Cambridge Acorn Project (Registered Charity No: 1175019)
Head of Fundraising
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About Cambridge Acorn Project
Cambridge Acorn Project is a charitable organisation supporting children, young people and families affected by trauma, adversity and social inequality. Our work is grounded in social justice, relational practice and our pioneering Panoramic Model of therapeutic support. We are committed to creating safe, inclusive and compassionate spaces where children and young people can be understood, supported and enabled to thrive.
About the Role
This is an exciting moment to join Cambridge Acorn Project (CAP) and contribute to our development as a charity. You will be joining our senior leadership team as Head of Fundraising, with a focus and responsibility akin to that of a senior fundraiser and a Job Description to match. This role will also bring added responsibility and opportunities for personal development by contributing to organisational vision, leadership, culture setting and strategic growth through potential further leadership opportunities for the right candidate. Through your experience, you will drive income growth and embed new income streams, whilst also providing supervision, mentorship and guidance to our small but friendly and dynamic team of two fundraising managers.
CAP is entering a pivotal stage in our development, and this role marks an exciting opportunity to join our senior leadership team at a charity that is innovative, forward-thinking and deeply caring. We are expanding our reach and strengthening our impact, and this post will play a central role in shaping that future. Working closely with our CEO and Head of Operations, you will help deliver an innovative, justice-focused organisational strategy grounded in our pioneering Panoramic Model of therapeutic support.
A key focus of this role is income growth and generation in areas where CAP currently has limited experience or reach. We are looking for someone who can bring new skills, networks and expertise into the organisation—capabilities that will meaningfully extend what we can achieve. For the right candidate, this is a rare opportunity to make an immediate and lasting difference, helping Cambridge Acorn Project to strengthen and sustain the support we offer to children and young people who have lived through experiences no child should ever face.
The right candidate will, therefore, bring skills, experience and evidence of impact in the following three key areas.
- Major donors and philanthropy
- Wills and legacies
- Experience of delivering funding bids of £100,000 plus
Job Role – Key Tasks
- Develop CAP’s fundraising strategy and impact across three currently underserved areas: major donors/philanthropy, wills and legacies, and larger trusts and foundations.
- Secure long-term, flexible income through lifelong relationships with individual supporters and charitable foundations.
- Maximise our funders’ impact on young people’s lives
- Ensure we deliver first-class stewardship and relationship management, continually improving donor communications and the quality of experience for our supporters.
- To create compelling cases for support and outstanding funding proposals
- To provide timely and high-quality funding reports to existing and new funders and donors
- Provide leadership, supervision and mentoring to our existing fundraising team
- Work collaboratively with operational colleagues
- For the right candidate, there is also potential for career progression and contributing to organisational strategy, vision and development.
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Person Specification
Essential:
- A minimum of 4 years’ proven capital or major donor fundraising experience, raising gifts of between £25,000 and £300,000 spread over several years.
- Able to ask for large gifts and supporting Trustees and fundraising board members in soliciting large gifts.
- Managing complex supporter or client relationships, meeting their needs, and coordinating collaboration with colleagues.
- Fundraising experience in Philanthropy, Charitable Trusts or through public or private sector sources.
- Experience of building relationships to maximise potential.
- Experience of working on multiple projects at any one time, requiring determination and focus to complete according to deadlines.
- Local and national fundraising experience. However, we will not exclude candidates from other backgrounds especially if this involves working closely with high-net-worth individuals in other careers.
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal (including listening skills).
- Excellent influencing skills to develop internal and external relationships.
- Demonstrable experience of securing new business and/or income.
- Experience of working with both unrestricted and restricted grant funding: submitting proposals, completing monitoring forms and reporting to donors.
- Ability to communicate on a deep level about the complexities affecting the lives of children and young people who have experienced adversity and trauma.
- Demonstrate an interpersonal value base founded on social justice principles, tackling social inequality and societal harms and inclusive and open practice.
Desirable:
- Experience of working independently to identify and cultivate prospects and influencers who have the ability to make personal introductions to high and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
- Experience of bringing in large, multi-year, funding applications of £100,000 plus.
Benefits and support
In return, we offer a supportive, flexible and values-led working environment where you will have the opportunity to make an immediate and lasting impact at an important moment in Cambridge Acorn Project’s growth. This role offers the right candidate the opportunity to contribute to organisational vision, strategy and leadership, while helping to strengthen the charity’s long-term sustainability and wider advocacy around vulnerability, injustice and social change. Benefits include:
- 31 days’ annual leave per year.
- Flexi-time to support a healthy work-life balance.
- Hybrid working
- A warm, collaborative and reflective team culture.
- Opportunities for professional development, supervision and leadership growth.
- The chance to shape fundraising strategy and develop new income streams that directly strengthen our work with children, young people and families.
- A workplace committed to inclusion, access adjustments and valuing lived experience.
- Employer pension contribution.
Safeguarding and safer recruitment information
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Safeguarding is at the heart of Cambridge Acorn Project, including our safe recruitment processes. We undertake safer recruitment checks on anyone who wants to work with us as we work with children and adults at risk. This means that all our roles which have contact with children or vulnerable adults or access to sensitive information, including this position, require ID checks and an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which is performed by an external, registered DBS umbrella body. Any offer of employment will be conditional on satisfactory safer recruitment checks, references, eligibility to work in the UK and completion of any required DBS checks.
Self-disclosure
If you are shortlisted, we will ask you to complete a self-disclosure form. This will be reviewed before your interview. The self-disclosure form will ask for any criminal convictions, regulatory body sanctions or disqualifications from working with children or vulnerable adults, as well as any police or social services enquiries undertaken following allegations made against you. We may ask about this during the interview.
Our Commitment to diversity and inclusion
Cambridge Acorn Project believes in a world that is equitable, safe, and free from abuse and coercion, and we apply these principles to every part of our organisation, fostering equality and inclusion in everything we do. We promote a culture of respect and a sense of belonging for all staff, volunteers and service users, where everyone is free to be themselves. We value lived experience, and we welcome applications from people with marginalised identities or experiences. Cambridge Acorn Project is a warm, flexible and supportive organisation, and we want to work within a diverse collegiate team where everyone’s opinion and experience matters, and everyone has a voice.
Data protection
Cambridge Acorn Project processes data in line with The Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR. For more information, please see our terms of service on our website.
How to apply
Please download the job application form and email your completed application form to Adriana Burciaga Gonzalez at capadmin@cambridgeacornproject.org.uk by the deadline. Please note that we follow a safe recruitment process and therefore cannot accept CVs on their own. The application form must be completed in full. If you require the job pack and/or application in an alternative format, please contact us on the email above.
Deadline to submit your application: 3 August 2026
Interviews
If you are shortlisted, we will invite you for an interview with two or three members of our staff. Interviews will be held in person or online between 10 and 14 August 2026. We would be happy to make access adjustments as needed for interviews and in the workplace. Please indicate your access needs for interview on the application form or, if you prefer to speak to us directly, contact Adriana Burciaga Gonzalez at capadmin@cambridgeacornproject.org.uk Please note that as part of our commitment to safeguarding, we include value-based questions in our interview. For more information on our approach to safeguarding please refer to: https://www.cambridgeacornproject.org.uk/termsofservice
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