Assistant Director of Fundraising (3259)

Do you want to create a better world for animals? At the RSPCA, we believe all animals deserve kindness and respect. We work for the benefit of every animal – not just pets, but farmed animals, wildlife, and animals used in science and research too. Choose a career with us and you'll make a difference for every kind.

We're looking for an ambitious, resilient fundraising leader who's ready to shape the future of income generation for the UK's oldest and largest animal welfare charity.

At the RSPCA, we're building a millions-strong movement to change animals' lives for the better. 

Following a major brand relaunch, we're embarking on a highly ambitious fundraising programme and are looking for an exceptional strategic leader to integrate our new brand, scale our income, and optimise our diverse fundraising portfolio for long-term sustainability.

• Contract: Permanent
• Working hours: 35 hours per week; Monday to Friday. 
• Location: Hybrid. You'll work from home and from our London and Horsham hubs, and will be required to attend events and meetings, as required, to collaborate and build strong working relationships. 

As the Assistant Director of Fundraising, you'll have a high level of autonomy and accountability in deciding the strategic deployment of our resources – your decisions will directly impact the charity's overarching strategy and our ability to deliver lifesaving work.

Working closely with the Director of Engagement & Income Generation and our Assistant Director of Marketing & Communications, you'll ensure fundraising is seamlessly integrated with brand, marketing, and audience strategy.

In order to achieve this, we will look to you to:

• lead the development and delivery of a data-led, audience-focused fundraising strategy – you will own income performance across all streams, balancing short-term targets with long-term lifetime value;
• provide strategic direction to a high-performing leadership team, overseeing the heads of Philanthropy & Partnerships, Individual Giving, Legacy Fundraising, Community & Events, and Retail;
• develop a portfolio approach to investment, driving innovation in products, propositions, and channels to expand the RSPCA's market share;
• utilise data, insights, and a single view of the customer to help build optimised supporter experiences across acquisition, retention, and development;
• build and maintain critical relationships with major donors, corporate partners, philanthropic advisers, and external creative agencies.

This high-profile role equates to that of a Director of Fundraising in most organisations, which is why we can only accept applications from those who have already worked at Assistant Director or Director level or someone who genuinely feels ready to make a significant step up to that level.

This is a big role with big targets, so the post holder must have resilience, the ability to build and maintain strong relationships across a large, complex organisation, and proven leadership capability. 

If you thrive under pressure and embrace collaborative working at pace, this may be the ideal role for you.

We welcome your application, if you're able to demonstrate that you have:

• extensive experience leading and developing large, multi-disciplinary fundraising teams at scale within a complex or matrixed organisation;
• a track record of delivering substantial income growth across a diversified portfolio (while we don't expect you to be an expert in every discipline, high-value fundraising experience is highly prioritised);
• a deep understanding of supporter journeys, lifetime value, and using data and insights to drive commercial decision-making;
• exceptional influencing skills with the ability to work effortlessly alongside the Senior Leadership Team and external high-profile stakeholders;
• a solid understanding of the legal and regulatory compliance environment surrounding modern fundraising.

Successful candidates for certain RSPCA roles will need to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK as we are unable to sponsor visas.

First stage interviews will be held remotely on the 3rd or 4th of August. You'll then have an opportunity to remotely meet members of the team on the 5th or 6th August and, if successful, you'll be invited to attend a final interview in our London Hub, on Blackfriars Road, on Friday the 7th August. 

The interview process will include a task, such as a presentation, along with a panel interview, including competency-based questions. 

We want to ensure we do all we can to give you a positive candidate experience through our recruitment. Whilst we do try to give feedback where we can, sometimes due to receiving high levels of applications, this may not always be possible

Our vision is a world where all animals are respected and treated with kindness and compassion. Our purpose is to inspire everyone to create a better world for animals. We are building the future of a diverse Society, and our priority is to support animal welfare by finding people from all backgrounds who are committed  to our purpose.  For this reason we actively encourage a wide diversity of applications - in particular from members of minority ethnic groups, and people with disabilities - as these candidates are currently under-represented at the RSPCA. Your transferable skills & lived experiences could make you a valuable addition to our RSPCA Family! 

We're here to support you and encourage you to let us know if you need any adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. Please feel free to contact us at resourcingteam@rspca.org.uk or 0300 123 0685 so we can ensure the process works for you.