Head of Fundraising and Partnerships

The Harris Federation is a leading education charity with 51 primary and secondary academies across London and Essex. We now educate one in 40 school children in London and we are widely recognised as a force for social mobility.

Due to our size and continued growth, we have a brand new and exciting position for an experienced fundraiser to join our Head Office central team as Head of Fundraising and Partnerships. The successful candidate will be responsible for creating and delivering the Federation's fundraising strategy and will establish a fundraising team as we enter a new, ambitious phase of fundraising and develop our activities to increase income for the Harris Federation and its academies.

Reporting to the Chief Executive, you will work closely with the Federation Board, Governors, Principals and colleagues from across the Federation to help raise funds which can enhance the opportunities for young people in our academies.

We are looking for an individual who has proven experience in securing donations, developing and sustaining partnerships, and has the ability to significantly increase funding for the Federation over the next 2-3 years.

About Us

Our founder, Chairman and sponsor of the Harris Federation, Lord Harris of Peckham, opened our first school in 1990. We now have over 5,000 staff and educate some 40,000 young people, and closing the gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers has always been a core mission.

We have, over the past thirty years, implemented ideas and initiatives that have transformed the opportunities of pupils from working class and disadvantaged backgrounds. We are immensely proud of the role that our alumni are now beginning to play in the world and of what we believe our current generation of pupils will go on to achieve.

Main Areas of Responsibility

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who can create and manage a robust pipeline of prospects to grow the Federation's fundraising base. We are interested to hear from those who have significant experience of major gift fundraising and an excellent track record of building and nurturing new relationships, producing compelling appeal documents, securing major gifts, and managing long-term philanthropic supporter relationships.

As Head of Fundraising and Partnerships, you will develop and deliver a sustainable, long-term fundraising strategy which generates an income to help support key initiatives, programmes and schemes within our academies. You will maximise opportunities from existing relationships, fundraising activities and a variety of fundraising channels to help increase value and contributions from donors.

The successful candidate will:

• Create and deliver a compelling and innovative fundraising strategy for the Federation and establish a small fundraising team
• Maintain the network of existing donors and develop relationships and reputation
• Identify and build a portfolio of donors and build long-term, sustainable relationships
• Develop ideas for compelling funding proposals working closely with the CEO and other relevant colleagues across the Federation.
• Act as the charity expert on areas of best practice and legislation and adapting processes where required
• Manage and develop the data held across fundraising, producing regular reporting on activity and ROI, adapting plans as required
• Organise events, promotional activities and meetings with potential donors to raise awareness and nurture relationships

Qualifications & Experience

We are looking for a creative and dynamic leader who can create and deliver a diverse fundraising strategy that can generate income from a broad range of sources. The successful post holder would be someone with:

• Proven experience of working in fundraising and of developing and sustaining partnerships, ideally in the third sector
• Substantial fundraising experience at a senior level, excellent interpersonal and relationship development abilities, and expertise in marketing, digital and direct fundraising
• Leadership and management experience within a fundraising team or similar environment.
• Excellent and confident communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to network at all levels.
• Experience at developing and maintaining a fundraising strategy and annual fundraising business plan, and ensuring successful implementation.
• Promoting the development of the fundraising programme to stakeholders
• Track record in delivering significant income through strong relationship management
• Experience of building effective relationships with individuals in helping solicit support from Charitable Trusts and Grant making bodies.
• Record of effective fundraising in meeting or exceeding income targets
• Ability to manage complexity, ambiguity and uncertainty whilst remaining focussed on achieving the fundraising business objectives
• At least 10 years’ experience of charity fundraising
• Experience of personally soliciting major individual donations and grants from trusts.
• Experience of working closely with senior colleagues, philanthropists and business people.
• Excellent analytic, written, verbal communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills.

Next Steps

If you would like to arrange an informal and confidential conversation with Sir Dan Moynihan, CEO, please contact Harry Bond, Head of Talent, via e-mail: harry.bond@harrisfederation.org.uk

Before applying, please download the Job Pack for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification. You will need this when completing your application.

Rewards & Benefits

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. As a large, successful group of academies, we have the size and scope to be far more than the sum of our parts.

We look for talented individuals who share our vision for creating exceptional places of learning, and are committed to ensuring that every child in London has access to the best possible education.

In addition to the opportunities for career progression, training and development, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme, a Wellbeing Cash Plan and many other benefits.

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed for all applicants. Before applying, please review our Policy Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders.

Equal Opportunities

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

As a provider of employment and education, we value the diversity of our staff and students, and all our staff are equally valued and respected. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment for our students and staff.