Philanthropy Officer

The purpose of the Philanthropy Officer role is to support with the Trust’s approach to building and developing income from philanthropic sources, including Trusts and Foundations, organisational donors, and individuals, as well as supporting the effective stewardship of our family of supporters. We are setting ambitious fundraising targets to substantially increase income for the next phase of our 2030 strategy to grow activity across the organisation and support the widest cohort of beneficiaries possible.

The Development team has secured a relatively stable income of c.£6M of income over a number of years. 22/23 was our strongest year yet with an income of £6.8M and pledges of £12.8M, and we look set to exceed this in 23/24. Philanthropy revenue accounted for just less than half of the income in 22/23 and we believe there is potential for much more as the philanthropic community continues to invest in social mobility and unlocking young people’s potential to create a fairer society where everyone can succeed no matter their background.

The Philanthropy Officer will work on a key income stream for the Sutton Trust, developing a robust pipeline of Trust and Foundation prospects and delivering high-quality account management to a portfolio of small to mid-level Trusts, Foundations, and organisational donors. The scope of the role will also include supporting the Head of Philanthropy on strategic management of our major Trust and Foundation partners and the Philanthropy function’s overall fundraising operations.

Main duties

Account Management and Individual Giving Support

• Managing a portfolio of small to mid-level Trusts, Foundations, and organisational donors, delivering impactful stewardship (e.g. programme visits, impact reporting) to meet all reporting requirements.
• Supporting the Head of Philanthropy on strategic management of our major Trust and Foundation partners, including administrative activities and data collation for reporting.
• Assisting with information gathering and writing inspiring, compelling reports and proposals to Philanthropy funders, as well as targeted donor communications.
• Working closely with the Director of Development to project manage the annual donor impact report, coordinating departmental submissions from the Senior Leadership team and working with our design agency to create a professional external report of the highest standard, in a timely manner.
• Providing general administrative support to the Philanthropy team and Director of Development, such as arranging meetings, note-taking, supporting with gift fulfilment, processing expenses, preparing gift receipts.
• Supporting the Philanthropy Manager and Head of Philanthropy on administration and maintenance of low-level online giving campaigns, including automated stewardship activation (i.e. once gifts are received, ensuring supporters are thanked appropriately and understand the impact of their support for the Trust to encourage repeat support).
• Managing the Trust’s online fundraising platforms such as JustGiving and CAF US/ Canada to enable smooth processes while ensuring new and existing regular donors are appropriately thanked and have inclination to support in the future.
• Work with colleagues across Development to support the transition of our online giving capabilities to the Trust’s website and the implementation of a low-level regular giving strategy.

New Business and Grants Fundraising

• Conducting thorough prospect research into prospective and current donors (including trusts and foundations and statutory i.e. Government contracts or grants) and supporting the team to develop a pipeline of opportunities and proposals that are attractive to the Trust’s prospects.
• Developing long-term relationships with small to mid-level Trusts, Foundations and organisational donors to secure income (£5k - £50k), for the Trust.

Fundraising Finance and Reporting

• Ensure appropriate recording and monitoring of Philanthropy relationships through Salesforce, ensuring private data is managed confidentially in line with GDPR and Data Protection Guidelines.
• Act as an ambassador for the Trust at external events, primarily with current and prospective supporters.
• Work with colleagues across Development and Finance to ensure accurate forecasting, income tracking and reporting for Philanthropic partnerships.
• Work closely with the Development team on due diligence, donor stewardship and reporting, including creating account plans.
• Stay up to date with fundraising best practice.
• Other duties as necessary from time to time.

Person Specification

We welcome applications from individuals who have experience in:

• Experience building and managing relationships to achieve a project or other goals.
• Experience managing multiple priorities and tasks to successfully achieve project or other goals.
• Excellent research skills.
• Experience presenting, writing compelling proposals, or pitching to audiences with the intent to persuade them to your point of view or secure a specific outcome.
• Knowledge of fundraising in the education and/or not-for-profit sector or can demonstrate relevant experience of philanthropy account/relationship management (desirable)
• Experience of grant fundraising, including securing and managing relationships and donations (desirable).
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to summarise information from readily available sources clearly and concisely.
• First-class interpersonal skills - a natural ambassador able to represent the Sutton Trust in a range of settings.
• Experience using CRM software (ideally Salesforce) to record funding relationships (desirable).

We are also looking for an individual who:

• Is sympathetic to the aims of the Trust and its mission to address educational disadvantage;
• Has knowledge and experience of the higher education and/or education sectors;
• Has excellent attention to detail;
• Has first-class interpersonal skills - a natural ambassador able to represent the Sutton Trust in a range of settings;
• Ability to take responsibility for a range of philanthropy fundraising activity, with support.
• Ability to prioritise when working to multiple deadlines and adapt to new tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Able to work independently and as part of a team.
• Is eligible to work in the UK (see here for information about right to work)

Terms of Appointment

• Contract: Full time, Permanent
• Salary: £31,000-£36,000
• Working location: Minimum of 2 office days per week
• Office location: The Sutton Trust, 9th Floor, Millbank Tower, 21-24 Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP. Our home working policy gives staff the option to work from home for up to 60% of the time, with approval from their line manager.
• Hours: The standard working hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and may also be required to attend events / meetings outside of their normal working hours during weekday evenings and occasionally at weekends
• DBS check may be required

Safeguarding statement

The Sutton Trust believes that a child, young person or vulnerable adult should never experience abuse of any kind. We all have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people and to keep them safe. Therefore all posts undergo a safer recruitment process, including but not limited to, disclosure of criminal records where necessary and eligibility to work in the UK. We have procedures in place to promote safeguarding and a safe culture at the Trust.

Contextual recruitment

The Trust is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity and that all applicants receive equal consideration for employment. We strongly encourage individuals from all backgrounds, including those underrepresented at present at the Trust, to apply for this role. As such we particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities, Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ and from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds. We are committed to being an inclusive and welcoming place to work and know that greater diversity will lead to even greater results for the young people we support.

We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for disabled candidates throughout our recruitment process and during employment.

We also operate contextual recruitment at the Sutton Trust. Our application process gives you the option to include information about your background, such as whether you were eligible for free school meals, whether your parents went to university, or whether you attended a state school. For more examples and information on contextual recruitment, please see our website.