The Country Trust
Head of Fundraising

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Salary: £45,000–£47,000 FTE (depending on experience)
Hours: 30–35 hours per week
Location: Hybrid/home-based. Ideally within easy reach of Chelmsford and London. Travel required to meet colleagues, funders and visit programmes across England.
About The Country Trust
For more than 45 years, The Country Trust has been connecting children from the UK's most disadvantaged communities with the land that sustains us all. Through inspiring farm visits, food education and countryside experiences, we've already reached more than 600,000 children, and we're just getting started.
We're entering an exciting new chapter as we develop our next organisational strategy, and we're looking for an experienced fundraising leader to help shape our future. This is an outstanding opportunity for an ambitious and strategic fundraiser to join our Senior Leadership Team and lead the next phase of our income growth, enabling even more children to benefit from our life-changing programmes.
About the Role
As Head of Fundraising, you'll provide strategic leadership across all fundraising activity while remaining hands-on in securing major income and developing key relationships.
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You'll lead a dedicated fundraising team, drive innovation, strengthen fundraising systems and processes, and develop a sustainable fundraising strategy that diversifies income across:
- Trusts and foundations
- Corporate partnerships
- Major donors
- Individual giving
- Legacies
- Gaming and Streaming for Good
- Emerging fundraising opportunities
Working closely with the CEO, Senior Leadership Team, Digital and IT colleagues, you'll help embed new fundraising systems, champion data-driven decision making and ensure fundraising excellence across the organisation.
About You
We're looking for an inspiring fundraising leader who combines strategic thinking with practical delivery.
You'll bring:
- Significant senior-level fundraising leadership experience
- A proven track record of securing substantial income across multiple fundraising streams
- Experience developing and delivering fundraising strategies that drive sustainable growth
- Strong leadership skills with experience developing high-performing teams
- Excellent relationship-building, communication and influencing skills
- Financial and commercial awareness, including budgeting and forecasting
- Knowledge of fundraising regulation, GDPR and fundraising best practice
- A passion for improving opportunities for disadvantaged children
- Experience developing new income streams, digital fundraising and CRM systems would be particularly valuable.


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We Offer:
- Hybrid and flexible working
- 25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays (FTE)
- Workplace pension
- Homeworking allowance
- Mileage and agreed travel expenses
- A supportive, values-led culture
- The opportunity to shape our future strategy and make a lasting difference to children's lives
We're committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that reflects the communities we serve and welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds.
Closing Date
12pm, 3 August
CVs not accepted. Please click the link below to apply for this role.
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