Fundraising Donor Experience Operations Manager

Acorns Children's Hospice; West Midlands; Hybrid; GBP 36,000 - 44,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health cash plan

Gym membership

Bike2Work scheme

Wellbeing support

Career development through Acorns Acad

Pension scheme 7.5%

NHS pension life assurance

Annual leave increases

Job summary

Acorns Children's Hospice is seeking an experienced Donor Experience Operations Manager to translate strategy into operational delivery, ensuring supporters feel valued and connected to impact. You will lead the Donor Experience team, manage supporter care and income processes, and drive continuous improvement across operations.

The role reports into the Senior Donor Experience Manager within the Fundraising team, and focuses on robust financial controls, customer service excellence and

Qualifications

• Experience managing operational processes and supporter care activities.
• Experience overseeing income administration and fundraising operations.
• Experience leading individuals or small teams.
• Experience identifying process improvements and efficiencies.
• Experience using CRM systems such as Donorfy, Raiser's Edge, Salesforce or similar.
• Strong organisational, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Proactive, collaborative approach delivering exceptional supporter experiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead, develop and support three Donor Experience Officers to deliver a high-performing, supporter-focused service.
• Manage supporter care operations, escalation point for complex enquiries and service issues.
• Oversee donation processing, banking, acknowledgements, reconciliations and income administration activities.
• Manage and improve end-to-end supporter and donation processes to maximise efficiency and accuracy.
• Coordinate stewardship activities, supporter communications and journeys.
• Identify opportunities for process improvement, automation and operational efficiency.
• Work across teams to continuously improve supporter experiences and fundraising operations.

Skills

Donor experience

Team leadership

Process improvement

CRM systems

Tools

Donorfy

Raiser's Edge

Salesforce

Job description

Acorns Children's Hospice have an exciting new opportunity for a Donor Experience Operations Manager to translate strategy into operational delivery, ensuring supporters feel valued, recognised and connected to the impact of their support.

You’ll manage our Donor Experience function and ensure every supporter receives an exceptional experience with Acorns. This role combines team leadership, supporter care, income processes and operational excellence, helping us deliver a world-class donor experience and achieve Acorns ambition of becoming the charity of choice in the West Midlands.

Reporting to the Senior Donor Experience Manager, and as a key member of the Fundraising team, you'll lead and develop a team of Donor Experience Officers, oversee supporter care and donation processing activities, and drive continuous improvement across supporter operations. You'll be responsible for ensuring donations are processed efficiently and accurately, supporter journeys are delivered effectively, and our systems and processes support outstanding service at every stage of a supporter’s experience.

About the Role

As Donor Experience Operations Manager, you'll lead the operational delivery of supporter care, stewardship and income administration activities across Acorns, working closely with colleagues across Fundraising, Marketing & Communications, Finance, Retail and Care. You'll oversee the end-to-end supporter income lifecycle, ensuring robust processes, strong financial controls and excellent service standards are maintained throughout the supporter journey.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading, developing and supporting three Donor Experience Officers to deliver a high-performing, supporter-focused service
• Managing supporter care operations, acting as an escalation point for complex enquiries, complaints and service issues.
• Overseeing donation processing, banking, acknowledgements, reconciliations and income administration activities.
• Managing and improving end-to-end supporter and donation processes to maximise efficiency, accuracy and supporter satisfaction.
• Coordinating the delivery of stewardship activities, supporter communications and supporter journeys.
• Identifying and implementing opportunities for process improvement, automation and operational efficiency.
• Working collaboratively across teams to continuously improve supporter experiences and fundraising operations.

About You

We're looking for someone who combines strong operational management skills with a genuine passion for supporter care and donor experience excellence. You'll understand the importance of balancing efficient processes and controls with delivering meaningful experiences.

You'll be confident leading a team, managing complex operational processes and identifying opportunities to improve ways of working. Whether you're overseeing income administration, resolving supporter issues or implementing process improvements, you'll take pride in delivering high standards and achieving positive outcomes for supporters and colleagues alike.

You'll bring:

• Experience managing operational processes, service delivery functions or supporter care activities.
• Experience overseeing income administration, financial processing or fundraising operations.
• Experience managing and developing individuals or small teams.
• Experience identifying and implementing process improvements and efficiencies.
• Experience using CRM systems such as Donorfy, Raiser's Edge, Salesforce or similar.
• Strong organisational, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• A proactive, collaborative approach and a commitment to delivering exceptional supporter experiences.

This role would suit candidates with experience as a Donor Experience Manager, Supporter Services Manager, Supporter Care Manager, Fundraising Operations Manager, Customer Experience Manager, Customer Service Manager, Service Delivery Manager, Membership Services Manager, Operations Manager or Relationship Manager.

We would welcome applicants from charity, healthcare, membership, financial services, retail and customer service backgrounds who have experience leading teams, improving operational processes and delivering excellent customer or supporter experiences.

About Acorns Children's Hospice

At Acorns, we provide specialist palliative care and support for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions and their families across the West Midlands. We support families in our hospices, in their homes and within the community, providing care wherever and whenever it's needed.

As one of the UK's largest children's hospice charities, we need to raise more than £14 million every year to fund our vital services. Every supporter who donates, fundraises or campaigns for Acorns helps make that care possible. The Donor Experience team plays a crucial role in nurturing those relationships and ensuring every supporter understands the impact of their generosity.

What We Offer

• £40,000 per annum
• 37.5 hours per week
• Hybrid role - based in Birmingham and home working
• Employee discounts from leading retailers – including the Blue Light Card
• Discounts on refurbished tech
• Health cash plan
• Gym membership and equipment discount scheme
• Bike2Work scheme - save up to 42% on bikes and equipment
• Wellbeing, legal and financial support
• Career development through our Acorns Academy offering leadership, coaching, fundraising, clinical training and more.
• Generous contribution to group personal pension plan (7.5%) or continuation of current NHS pension scheme
• NHS pension scheme life assurance or Acorns group life assurance scheme
• Annual leave entitlement increases with length of service

Interviews are scheduled to be held on 12 November

We encourage early applications, as this vacancy may close ahead of the advertised closing date if we receive a high volume of interest

You need to be eligible to work in the UK to be considered for this role. We are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and therefore any successful candidate will be asked to provide two satisfactory references.

As a UNICEF Gold Rights Respecting organisation, we are committed to ensuring that the United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child is embedded into both culture and practice within the organisation. As an employee you will be a Duty Bearer for Children’s Rights and support all children to be Rights Holders.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [e-mail]