Cancer Research UK (CRUK)
Prospect Development Specialist
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Prospect Development Specialist
£45,000 - £52,000 plus benefits
Reports to: Senior Prospect Development Manager
Directorate: Strategy & Philanthropy
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time 35 hours per week
Location: Stratford, London - Office-based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office)
Closing date: Friday 11th September 23:55pm
Recruitment process: Multiple stage interview process – initial screening call followed by a competency-based interview via MS Teams with a final stage competency interview with a presentation task.
Interview date: Approximately w/c 14th September
Visa sponsorship: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship.
At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.
The Prospect Development Specialist plays a central role in delivering strategic prospect development capability across high-value philanthropy at Cancer Research UK.
Sitting within the Prospect Development function, this role provides senior level specialist expertise in pipeline management, insight and judgement to shape pipeline strategy, prioritisation and high-value engagement across Leadership Giving and £1m+. Working in close partnership with Associate Directors, senior fundraisers and leadership, the post holder will ensure that Prospect Development activity is proactive, insight-led and focused on identifying and advising on the highest-value opportunities, supporting strong pipeline growth and a strategic approach to cold prospect identification and engagement planning.
The role also has a core governance and oversight function, leading on due diligence quality, consistency and process development and contributing to key strategic initiatives across the directorate, including Data & AI and Children and Young People (CYP) priorities.
As a part of the wider CRUK fundraising efforts, the Philanthropy Directorate is one of the largest and most successful high-value fundraising teams in the UK. An ambitious and innovative team of 60 talented philanthropy professionals, our focus is the £400m ‘More Research, Less Cancer’ (MRLC) campaign which has four key priorities: the Francis Crick Institute, Cancer Grand Challenges, Translation & Innovation, and our Future Leaders’ programme. We’ve recently reached the milestone of £200m.
This is a key role, working in close partnership with the Senior Prospect Development Manager, to embed a more strategically led, consistent and high-impact Prospect Development model, with shared ownership of complex work, prioritisation and decision support.
What will you be doing?
Pipeline Strategy & Prioritisation
- Partner with senior stakeholders to shape and manage a strategic, high-value prospect pipeline.
- Monitor pipeline health, ensuring clear prioritisation and delivery against targets.
- Embed consistent frameworks for prospect identification, qualification and allocation.
- Use data and insight to identify trends, gaps and opportunities, translating analysis into actionable recommendations.
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Strategic Insight & Prospecting
- Deliver high-quality research to inform fundraising strategy and decision-making.
- Identify and qualify high-value prospects (HNWIs, trusts and foundations).
- Translate complex analysis into clear, practical recommendations for engagement.
- Proactively identify pipeline gaps and lead targeted prospecting initiatives.
Strategic Initiatives & Cross-Directorate Impact
- Contribute specialist expertise to key organisational initiatives (e.g. Data & AI, Children and Young People’s cancer).
- Ensure prospect development activity aligns with wider strategic priorities.
- Support the development of future-focused capabilities within the function.
Due Diligence & Governance
- Oversee due diligence activity, ensuring consistency, quality and appropriate risk management.
- Provide guidance and support on complex or high-risk cases.
- Strengthen due diligence frameworks, processes and reporting for senior stakeholders.
- Ensure alignment with organisational policies and best practice.
Senior Stakeholder Partnership
- Act as a trusted partner to senior fundraisers and leadership.
- Provide strategic advice on prospect selection, prioritisation and risk.
- Influence decision-making to focus on the highest-impact opportunities.
- Promote alignment and consistency across fundraising activity.
Best Practice & Continuous Improvement
- Lead the development and embedding of prospect development frameworks, tools and standards.
- Drive consistency across pipeline management and due diligence processes.
- Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, effectiveness and impact.
- Support the shift to a proactive, insight-led prospect development model.
What are we looking for?
- Significant experience in prospect development, high-value fundraising or strategic research.
- Demonstrable experience supporting major and high-value fundraising activity, typically involving gifts of six figures and above.
- Proven ability to operate at a senior or specialist level, applying judgement and influencing decision-making.
- Strong experience of pipeline strategy, prioritisation and management, including assessing pipeline health and shaping delivery against targets.
- Experience of due diligence processes, including oversight of complex or high-risk cases.
- Strong understanding of risk, governance and reputational considerations in a fundraising context.
- Experience contributing to or supporting strategic initiatives, programmes or organisational priorities.
- Excellent stakeholder management skills, with experience engaging senior audiences.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate insight into practical, strategic recommendations.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
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Desirable Skills
- Experience working with principal level fundraising (1m+).
- Familiarity with fundraising databases and prospect management systems (CRM).
- Understanding of data-driven prospecting approaches or analytics.
- Awareness of sector priorities or mission-led campaigns.
- Experience within a large or complex organisation.
Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.
Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination
Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism
Human: Act to have a positive impact on people
Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively
We’re looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.
If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience, we’d still love to hear from you.
What will I gain?
We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.
You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page.
How do I apply?
We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won’t be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you fairly and objectively.
For more information on this career opportunity please visit our website or contact us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk.
For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.
Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.
We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen. Please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.
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