Senior Philanthropy Manager - Leadership Giving

Senior Philanthropy Manager - Leadership Giving

£54,000 - £59,000 plus benefits

Reports to: Leadership Gift Lead

Directorate: Strategy & Philanthropy

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week

Location: Stratford, London Office-based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office)

Closing date: 10th April 2026.

Recruitment process: 2 stage process, 1st stage via Microsoft Teams, 2nd stage in person at our head office in Stratford.

Interview date: Second half of April

Visa sponsorship: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

Do you like getting to know people? Can you listen and connect, interpret motivations and inspire positive reactions? Are you looking for a role where your relationship-building moves us one step closer to a world free from the fear of cancer? Cancer Research UK are looking for an ambitious and proactive Senior Philanthropy Manager to join the Leadership Giving team.

This is a new post, created due to the significant opportunity for growth in securing gifts between £100,000 and £1m from HNWI in the UK and Channel Islands.

In this role you will inspire a portfolio of current and prospective major donors to make financial gifts of £100,000 - £1,000,000 and beyond. This role will also be responsible for a number of strategically important projects.

Our sector leading Philanthropy team raised c£40million last year and we have high ambitions and a clear strategy to grow. Following the launch of our 'More Research, Less Cancer' campaign in February 2024, more than ever we are keen to expand our networks and build meaningful relationships with philanthropic individuals. Our goal is to connect and collaborate, offering opportunities to support our life saving research in a tailored and impactful way.

In this senior role, you'll leverage your expertise in influencing, negotiation, and relationship-building to engage and steward a diverse network of high-value supporters. You could be from a philanthropy/fundraising background or come from a commercial role where you are used to meeting and exceeding financial KPIs. Either way, this role offers you the opportunity to use your skills and experience to have a real impact on patient outcomes.

What will you be doing?

• Manage a portfolio of prospects, donors and senior volunteers with a primary focus on raising gifts of £100,000 and beyond, with opportunity to lead on £1m+ capacity relationships
• Design and lead a number of strategically important projects to expand, cultivate and steward the pipeline, aligning with our CRUK values of Bold, Credible, Human and Together.
• Build robust and collaborative relationships to manage the supporter pipeline and deliver first class donor experiences
• Qualify prospects and utilise senior volunteer insight to develop the engagement and stewardship of the portfolio through the full cycle of giving and renewal
• Maximise the use of the CRUK engagement offer, including high value special events and inspiring research content to cultivate prospects and steward donors to an exceptional standard
• Provide regular reporting and track metrics against goals to support portfolio reviews and ensure the portfolio remains on track to deliver organisational goals
• Partner with leadership, including scientific leadership and Philanthropy colleagues to develop and implement strategies for gifts of £100,000 - £1m+ and provide guidance to senior leadership on prospect strategies
• With support from senior colleagues contribute to the fundraising strategies for Leadership Giving objectives
• Develop a strong working knowledge of CRUK, in particular our fundraising campaign priorities of Future Leaders, the Francis Crick Institute, Cancer Grand Challenges and Translation & Innovation.

What are we looking for?

• Extensive knowledge of soliciting gifts from both warm and cold prospects at the five, six and seven figure level, or transferable experience of securing new business in a commercial sales environment
• Experience of working across complex organisations, navigating ambiguity
• Proven track record of major gift fundraising in the voluntary sector or similar transferable experience gained in the commercial sector, including having met/exceeded KPIs and financial targets over a sustained period
• Proven experience of building effective long-term relationships with high level individual stakeholders and/or senior volunteers including delivering significant income from and through senior volunteers
• Excellent stakeholder management skills and ability to work with, and communicate effectively and professionally with a wide range of individuals e.g. internal colleagues, institutional leaders, external collaborators, stakeholders and donors
• Working knowledge of the principals of major gift fundraising to include identification, research, solicitation and stewardship
• Experience of raising funds for medical research desirable
• A focus on performance and targets
• Exceptional listening, writing and communication skills; an engaging and inspiring communication style, with emotional intelligence to influence and negotiate
• Flexibility to travel to meet donors, primarily in London, but also across the UK. The post-holder will likely make 4+ trips to the Channel Islands per year, often with an overnight stay.

Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.

Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination

Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism

Human: Act to have a positive impact on people

Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively

We're looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.

If you're interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we'd still love to hear from you.

What will I gain?

We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.

You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page.

How do I apply?

We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won't be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you fairly and objectively.

For more information on this career opportunity please visit our website or contact us.

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