Director of Philanthropy & Development

Crisis; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel season ticket loans

Pension scheme with employer 8.5%

28 days’ annual leave (pro rata)

Flexible working around core hours 10:

Wellbeing Leave

Job summary

Crisis is seeking an exceptional Director of Philanthropy and Development to lead high-value fundraising across major gifts, trusts and foundations, and partnerships. You will shape a ten-year capital campaign to buy homes for people experiencing homelessness and build a high-performing leadership team to deliver ambitious income targets.

You will work with Trustees, the Executive Leadership Team and colleagues across directorates to create an equitable, ethical fundraising programme and

Qualifications

• Senior fundraising leader with significant experience across philanthropy, major giving and trusts and foundations, and a proven record of designing and delivering multi-million-pound income strategies including capital appeals.
• An accomplished relationship-builder who has personally secured six and seven-figure gifts, and who operates with credibility and ease alongside philanthropists, Trustees and senior partners.
• Experienced in leading large-scale, transformational fundraising campaigns from vision through to delivery, mobilising Trustees, ambassadors and senior volunteers along the way.
• A strategic, commercially minded leader who turns data, insight and market intelligence into confident decisions, robust income forecasts and well-managed budgets.
• An inspiring people leader who develops high-performing teams and the leaders of tomorrow, and who thrives when leading through complexity and change.
• An influential senior voice who works effectively with Executive Teams and Boards, with an up-to-date grasp of fundraising regulation, best practice and sector trends.

Responsibilities

• Lead major gifts fundraising strategy and growth, including capital campaigns and strategic partnerships.
• Personally cultivate and secure six and seven-figure gifts from philanthropists and foundations, representing Crisis in key rooms.

Skills

Senior fundraising leadership

Relationship-building

Major gifts experience

Campaign leadership

Strategic budgeting

People leadership

Job description

Crisis is the national charity for people experiencing homelessness. We have embarked on our 10-year strategy for ending homelessness. We know it is not inevitable. We know together we can end it.

Location: Based London office, E1 with flexible homeworking in line with Crisis’ Hybrid Working Policy. There will be regular travel across London and the UK.

Hours: Full time (35 hours per week) however we are open to flexible working arrangements including compressed hours or working a minimum of 0.8FTE (28 hours per week)

About the role

This is a defining moment for Crisis. We are making a significant investment in high-value fundraising, and we are looking for an exceptional Director of Philanthropy and Development to lead it. Reporting to the Executive Director of Brand, Marketing and Fundraising (BMF), you will set the vision, strategy and ambition for our major gifts, trusts and foundations, statutory and strategic partnership income. You will be the architect of a new philanthropic model that helps power one of the most ambitious undertakings in our history: a ten-year capital campaign to buy homes for people experiencing homelessness. This is a rare opportunity to be bold, to shape transformational campaigns, open new sources of support and build a fundraising programme equal to the scale of what we know is possible.

You will lead from the front, personally cultivating and securing six and seven-figure gifts from philanthropists, foundations and strategic funders, and representing Crisis in the rooms where it matters most. Just as importantly, you will build and inspire a high-performing leadership team, working collaboratively with our Trustees, Executive Leadership Team and colleagues across every directorate to make relationship fundraising a shared, organisation-wide endeavour. Every relationship you build and every gift you secure will be truly impactful, accelerating our mission to end homelessness for good, and you will achieve it in a way that is equitable and ethical.

About you

• A senior fundraising leader with significant experience across philanthropy, major giving and trusts and foundations, and a proven record of designing and delivering multi-million-pound income strategies including capital appeals.
• An accomplished relationship-builder who has personally secured six and seven-figure gifts, and who operates with credibility and ease alongside philanthropists, Trustees and senior partners.
• Experienced in leading large-scale, transformational fundraising campaigns from vision through to delivery, mobilising Trustees, ambassadors and senior volunteers along the way.
• A strategic, commercially minded leader who turns data, insight and market intelligence into confident decisions, robust income forecasts and well-managed budgets.
• An inspiring people leader who develops high-performing teams and the leaders of tomorrow, and who thrives when leading through complexity and change.
• An influential senior voice who works effectively with Executive Teams and Boards, with an up-to-date grasp of fundraising regulation, best practice and sector trends.

Please see the full Job Pack linked below, for a full list of requirements for this role. We realise that long lists of criteria can be daunting, and you may not want to apply for a role unless you feel 100% qualified. However, if you feel you have relevant examples to answer the screening questions, we encourage you to apply.

We believe diversity is a strength, and our aim is to make sure that Crisis truly reflects the communities we serve. We are actively working towards our organisation being a place where everyone can thrive and make their best contribution to our mission of ending homelessness for good. We know that the more perspectives, voices, and experiences we can bring to this work, the better. We particularly welcome applications from people who have lived experience of homelessness, and people from all marginalised groups, communities, and backgrounds.

Working at Crisis

Our values, Bold, Impactful, Collaborative and Equitable, are at the heart of everything we do as we continue in our mission to end homelessness.

Our staff, members and volunteers are vital to getting the right government policies in place, providing breakthrough services, and building a supportive community. We’ll lead by example to nurture a positive and ambitious workplace guided by ending homelessness.

As a member of the team, you will have access to a wide range of employee benefits including:

• A competitive salary. Please note our salaries are fixed to counter inequity, and we do not negotiate at offer stage.
• Interest free loans for travel season ticket, cycle to work, and deposit to secure a tenancy.
• Pension scheme with an employer contribution of 8.5%
• 28 days’ annual leave (pro rata) which increases with service to 31 days and the option to purchase up to 10 additional days leave.
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, shared parental, and adoption pay.
• Flexible working around the core hours 10am–4pm
• Wellbeing Leave to be used flexibly
• And more! (Full list of benefits available on website)

Alongside our excellent staff benefits, we will support your ongoing development to build your skills, experience, and career.

When you join us, you will have the opportunity to join our staff diversity networks, which aim to champion issues across the organisation, enable staff to be their authentic and best selves and contribute to making Crisis a truly diverse organisation.

If you are applying for these roles please can you block out these times in your diary.

Closing date: Sunday 8 November 2026 23:55

Interview process, dates and locations:

• Wednesday 18 November – stakeholder panel via Microsoft Teams. A chance for you to informally meet with, speak to and ask questions to key internal stakeholders. They will have questions for you about topics which are important to them and their work at Crisis.
• Wednesday 25 November – main interview panel at Crisis Skylight London, 50-52 Commercial St, E1 6LT. There will be presentation task and then a competency and values-based interview with the Hiring Manager, our Executive Director of Brand, Marketing Fundraising (BMF), other senior leaders and experts by experience.
• Thursday 26 November – final interview via Microsoft Teams. This will be a final conversation with our CEO, Trustee and Executive Director of BMF.

AI in Job Applications

We understand some candidates use AI tools when applying. Whilst we welcome the use of technology to support clear communication and structure, we want to learn more about you, so please ensure that your application reflects your own skills, knowledge and experiences

Accessibility

We want our recruitment process to be as accessible as possible. If you need us to make an adjustment or provide additional support as you apply for a role, please email [e-mail] and our Talent Acquisition team will contact you to discuss how we can help.

For more information about our work please visit

https://www.crisis.org.uk/about-us/

To see our work in action please visit:

youtube.com/user/crisishomelessness

https://x.com/crisis_uk

www.facebook.com/crisis.homeless

Registered Charity Numbers: E&W1082947, SC040094