Fundraising Partnerships Manager

Colonial Group; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pension scheme

Increased holiday entitlement

Employee benefits

Job summary

Canal & River Trust is seeking a Fundraising Partnerships Manager to secure funding from trusts, foundations, National Lottery and public funders. You will lead high-value proposals, build strategic partnerships, and steward funders across the portfolio, ensuring timely reporting and renewal opportunities.

The role involves developing compelling funding propositions, coordinating complex bids, and collaborating with executive and governance colleagues to maximise income and impact.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of the UK funding landscape with track record of securing funding.
• Experience identifying and qualifying funding opportunities and managing a pipeline.
• Experience building and stewarding significant funder relationships and strategic partnerships.
• Excellent proposition development and written communication skills.
• Experience coordinating complex funding opportunities involving multiple stakeholders.
• Strong relationship management and influencing skills.
• Strong research, analytical and prioritisation skills.
• Good financial and commercial awareness with budgets and funding restrictions.
• Strong organisational and portfolio-management skills.
• Excellent verbal communication and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage a high-value funding portfolio and pipeline, proactively identifying, researching and qualifying funders.
• Build and manage strategic funder relationships, developing tailored cultivation and stewardship plans.
• Lead the development of compelling funding propositions and submissions, translating priorities into funder-focused cases.
• Collaborate across the Trust to shape funder-ready propositions with cross-team input.
• Lead and coordinate complex funding processes, establishing roles, timelines and governance.
• Identify opportunities and trends in the external funding environment to influence strategy.
• Provide excellent stewardship and timely, high-quality funder reporting and renewals.
• Maintain fundraising information in CRM and support planning and performance reporting.

Skills

Funding landscape

Pipeline management

Funder relationships

Proposition development

Stakeholder engagement

Written communication

Multistakeholder coordination

Job description

Join Our Team: Fundraising Partnerships Manager

Join our Fundraising division as a Fundraising Partnerships Manager

Working Hours & Travel

This role follows 37 hours, Monday to Friday working pattern. The vacancy will be offered on a remote working basis, with a requirement to attend our main hub spaces as and when required.

Role Overview

Play a key role in securing significant funding that helps deliver the Trust’s strategic priorities. As Fundraising Partnerships Manager, you will develop high-value relationships with trusts, foundations, National Lottery and statutory funders, identifying new opportunities and building a strong pipeline of support. Working collaboratively across the Trust, you will lead the development of compelling funding propositions and oversee complex funding bids, while providing excellent stewardship to funders and developing long-term strategic partnerships that maximise income and impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and manage a high-value funding portfolio and pipeline, proactively identifying, researching and qualifying trusts, foundations, statutory and National Lottery opportunities aligned to the Trust's strategic priorities.
• Build and manage strategic funder relationships, developing tailored cultivation and stewardship plans and creating opportunities for meaningful engagement between funders and senior Trust colleagues, including Executive and Trustee involvement where appropriate.
• Lead the development of compelling funding propositions, proposals and applications, translating complex organisational priorities into clear, evidence-led and funder-focused cases for investment and coordinating high-quality submissions.
• Work collaboratively across the Trust to shape funder-ready propositions, bringing together operational, programme, impact, finance and other specialist colleagues to establish need, outcomes, delivery models, budgets, evidence and project readiness.
• Lead and coordinate complex funding processes, establishing clear roles, responsibilities, timelines and decision-making arrangements and supporting colleagues through funder engagement, due diligence, application, assessment and contracting.
• Develop a strong understanding of the external funding environment, undertaking horizon scanning, networking and funder engagement to identify emerging opportunities, intelligence and trends and using these insights to influence proposition development and organisational fundraising priorities.
• Provide excellent stewardship of funders and funding relationships, ensuring commitments are understood and delivered, reporting is timely and high quality, and opportunities for renewal, extension and deeper strategic partnership are actively pursued.
• Maintain excellent fundraising management information, ensuring funder relationships, opportunities, activity, forecasts and next steps are accurately recorded within CRM and contributing insight to team planning, forecasting and performance reporting.

About You

Essential

• Strong knowledge and experience of the UK funding landscape, with a proven track record of securing significant funding from charitable trusts and foundations, National Lottery and/or statutory/public-sector funders.
• Experience of identifying, researching and qualifying funding opportunities and developing and managing a high-quality pipeline or portfolio of prospective funders.
• Experience of building, cultivating and stewarding significant funder relationships and strategic partnerships, identifying areas of shared interest and developing opportunities collaboratively.
• Excellent proposition development and written communication skills, with experience of translating complex organisational priorities, projects and programmes into compelling, evidence-led funding proposals and cases for investment.
• Experience of leading or coordinating complex funding opportunities involving multiple stakeholders, bringing together the expertise, evidence, budgets and approvals required to develop strong proposals.
• Strong relationship management, influencing and facilitation skills, with the confidence to work effectively with colleagues, senior stakeholders, funders and partners.
• Strong research, analytical and prioritisation skills, with the ability to assess strategic fit, funder alignment, funding potential and project readiness and prioritise activity accordingly.
• Good financial and commercial awareness, including confidence working with project budgets, funding restrictions, match funding and financial information.
• Strong organisational and portfolio-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple opportunities and relationships and work effectively to competing priorities and deadlines.
• Excellent verbal communication and presentation skills, together with a collaborative and proactive approach and the confidence to represent the Trust effectively with external funders and partners.

Desirable:

• Experience of fundraising within the environmental, heritage, infrastructure, nature, community or place-based sectors.
• Experience of developing large-scale, multi-year or transformational funding opportunities.
• Experience of working with senior organisational stakeholders, including Executive leaders or Trustees, as part of funder cultivation and relationship development.

What We Offer

In addition to your annual base salary of £45,000. We also offer a competitive pension scheme, increasing holiday entitlement, and a range of employee benefits. For a full breakdown of our benefits, check out our brochure here: EVP - 1.

Learn more: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/work-for-us/our-benefits

#INDHP