Fundraising Partnerships Manager

Canal & River Trust; Lancashire; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Holiday entitlement

Employee benefits

Job summary

Canal & River Trust is seeking a Fundraising Partnerships Manager to secure large-scale funding for its priorities. You will cultivate trusts, foundations, National Lottery and statutory funders, building a strong portfolio and leading compelling funding bids.

You will work across the Trust to develop funder-ready propositions, coordinating with senior colleagues and external partners to maximise income and impact.

Qualifications

• Proven experience securing significant funding from trusts, foundations and statutory funders.
• Ability to source, research and qualify funding opportunities and build a strong pipeline.
• Skilled at cultivating funder relationships and strategic partnerships.
• Excellent proposals, writing and communication skills for investment cases.
• Experience coordinating complex opportunities with multiple stakeholders.
• Strong relationship management and influencing capabilities.
• Robust research, analysis and prioritisation skills in funding contexts.
• Good financial awareness with budgets and funding constraints.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage a high-value funding portfolio and pipeline.
• Lead engagement with funders, including executives and trustees where appropriate.
• Create compelling funding propositions and oversee high-quality submissions.
• Coordinate across teams to shape funder-ready proposals and budgets.
• Manage complex funding processes with clear roles and timelines.
• Monitor funding landscape via horizon scanning and networking.
• Ensure timely, high-quality stewardship and renewals with funders.
• Record activity in CRM and support planning and reporting.

Skills

UK funding landscape

Fundraising experience

Trusts & foundations

National Lottery funding

Statutory funders

Funding pipeline

Portfolio management

Funder relationships

Partnership development

Proposal writing

Communication

Stakeholder coordination

Relationship management

Influencing

Research skills

Analysis

Budgeting

Funding constraints

Match funding

Portfolio management

Public speaking

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