Sporting Challenge Events Manager

Due to an exciting period of growth within CoppaFeel!’s Fundraising Team, we are looking for a Sporting Challenge Events Manager - a dynamic fundraising events professional who will grow and manage our expanding third-party challenge events portfolio.

The role of Sporting Challenge Events Manager will sit within the CoppaFeel! Challenge Events Team, in the Fundraising Department. Working with the Senior Challenge Programme Manager and the rest of the Challenge Events team, you will be expected to grow our income in line with our 3 year fundraising growth strategy.

CoppaFeel! currently has teams of participants in some of the biggest sporting events in the UK, including London Landmarks Half Marathon, Royal Parks Half Marthon, Vitality 10k and Brighton Marathon - to name but a few! As the Sporting Challenge Events Manager, you will be committed to seeking new opportunities for growth, whilst delivering a standout supporter experience for all of our challenge event participants.  

You’ll be responsible for the promotion and marketing of a range of diverse mass participation events to both warm and cold audiences, and devising engaging and inspiring stewardship journeys to ensure our participants continue to support CoppaFeel! long into the future.

You’ll need experience of managing large-scale events and raising significant income, with the ability to generate ideas and solutions. The role is very fast-paced and will require excellent attention to detail and a pragmatic approach to problem-solving. 

The job does require some evening and weekend work - although not behind the laptop! Instead you might be cheering on a team of runners from the sidelines of a marathon race, or meeting and greeting cyclists at the finish line of an epic ride.

 Therefore, please bear in mind that as part of this role, you will be expected to attend different events across the UK and may occasionally need to stay overnight. Should you be required to work weekends, you will be entitled to time off in lieu.

This is a hybrid role, with the expectation that you will attend the London office at least 2 days per week.

About CoppaFeel!

CoppaFeel! exists to educate and remind every young person in the UK that checking their boobs isn’t only fun, it could save their life. We are the first breast cancer charity in the UK to create awareness amongst young people, with the aim of instilling a new healthy habit that could one day save their life.

Duties and Responsibilities

Strategy

• Deliver the challenge event programme using your expertise to create delivery plans, budgets, and timelines, working with key stakeholders and event organisers, meeting specific financial targets and KPI’s
• Carry out horizon scanning, looking for new opportunities to grow the portfolio, and bring new supporters to CoppaFeel!
• Support the Senior Challenge Programme Manager in developing and implementing CoppaFeel!’s 3 year challenge events strategy, which looks to grow sporting event income by 40%, year on year 

Challenge Events

• Plan, market and deliver a series of existing and new challenge and mass participation events for CoppaFeel! - such as walks, runs, cycles, swims, triathlons and more! 
• Be the delivery lead for our mass challenge events, being accountable for the planning, delivery, budgets, participant stewardship, on-the-day support, evaluation and learning.
• Work in collaboration with CoppaFeel! marketing team to lead the acquisition for new challenge event participants, ensuring we grow the number of supporters year-on-year. 
• Support CoppaFeel!’s EDI strategy, collaborating with our EDI Manager to ensure our events are accessible and open to everyone. 
• Seek out new challenge event opportunities for CoppaFeel! and carry out market research to evolve our mass participation offering.
• Be accountable for supporter journeys, from registration and delivery of engagement, to on-the-day support and thanking communication. 
• Manage  our challenge event volunteers, who give their time to support CoppaFeel!. Collaborate with the volunteer team to recruit and steward volunteers, and feed into the volunteer strategy.
• Attend third-party challenge events in-person, throughout the year

General Responsibilities

• Work across teams to improve CoppaFeel! ways of working and seek out opportunities for automating or streamlining processes
• Support the Finance team with income and expenditure reconciling, along with some general finance administration. 
• Work with Challenge Events Assistant to code the back end of fundraising platforms (eg JustGiving) to ensure accurate income reporting
• Maintain event database records and ensure supporter data is kept accurate and up to date 
• Manage volunteers and fundraisers effectively, inspiring them to support CoppaFeel! long term 
• Work and collaborate across all departments of CoppaFeel! to ensure our health messaging and core values are at the heart of everything we do
• Work flexibly and sometimes remotely, with occasional work outside core hours including weekends (time off in lieu given for weekend work)
• Adhere to GDPR requirements. 
• Participate in CoppaFeel! fundraising and full team meetings.

Skills, Experience and Qualifications

Essential

• Avid experience of planning and delivering successful in-person events
• Excellent at communicating and relationship building 
• Experience of working within the charity or events sector
• Great organisation and time management skills
• Experience and understanding of donor stewardship - including high value supporters and celebrity ambassadors
• Experience of fundraising and income generation
• Very good at problem solving and taking a solutions-focused approach
• Excellent at using data and insight to drive decisions
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines successfully
• Experience in managing stakeholders and working with third-party event organisers
• Good understanding of budgeting and forecasting 

Desirable

• Experience of planning and delivering a charity’s challenge event programme
• Experience of recruiting and managing volunteers
• Knowledge of fundraising regulations and delivering best practice in relation to challenge events
• Experience of working with a fundraising database and fundraising platforms
• Experience of managing multiples projects or a variety of events
• Experience of line management
• Understanding of charity and fundraising law

At CoppaFeel! we support a diverse range of communities and we understand that diversity within our team is central and crucial to meeting the needs of the young people we exist to serve. We strongly encourage applications from Black, and people of colour, LGBTQIA+ candidates, candidates with disabilities, from men, and from those with a lived experience of cancer because we would like to increase the representation of these groups within the charity.   

We promote equality, diversity and inclusion in our workplace and make recruitment decisions by matching the charity's needs with the skills and experience of candidates, irrespective of age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. We recognise the value in encouraging a diverse range of perspectives, skills, experience and knowledge at the charity.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and we commit to offering an interview for all applicants with disabilities who meet our required criteria for the role. If you have any accessibility requirements or need any adjustments for the interview process please get in touch. 

Applications will close on 18th July at 9am,  with the aim to hold first round interviews taking place W/C 22nd July.