Trusts & Foundations Manager

Trusts & Foundations Manager
Salary: £35,000 - £40,000 per annum (pro rata for part time).
Location: London EC1Y Office with Hybrid Home Working
Work pattern: 4 – 5 days per week (28 – 35 hours per week)

About MQ Mental Health Research:

MQ is the first major charity funding mental health research. By connecting scientists with supporters, together we strive to understand mental health, improve treatments and prevent mental illness.

We champion and fund world-class research to transform the lives of everyone affected by mental illness. By connecting scientists with supporters, together we strive to understand mental health, improve treatments and prevent mental illness. Having recently launched a new 5-year strategy, MQ is at a critical point in its development.

About the Role:

As the Trusts & Foundations Manager you will be responsible for generating income from grant making trusts and foundations.

You will take the lead on seeking out new prospects and nurturing existing relationships to significantly grow income. You will achieve this by researching sources of funding, devising individually tailored applications, maintaining excellent communications with existing and potential donor trusts and foundations, delivering an agreed income target as well as growing funding from these sources.

We are happy to consider people who want to work full-time (35 hours), or four days per week (28 hours).

Here's a summary of your key responsibilities:

• Proactively identify and research new and pipeline trust, lottery and statutory fundraising opportunities and progress them to application stage.
• Developing the trust and foundation pipeline to generate new income and multiyear grants
• To lead the development of new fundraising proposals for priority fundraising projects, including potential research partnership opportunities where MQ collaborates on a joint bid with another institution
• To carry out targeted and systematic research to establish new high value prospects utilising existing networks, the MQ database, search engines and referrals
• Build long-term relationships with new and prospect trust, lottery and statutory donors, including through meetings, attendance at conferences and events, regular update calls/comms and – when possible – direct face-to-face engagement.
• Report on performance against agreed budgets and targets
• Capitalise on the expertise and networks of MQ’s senior volunteers, including working closely with MQ Trustees and other Development Team colleagues to maximise existing opportunities for introductions, including the Lord Mayor’s Appeal

About You:

This role is for you if you are an experienced trusts and foundations fundraiser, with good knowledge of the sector. You'll have demonstrable experience of securing five and six figure grants to achieve annual income targets, both through stewarding existing supporters and through researching and cultivating a pipeline of new opportunities.

You will also be skilled in understanding and translating complex information and turning it in to compelling written proposals, for grants, corporate partnerships and major donors.

We do require someone who is proactive, hardworking and results-orientated.

Essential role requirements include:

• Experience of trusts and foundation fundraising and able to demonstrate continual growth in expertise and results in this area.
• Good understanding of the trusts and foundations fundraising environment and associated processes and different types of grant making bodies.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write concise and inspiring funding applications and to make presentations.
• Creative thinker, with ability to identify funding opportunities and match them with the right trusts.
• Good interpersonal, influencing and relationship-management skills, at all levels.
• Ability to work as part of a team and spot opportunities to grow and develop relationships for the good of the organisation.

You will be driven to ensure that projects are delivered to the highest possible standards and be a sophisticated communicator with the confidence to build relationships with and inspire colleagues and donors.

Desirable Skills:

• Experience of Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge/NXT is desirable but not essential.
• Experience of using Monday[dot]com

What We're Offering You:

In return, we offer a great working experience within a friendly team. Hybrid working (in the London office Mondays and Tuesdays, with the remaining days from home). We are located near Barbican Tube.

Plus, we offer lots of generous benefits and training opportunities.

We're a Sunday Times Top Company to work for.

Benefits

• Flexible working: As a mental health charity, staff wellbeing is of paramount importance. We operate a core hours policy (10-4) to encourage flexible working and staff are mainly home based with the requirement to come into the office two days per week. A standard full-time working week is 35 hours, plus an hour for lunch breaks.
• Holidays: Annual holiday entitlement of 28 days plus bank holidays.
• Wellbeing Allowance: MQ provides an allowance of up to £1200 per annum for each employee to spend on activities that increase their wellbeing. This is paid through payroll and is taxable.
• Cycle to work scheme: An interest-free loan is available to enable employees to purchase a bike and accessories, repaid via equal deductions from the employee’s salary over 12 months.
• Employee Assistance Programme: All employees and their families have access to a 24-hour confidential advice and support line.
• Counselling: Employees have access to a number of free face-to-face sessions, via the EAP scheme.
• Pension: MQ makes contributions of 5% and employees make contributions of 3%.
• Season Ticket Loan: An interest free season ticket loan is available, repaid via equal deductions from the employee’s salary over 12 months.
• Personal Development: We value employee development and review individual training needs through our performance management system. The Head of HR also runs internal development sessions for all staff through our training programme, MQ Academy.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Closing date: Saturday 30th November 2024
Please note, we typically start interviewing within two weeks of the job advert going live. We reserve the right to close the job before the deadline based on the volume of applications, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.

We believe in equality and inclusion and we welcome job applications from everyone, provided you meet the criteria for the job.

Safer recruitment is important to us and the successful applicant will be asked to provide two references. They will also be required to complete a safeguarding self-declaration and undertake a DBS check.

No agencies please.