Head of Major Donor Fundraising

South West Community Chaplaincy; Haywards Heath; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Sightsavers is recruiting a Head of Major Donor Fundraising in the UK to lead the next phase of growth for the high value individual giving programme. The role is UK-based with regular travel to the Haywards Heath office, and can be full time or part time with a minimum of four days per week.

You will develop and deliver a long-term major donor strategy, lead a specialist team and personally manage a focused portfolio of high value donors and prospects.

Qualifications

• Proven track record securing six-figure gifts.
• Experience leading or managing a high value fundraising programme.
• Strong data and insight use to manage pipelines and forecast income.
• Ability to collaborate with trustees and senior leaders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the major donor strategy and growth.
• Personally manage a focused portfolio of high value donors.
• Develop cases for support and major proposals to secure gifts.
• Represent Sightsavers with donors, prospects, philanthropy advisers and wealth advisers.
• Collaborate across fundraising, finance, planning and leadership teams.

Skills

Senior fundraising

High-value donors

Portfolio management

Six-figure gifts

Data-driven fundraising

Stakeholder engagement

Team leadership

Job description

Sightsavers is looking for an experienced and strategic Head of Major Donor Fundraising to lead the next phase of growth for our high value individual giving programme. This role can be worked full time or part time, with a minimum of four days per week, and is UK based with regular travel to our Haywards Heath office.

As part of the Fundraising and Marketing directorate, you will develop and deliver a long-term major donor strategy, lead a specialist team and personally manage a focused portfolio of high value donors and prospects. The role will focus on supporters giving £10,000 or more per year, while also strengthening nurture and loyalty programmes that help build a sustainable future pipeline of philanthropic support.

Working closely with colleagues across fundraising, technical leadership, programme delivery, finance, planning and senior leadership, you will identify compelling funding opportunities and help build strong cases for support. You will also represent Sightsavers externally with donors, prospects, philanthropy advisers, wealth advisers and sector networks.

We would like to hear from confident and collaborative senior fundraisers with experience of leading or managing a high value fundraising programme. You will bring a strong track record of securing, cultivating and stewarding significant gifts, including six-figure prospects, alongside the ability to use data and insight to manage pipelines, forecast income and support decision-making. You will also bring the relationship-building skills to work effectively with trustees, senior leaders, high net worth individuals and external advisers.

Application and interview process
To apply, please complete an application through our recruitment portal by uploading an up-to-date CV and answering the job-specific questions. We are particularly interested in understanding your motivation for applying. We anticipate a two-stage interview process, with first interviews from w/c 12 October and second-round interviews expected w/c 19 or 26 October 2026. The process will include a role-specific presentation task at first interview stage, and one interview will be held in person at our Haywards Heath office. We would like the successful candidate to start by the end of January 2027.

Sightsavers is a Disability Confident employer. We welcome applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences and are committed to making reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.