Donation Processing Team Manager

Context and Background

The NSPCC's mission is to end cruelty to children. Every childhood is worth fighting for. This is our belief. We all share it. And it drives our Income Generation team to get out there and bring in the funds we need to protect children and prevent abuse.

We’ve been here for children for over 100 years. From our campaigns to our services- we strive to make a difference in everything we do. Between 2016 and 2021, we’ve helped make 6.6 million children safer from abuse.

Within the Income Generation Directorate our aim is to maximise resources for the NSPCC’s mission by raising funds, providing the best possible supporter experience, and building long-term relationships between donors and our cause.

To continue to deliver our mission we rely on the fundraising support of people across the UK for 90% of our annual income. We are looking to significantly grow our income in new and innovative ways. To achieve this growth, we need the very best team in place to deliver to ambitious targets.

The Donation Processing Team Manager is responsible for providing strategic leadership and oversight to the donation processing function within the NSPCC. This role involves developing and implementing strategic plans for the team and leading projects to evolve and develop donation processing practices in line with Income Generation Directorates strategic direction.

Additionally, this role involves close collaboration with the finance and fundraising teams to ensure seamless donation processing and accurate financial reporting. Central to the role is fostering a culture of continuous improvement and ensuing compliance with the legal regulations associated with not-for-profit fundraising

Working arrangements regarding hybrid working are flexible however, the Donation Processing Team is based in London so regular travel to London would be required. 

Job purpose

To oversee the processing of all donations to NSPCC, as well as take the lead on Gift Aid for the organisation and the operational management of our third-party response handling and fulfilment agency.

1.  This role involves managing the operations of the donation processing team of 9 staff and ensuring their work is carried out accurately and efficiently.
2.   The role will be responsible for ensuring the work of the team is compliant with relevant regulations, internal policies/procedures and best practice in donation processing.
3. The post holder will foster close working relationships with the finance and data teams, as well fundraising managers to ensure the team continue to evolve to meet the needs of an ever-changing fundraising landscape.
4. The role will play a key role in modernising existing practices, setting up new processes and managing change, as we transition to a new CRM database and there is increased organisational focus on ensuring supporter experience is at the centre of what we do.

This role would suit candidates with a passion for creating collaborative working environments, with interest in the nature of charitable giving and a background in financial administration, fundraising finance, or charity supporter services. 

Key relationships - Internal

• Head of Planning, Performance and Processing
• Line management of the Donation Processing Team Leaders and Response and Fulfilment Lead
• Senior Fundraising Managers across the directorate
• Finance and Technology Business Partners
• Compliance Manager

Key relationships - External

• Any key suppliers

Main duties and responsibilities

1.     Managing the Operations of the Donation Processing Team:

• Supervise and support a team of 9 staff members, ensuring their tasks are completed accurately and in line with SLAs.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and provide feedback to team members.
• Develop and implement training programs to enhance team skills and knowledge.
• Monitor daily operations and address any issues or bottlenecks promptly.
•  Ensure the team meets all deadlines and performance targets.

2.     Ensuring Compliance with Regulations and Best Practices:

• Stay updated on relevant legal regulations and best practices in donation processing.
• Develop and enforce internal policies and procedures to ensure compliance.
• Conduct regular audits to verify adherence to regulations and internal standards.
•  Address any compliance issues or discrepancies promptly and effectively.

3.     Fostering Close Working Relationships with Other Teams:

• Collaborate with the finance team to ensure accurate financial reporting and reconciliation of donations.
• Work closely with the data team to maintain accurate and up-to-date donor records.
• Facilitate regular meetings and communication between the donation processing team and other teams.
• Identify opportunities for cross-departmental collaboration and process improvements.

4.  Evolving Processes and Managing Change:

• Lead the development and implementation of new processes and ways of working.
• Manage the transition to a new CRM database, ensuring minimal disruption to operations.
• Monitor the effectiveness of new processes and make adjustments as needed.
• Communicate changes clearly and effectively to all stakeholders

Responsibilities for all Staff within the Incomer Generation Directorate

• A commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

Person specification

1. Experience with processing a large volume of donations for a big, complex non-profit.
2. Proven ability to manage, coach, and develop high-performing service delivery teams in a collaborative environment.
3. Strong knowledge of legal regulations for non-profit fundraising, including gift aid, and best practices in donation processing.
4. Ability to turn strategic vision into actionable plans and adapt quickly to new opportunities and changing priorities.
5. Experience modernising administration systems.
6.  Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with creative solutions for complex issues.
7. Proven ability to lead and manage projects from inception to completion, ensuring they are delivered on time and within scope
8.  Experienced in managing change within an organization, including identifying areas for improvement, developing strategies to implement changes, and ensuring smooth transitions.
9.  Ability to maintain positive, productive relationships with diverse stakeholders.
10. Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to work in a fast-paced environment.
11. Experience with fundraising CRMs and Microsoft Office, especially Excel; SQL database experience is a plus.
12.  Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills.

Safer Recruitment

As an organisation, we are committed to creating and fostering a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children and adults at risk.

Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and thorough process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all persons appointed are suitable to work with our children and adults.

The recruitment and selection of our people will be conducted in a professional, timely and responsive manner and in compliance with current employment legislation, and relevant safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance.

Our principles:

• Always seek to recruit the best candidate for the role based on merit including their skills, experience, motivation and competencies. Our robust recruitment and selection process should ensure the identification of the person best suited to the role and the organisation.
• Committed to diversity and equality of opportunity and will interview all applicants (internal and external) who self-declare at application as having a disability and who meet the minimum requirements in the person specification of the vacancy they are applying for.
•  We will make reasonable adjustments at all stages of the recruitment process in order to enable successful candidates who declare disabilities to start working or volunteering their time with us.
• Any current member of staff or volunteer who wishes to apply for vacancies and is suitably qualified will be considered and addressed fairly and objectively based on their merit.
• As an organisation committed to safeguarding, we will ensure all under 18’s joining the organisation will have ongoing risk assessments to ensure their role and activities are safe and appropriate.
•  All documentation relating to candidates will be treated confidentially in accordance with the GDPR legislation.