events to identify, cultivate and steward long-term relationships with high-net-worth individuals to secure income for the charity. The role will focus on growing the number of major donors to Whizz Kidz, helping to deliver sustainable, multi-year income in support of our strategy.

To achieve this, you will take a proactive, relationship-led approach to manage your own portfolio of donors as well as a prospect pipeline, working closely with colleagues across the organisation to develop compelling cases for support.

The person

As the Whizz Kidz Major Gifts Manager, you will be expected to get to the heart of the organisation, understand our ambitions and use your passion, insight and fundraising expertise to identify and secure significant support from high-net-worth individuals. You will have experience of developing and managing relationships with high-value donors and prospects, understand what motivates philanthropic giving and know how to successfully cultivate, solicit and steward major donors. You will be confident making financial asks, skilled at building strong relationships and able to adapt your approach to a wide range of individuals. You will have strong written and verbal communication skills and be comfortable stewarding donors and making financial asks. You will play an active role within the wider Fundraising and Communications team, contributing to a positive, collaborative culture, increasing brand awareness and unlocking vital income to create lasting change for young wheelchair users and their families.

Key accountabilities

• A key role within the Major Gifts team, focused on generating long-term, sustainable income (restricted and unrestricted) from high-net-worth individuals.
• Develop and manage a portfolio of existing major donors and prospects, delivering tailored cultivation, solicitation and stewardship plans.
• Proactively identify, research and qualify new major donor prospects, securing face-to-face meetings and long-term support.
• Create and deliver compelling, personalised cases for support and proposals aligned with Whizz Kidz’s strategic priorities.
• Assist the Head of Major Gifts and Special Events with significant philanthropic partnerships and donors in their portfolio.
• Accountable for personal financial targets, working closely with the Head of Major Gifts and Special Events to monitor income against targets.
• Work collaboratively with senior internal and external stakeholders to support donor cultivation, introductions and stewardship where appropriate.
• Build strong internal relationships across the charity, proactively engaging colleagues to gather insight, impact reporting and stories to support donor engagement.
• Work with the Finance Team to ensure accurate budgets are created for proposals and that donations are correctly coded and used in line with donor intent.
• Take responsibility for timely and accurate recording of prospects, actions and updates on database as well as other appropriate administrative tasks.
• Ensure all fundraising activity complies with fundraising best practice and the fundraising regulator.

The post holder will also:

• Work within all policies, procedures and budgets set by Whizz Kidz.
• Act at all times in the best interest of Whizz Kidz.
• Form effective working relationships with all colleagues, members, volunteers and outside organisations as appropriate.
• Take responsibility for ensuring that the policies and procedures relating to Health & Safety in the workplace are adhered to at all times.
• Respect the confidentiality of data stored electronically and by other means in line with the Data Protection Act.
• Not disclose to an unauthorised person any confidential information acquired through official duties unless they have received official permission to do so.

The above list is not exclusive or exhaustive and the post holder will be required to undertake such duties as may reasonably be expected within the scope and job rank of the post.

Please note: This post is subject to a Basic level DBS Disclosure, which will be sought prior to the confirmation of a job offer.

Person specification

Skills and knowledge

• Strong influencing and negotiation skills, with confidence making significant financial asks.
• Excellent written communication skills, with the ability to produce compelling, tailored proposals and donor reports.
• Strong verbal communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships at all levels.
• Ability to prioritise a varied workload, work calmly under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Proactive, self-motivated and able to work independently as well as collaboratively.
• Passionate about creating positive change for young wheelchair users.
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Good computer literacy including fundraising databases.

Experience

• Experience of operating successfully in a Major Gifts fundraising role.
• Demonstrable success securing donations from high-net-worth individuals.
• Strong experience of prospect and donor cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.
• Experience of managing own major gifts portfolio of donors and a prospect pipeline.
• Confident engaging senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience of producing high-quality written proposals and donor communications.
• Previous experience using fundraising databases to track a prospect pipeline.
• Aligns with Whizz Kidz values – young people focused, ambitious, inclusive and collaborative.
• Passionate about supporting young wheelchair users and driving societal change.
• Self-motivated, curious and a creative problem solver.
• High level of integrity, discretion and professionalism.
• Strong listening skills, eager to learn and committed to high standards.
• Excellent attention to detail and pride in delivering quality work.

Apply Now

Please note: only candidates successful in obtaining an interview will be contacted. We are committed to achieving equal opportunities in employment. Please let us know whether you require any reasonable adjustments for application or interview.