Head of Trusts and Foundations

Birdlife International; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 62,000 - 67,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working (on-site + remote)

David Attenborough Building location

Pension scheme up to 12%

25 days annual leave (+1 per year)

LinkedIn Learning access

Cycle to work scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

BirdLife International in Cambridge, UK, seeks a seasoned Head of Trusts and Foundations to lead the organisation’s largest income‑generation area. You will personally secure six- and seven‑figure grants, develop strategy, and coach a small team across international foundations.

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, you will grow restricted multi‑year funding globally, manage major donor relationships, and deliver targets while shaping BirdLife’s growth in philanthropy and impact across

Qualifications

• Experience personally raising six- and seven-figure grants from trusts and foundation donors and managing ongoing relationships with them.
• Experience developing and delivering a trusts & foundations fundraising strategy.
• Experience working in an international, not-for-profit environment.
• Experience managing a small trusts & foundations team, including budgetary responsibility.
• Expert knowledge of current and evolving trusts & foundations fundraising practice.
• Good understanding of climate, biodiversity, civil society and nature conservation issues, or willingness to learn.
• Solid knowledge of restricted funding compliance, reporting and grant management.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive trusts & foundations strategy to grow restricted and lightly restricted multi‑year income globally.
• Lead, coach and develop the 3‑person Trusts & Foundations team.
• Represent Trusts & Foundations on the Development Management Team to steward the Development programme at BirdLife and collectively lead transformational change, especially the shared delivery of the Development strategy
• Represent Trusts & Foundations on the Principal Gifts Working Group to progress transformational trust and foundation opportunities alongside principal gifts
• Identify opportunities to grow BirdLife’s global trusts and foundations donor base.
• Personally develop and manage BirdLife’s largest and most complex trust and foundation relationships and lead cultivation of transformational trust and foundation prospects.
• Set and monitor trusts & foundations income targets and performance goals; track progress, pipeline health and compliance status and provide regular reports to leadership on revenue generation, taking corrective action as needed
• Manage the Trusts & Foundations team budget, recruitment and resource allocation

Skills

Leadership

Fundraising

Strategic planning

Grant management

Relationship building

Job description

Application deadline: Monday 5 October 2026 – 09:00 BST

Location: Cambridge, UK (hybrid working, minimum one day per week in Cambridge)

Full-time: 35 hours per week

Contract: Open-ended

Salary: £62,000 - £67,000 per annum depending on skills/experience, plus competitive 12% pension benefit

Annual Leave: 25 days pro rata in year 1, increasing by 1 day p/a to 28 days

We’re BirdLife International, the only global Partnership conserving birds and all life on our planet. We exist to give one voice to nature, and to unite and strengthen conservation across borders.

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer and working closely with colleagues globally, the Head of Trusts and Foundations will lead the organisation’s largest income‑generation area. Much of this support comes through relationship‑led, long‑term, multi‑year partnerships that underpin the organisation’s global conservation work. Seeking to grow, develop and diversify this area, the Head of Trusts and Foundations will play both an operational and strategic role – personally winning and managing larger accounts, as well as developing the team and the strategy. The successful candidate will inherit a committed and experienced international team, a strong portfolio of existing funders and an organisation with a globally respected conservation mission. They will also play a critical role in shaping the next phase of growth and helping BirdLife expand its reach among major funders globally.

How you will do this

• Develop and execute a comprehensive trusts & foundations strategy to grow restricted and lightly restricted multi‑year income globally.

• Lead, coach and develop the 3‑person Trusts & Foundations team.

• Represent Trusts & Foundations on the Development Management Team to steward the Development programme at BirdLife and collectively lead transformational change, especially the shared delivery of the Development strategy

• Represent Trusts & Foundations on the Principal Gifts Working Group to progress transformational trust and foundation opportunities alongside principal gifts

• Identify opportunities to grow BirdLife’s global trusts and foundations donor base.

• Personally develop and manage BirdLife’s largest and most complex trust and foundation relationships and lead cultivation of transformational trust and foundation prospects.

• Set and monitor trusts & foundations income targets and performance goals; track progress, pipeline health and compliance status and provide regular reports to leadership on revenue generation, taking corrective action as needed

• Manage the Trusts & Foundations team budget, recruitment and resource allocation

What we are looking for

This role would suit a seasoned trusts and foundations leader, ideally with experience in the conservation and/or international NGO space. We are looking for someone who enjoys being a player‑coach, both hands‑on and strategic, with experience securing and managing transformative (6‑and 7‑figure) grants – and coaching others to do the same.

• Experience personally raising six‑and seven‑figure grants from trusts and foundation donors and managing ongoing relationships with them.

• Experience of successfully developing and delivering a trusts & foundations fundraising strategy.

• Experience working in an international, complex, not‑for‑profit environment.

• Experience managing a small trusts & foundations team, including budgetary responsibility.

• Expert knowledge of current and evolving trusts & foundations fundraising practice.

• Good understanding of climate, biodiversity, civil society and nature conservation issues, or willingness to learn.

• Solid knowledge of restricted funding compliance, reporting and grant management.

Some of our benefits

• We are able to offer a hybrid model of working on‑site and from home/remote for most roles, which helps to ensure a flexible work‑life balance.

• A chance to work in the award‑winning David Attenborough Building, which brings together much of the Cambridge‑based conservation community on a ‘conservation campus.’

• A generous pension scheme, up to 12% company contribution.

• Holiday starting at 25 days excluding Bank Holidays and increasing for every year of service up to a maximum of 28 days.

• Full access to LinkedIn Learning with access to more than 13,000 high‑quality, on‑demand courses.

• Cycle to work scheme.

• Employee Assistance Programme, including access to Health Assured online health portal.

BirdLife values a diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Find out more about our Diversity statement.

We are committed to building and maintaining an inclusive and supportive culture, a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit. We aim to promote a more inclusive environment, which attracts all candidates and signals our commitment to celebrate and promote diversity.

We know that everyone’s needs are different. If you need us to make any adjustments to our recruitment process, let us know, we’ll do our best to make it happen.