Senior Prospect Researcher (1981)

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 – as well as pets, that includes farmed animals, wildlife, and animals used in science.

Choose a career with us and make a difference for every kind.

We are looking for a new team member as a Senior Prospect Researcher.

• Working hours: 35 hours / Monday - Friday. Hybrid role: Your base will be at either our Horsham Hub in West Sussex or London Hub.Hybrid working isn't a tick exercise for us - we live the values, expectation for this role will be one day per week in the office.
• It's important to us that you feel part of our team from the start. We like to keep in touch with regular check-ins and team meetings. There's always a teammate around for support or a quick chat.

Are you ready to join our movement?

Interviews will take place W/C 10th February 2025.

Here at RSPCA no two days are the same, as a Senior Prospect Researcher we've added a short summary of what a typical day might look like, for a full insight please refer to the attached job description.

The Senior Prospect Researcher will lead the Prospect Development team to deliver the prospecting strategy that builds the Partnerships and Philanthropy Pipeline to meet significant growth over the next 5-10 years. 

They will provide inspirational leadership to the team to conduct high quality research and insight that enables pipeline growth, meets prospecting targets and builds on existing processes to grow the Prospect Development function.

You will be flexible in approach and skilled in flexing between a variety of prospect research approaches to meet the needs of the P&P team often at pace.

Along with this, you will also:

• Collaborate with key stakeholders to provide expertise and guidance to deliver the team prospecting strategy  
• Lead the P&P wealth screen programme, ensuing this is adding value to pipeline development
• Continually  review and develop the Prospect Development function processes and procedures to work effectively with fundraising colleagues
• Be responsible for oversight of best practice relating to risk and compliance, ensuring P&P are compliant and have access to relevant guidance where required
• Keep abreast of changes to legislation that require review or changes to internal guidance eg data protection legislation
• Provide leadership of the Prospect Development team, supporting individual growth and development through setting clear objectives (and targets where appropriate)
• Manage and coach individuals to provide expert prospect research and excellent customer service to P&P teams.

To be a successful Senior Prospect Researcher, you will have:

• Senior experience in prospect development
• Strong analytical skills
• Great data management, and have the ability to analyse and manage data, as well as translating this into layman's terms where required
• Experience working with new business fundraisers who have ambitious fundraising targets
• Experience building pipelines/pipeline development
• Technical ability to present complex information into clear and concise documentation for a range of audiences
• Have up to date knowledge of data protection and fundraising compliance
• Line management experience along with working within a team
• Experience using CRM systems (we use Salesforce)
• Strong collaboration, prioritisation and negotiation skills
• A great communicator (written and verbal).

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 - We are unable to sponsor visas at RSPCA.

Due to high interest in some of our roles, we review applications as they are received. This can occasionally result in positions closing earlier than advertised. Therefore, we strongly recommend submitting applications early.

Unfortunately, we are unable to accept applications after the posted closing date.

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.

We recognise that a diverse and inclusive workforce is essential to achieving our core mission. 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.

Should you need any support with your application or interview process please contact resourcingteam@rspca.org.uk / 0300 123 0685.

Our mission is to ensure animals have a good life by rescuing and caring for those in need, by advocating on behalf of all animals and by inspiring everyone to treat them with compassion and respect.