Race Equality Foundation
Head of Fundraising
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Head of Fundraising
The Race Equality Foundation is a national charity working to tackle systemic racism and create the conditions for everyone to live healthy, secure, and fulfilling lives. We are looking to appoint a Head of Fundraising.
We combine evidence, co-production, and practical action to address the root causes of racial inequality. Our work focuses on identifying inequality, challenging structural racism, discrimination, and unequal distribution of power that drive them. We work alongside communities, practitioners, policymakers, and institutions to develop evidence-informed solutions that improve services, strengthen communities, and promote racial justice.
The Foundation has a long history of delivering innovative and influential programs, research, and policy change, including the evidence-based Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities parenting programme and pioneering work on the experiences of Black, Asian, and minoritised ethnic young people with a disability. We have established national collaborations to advance race equality and launched tools such as the Race Equity Maturity Index.
Today, our work spans health and care, employment, housing, and community wellbeing. Through partnerships, research, training, and policy influence, we continue to demonstrate what meaningful anti-racist systems change can look like in practice.
We are based in London but have a national remit.
The Foundation is led by the CEO, Jabeer Butt, OBE, and has a management committee which supervises its work.
Job Description
This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced fundraiser ready to lead and shape the Foundation's fundraising function at a growing, well-established charity.
The Foundation operates in a complex, fast-moving environment—spanning research, policy, program delivery, and fundraising—and this role sits at the centre of it, working closely with the Chief Executive and the SMT to lead the Foundation's major grants strategy and drive significant growth in Trust and Foundation income.
We are looking for someone with a strong work ethic and a genuine commitment to the Foundation's mission, who is energized by complexity, and who brings a solutions-first mindset to ambiguous or competing demands. This role requires sound judgment about priorities: high-value, strategic applications, and bids come first; relationship-building and smaller applications, while valuable, are secondary but still under their remit.
You will represent the Foundation in public, government, and funder-facing spaces, often providing context on the Foundation’s multi-pronged approach and its broader mission to end racism and inequity in the UK.
You will have responsibility to identify, prioritize, and pursue new major funder relationships, lead on high-value, multi-year proposals, and represent the Foundation’s fundraising function at a senior level, internally and externally.
Key Responsibilities
Fundraising
- Lead the identification, research, and contact of new funders likely to support the Foundation’s work, driving growth in Trust and Foundation income; taking relationships from first contact through to secured, multi-year income
- Proactively ideate and shape new proposal concepts and funding priorities, working with program and senior colleagues to turn ideas into fundable projects
- Lead the coordination, drafting, and quality assurance of complex bids, tenders, and grant applications, prioritizing high-value multi-year proposals
- Lead the development of financial information, budgets, and due diligence data for major funders, working closely with the Finance and Operations team
- Brief and update the Chief Executive and SMT on fundraising strategy, pipeline, and risk
- Set and report against fundraising KPIs and income targets
- Maintain and apply up-to-date knowledge of fundraising legislation and best practice, briefing colleagues where relevant
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Strategy
- Support the Chief Executive and SMT on the design and implementation of organizational strategy, including, but not limited to, fundraising strategy, operational planning, and organizational structure
- Strategize the development of new projects and funding proposals, ensuring they meet key organizational and funder criteria before significant time is invested
Project Mobilisation
- Support the mobilization of funded projects, moving work from proposal/award stage into delivery, including briefing project staff on new projects and ensuring smooth delivery
- Coordinate with project staff, Communications, Operations, and the SMT to ensure a smooth and timely transition into delivery
Relationship management
- Lead senior-level relationships with existing and prospective major funders, including funder engagement plans and account management for significant, multi-year awards
- Lead impact reporting strategy and quality across the funder portfolio
- Collect and collate monitoring and evaluation frameworks that demonstrate grant impact credibly to funders
- Represent the Foundation at senior funder meetings, events, and sector networks—including public or Government-facing events
Communications
- Work with the SLT to shape unified funder-facing messaging and strategy
- Lead communication with funders, commissioners, and major donors at a senior level
- Ensure fundraising communications are current, compelling, and aligned to organizational priorities
General responsibilities
- Manage own administrative workload, including diary management, correspondence, record-keeping, and reporting (there is currently no dedicated administrative or fundraising support role, so the postholder is expected to be fully self-servicing)
- Own fundraising systems and records, ensuring accuracy and usability
- Lead ongoing improvement of fundraising processes and infrastructure
- Keep abreast of, and contribute strategically to, the overall work of the Foundation
- Participate in supervision and annual appraisal; support own and others' professional development
- Comply with corporate policies and procedures
Due to the evolving nature of the organization, the postholder may be required to undertake other duties commensurate with the level and purpose of the role. Travel to attend meetings outside London may occasionally be required.
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Staff for whom responsible
This role may include line-management responsibility in the future (including administrative and grant writing support from a future Fundraising Officer) but it will depend on team structure.
Person Specification
Essential
- 3+ years successful fundraising experience, including leading prospect research, cultivation, funder relationship management, and proposal writing
- Demonstrated ability to work independently and manage own administration without dedicated support
- Track record of securing medium to large grants (including academic research grants)
- In-depth funder/donor research
- Strong understanding of racism and racial inequality and Black, Asian, and minoritised communities' experiences
- Numerical literacy and budget management experience
- Advanced Microsoft Word Office/Google Workspace proficiency
- Experience working in a fast-paced environment to meet deadlines
- Proactive working style
- Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills at senior/funder level
- Excellent written and oral communication with the ability to construct compelling, high-value funding proposals
- Ability to lead and prioritize a complex, multi-stranded workload
- Strong strategic judgment
Desirable
- Charity/not-for-profit sector experience
- Corporate or individual giving experience
- Digital fundraising experience
- Line management experience
- Experience contributing to or shaping organizational strategy
- Experience with tools including Monday.com, Beacon, or other CRMs
Pay and Conditions of Service
This post is permanent and full-time. The annual full-time salary for this role is between £47,777 and £53,394, inclusive of London Weighting. There is a probationary period of six months for this post.
Full-time staff are entitled to 25 days holiday leave per annum with additional days for long service. The timing of holidays must fit in with the needs of the Foundation and must be agreed in advance. In addition to annual holidays, there is paid time off for Bank holidays.
The post will be based in the London office at Unit 17 Deane House Studios, 27 Greenwood Place, London NW5 1LB. Staff currently work two to three days a week in the office.
The normal working week is 35 hours for full-time posts, seven hours per day, Monday to Friday. Standard office hours are 9.00 a.m.-5.00 p.m.
Application Process
Applications will only be accepted via the People HR portal. We will require the submission of an application form and a supporting statement. The supporting statement should be 2-3 pages max, 12-point font. We will not accept applications that include a CV. Candidates invited to interview will be asked to prepare a task, details will be shared in advance.
Please note that we are only able to appoint people who are eligible to work in the UK.
Closing date: 10am, 28th October 2026
Interviews: Monday 9th November 2026
Please note: Candidates need to be available on the dates provided and should be aware that the interviews will be in person at our offices in London.
Any further enquiries should be submitted to our Project Manager, sidra@racefound.org.uk
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