Grants & Community Fundraiser

About Wicksteed Park

Wicksteed Charitable Trust owns and cares for Wicksteed Park, a unique urban park in Kettering, Northamptonshire, which offers a countryside experience to local people and beyond. The Park was founded in 1921 by Charles Wicksteed and offers over 25 rides, 281 acres of parkland, playgrounds, and walking trails, catering to all ages. The Park also hosts events including live entertainment and workshops, with venues available for weddings and parties. Entry to the parkland is free, making it an ideal destination for families and nature lovers to enjoy year-round.

Role Outline

Engaging with our local community is essential to the success of fundraising at Wicksteed Charitable Trust, ensuring that Wicksteed Park is here for future generations to enjoy. As Grants and Community Fundraiser you will work within our small, newly established Fundraising team delivering engagement activity to maximise income from the local community as well as researching and developing a Trusts and Foundations income pipeline.

The ideal candidate will have previous fundraising, trust fundraising experience or relevant transferable experience, with strong communication and relationship building skills.

This is a full-time position on a temporary contract for an initial period of two years, with potential to become a permanent position. Wicksteed Charitable Trusts operates a 40-hour working week, primarily based onsite. Consideration will be given to requests for flexible working.

Salary: £29,000 per annum

With thanks to the players, this role is initially funded under The National Lottery Heritage Fund Grant: Securing a Sustainable Future for the Home of Children's Play.

Key Role Responsibilities

Our values shape how we do things at Wicksteed Park. By using our values framework to define our job descriptions we can see how each role contributes to the Group’s success.

Value

Responsibility – Key Performance Area

Customer

·     Research and identify new sources of funding to grow a pipeline of prospective trusts, foundations, and institutions.

·     Write compelling applications and bespoke funding proposals to secure grants.

·     Create and maintain grant systems, collate information, and write reports according to funders requirements.

·     Ensure all supporter/donor/grantor approaches, contacts and donations are effectively recorded and thanked appropriately.

·     Embrace the Trust’s mission to raise donations, grants, and other philanthropic funds to support the long-term sustainability of the Park.

·     Support in creating and delivering a supporter journey and annual stewardship programme. Research, identify, approach, and manage new corporate community and individual contacts to secure short- and long-term partnerships.

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Community

·      Understand community-based fundraising trends.

·      Actively promote customer events and drive supporter engagement with our heritage.

·      Support team in delivering and attending events with a focus on supporter engagement and maximising fundraising.

·      Develop networks with local supporters, suppliers, and contacts to benefit the organisation.

Collaboration

·      Support the production and analysis of fundraising data to inform income targets and financial plans.

·      Proactively work with teams across the organisation to support income generation and engagement.

·      Use strong problem solving, organisational and planning skills to meet deadlines in a dynamic environment.

·      Work closely with the marketing team to drive creativity and storytelling in fundraising strategies.

Creativity

·      Champion innovation and continued improvement at a team level.

·      Identify new sources of funding and sponsors.

·      Listen to others and share ideas onimprovements. Identify opportunities to implement changes to strengthen our vision and values.

·      Work with the business to facilitate change. Manage and champion change in your work areas.

Reports to: Head of Fundraising

Person Specification

Essential

·      Previous experience in a fundraising or grants role or other relevant transferable skills and experience.

·      Highly effective communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to build strong relationships with donors, funders, local service providers and volunteers.

·      Ability to work flexibly in line with the organisation’s requirements.

·      Strong time management skills to work and thrive under pressure and maintain accuracy whilst meeting tight and relevant deadlines.

·      Strong attention to detail with excellent organisational skills.

·      Extensive knowledge of the Microsoft suite to include Excel skills.

Desirable

·      Excellent communication skills to inspire supporters to bring the charitable cause to life.

·      Ability to successfully adapt to changing demands and conditions within an environment of change and growth.

·      Experience of managing multiple priorities simultaneously while still providing the highest level of customer care to all supporters.

This role profile is not exhaustive and may be subject to change to meet the operational needs of the organisation.