Overview

Purpose of the role

The Business Development Manager (Trusts, Foundation and Statutory Income) will join ClientEarth’s thriving and growing Business Development Unit and play a leading role in securing new income from trusts, foundations and other statutory and institutional funders.

Our Development Department is responsible for raising funds to enable the organisation to deliver its mission. The department is formed of several fundraising strands: an established Grants programme, securing funding from trusts, foundations and institutional donors; a newly formed Digital Fundraising stream, raising income from the public; and a Philanthropy team, working with a wide range of individuals and organisations to raise primarily unrestricted gifts to support ClientEarth’s work.

The postholder will work across ClientEarth’s programme areas and geographies to cultivate new funder relationships, develop winning proposals, and ensure a growing and diverse funder base for ClientEarth, with income secured aligned to the organisation’s strategic priorities.

As a representative of ClientEarth, the postholder will liaise and build relationships with funders internationally. As such, they will be a primary point of contact and key relationship manager for new donors, and will be responsible for a robust pipeline of potential donors and funding opportunities.

They will also have line management responsibility, overseeing the work and professional development of a Business Development Officer who is expected to both support the Manager with their accounts and lead on their own portfolio.

The role will report to the Head of Business Development and will also feed into the development and implementation of the team’s new strategy, focused on generating and managing a growing funder portfolio with funders from a wide range of markets including Europe, the US and Asia.

Working relationships

The Business Development Manager (Trusts, Foundation and Statutory Income) will report to the Head of Business Development (based in London), and work closely with colleagues in the team including a further Business Development Manager and Officer based in London. The postholder will also have close contact with other members of the Development Department, particularly the Grants Management Team, which oversees reporting and renewals, a Prospect Research Officer, and the Philanthropy Team, to ensure effective joint forward planning and handover of secured income.

In relation to the cultivation of donors and development of proposals aligned with ClientEarth’s priorities, the Manager will work collaboratively with colleagues from Programmes teams, Finance team, the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team and members of the Senior Leadership Team, including Chief Executive Officer, as necessary.

Externally, this role will also be the lead point of contact for new funding relationships, working with the organisation’s existing network as well as building new ones.

Key responsibilities

Prospect research and pipeline development

• Identify and establish new funding contacts, and represent ClientEarth at high level events to support the development of a growing and robust pipeline of donor and funding opportunities, and maintain portfolio of relationships;
• Undertake prospect research and work collaboratively with the Prospect Research Officer in the Development Department to scope potential new funders, making sure detailed, accurate records are retained;
• Ensure appropriate internal processes in relation to new funding opportunities are followed in order to enable strategic decision making to take place e.g. due diligence screening. Identify and escalate risks to the Head of Business Development as necessary; and
• Work closely with the Head of Business Development, Business Development Manager, Head of Grants and Head of Philanthropy on the forward looking pipeline, to ensure effective, joined-up cultivation of prospects.

Business Development and Income generation

• Lead on aligning ClientEarth’s strategic programmatic priorities and budgetary needs with funders’ interests and criteria to develop compelling approaches to funding opportunities;
• Establish and lead proposal development teams, steering the effective and efficient input into fundraising activities by colleagues/stakeholders such as Programmes, Finance, Communications, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning and potentially external partners;
• Draft clear and compelling fundraising material including cases for support, funding proposals and concept notes, etc;
• Develop funder cultivation plans when necessary, and meet with funder contact points to understand their interests/priorities, present proposals and provide insight to ClientEarth’s work;
• Effectively manage time and workload to ensure progress against milestones and all internal/ external deadlines are met, reporting on possible challenges to Head of Business Development where necessary;
• Oversee the grant contracting process and compliance stage when an opportunity is secured, working with colleagues as needed; and
• Manage the handover of a grant/funder relationship from the Business Development Unit to the Grants Management team, once an opportunity is secured.

Staff Management

• Define, in collaboration with line-managed staff members, individual work priorities and well-tailored and achievable work programmes, delegating tasks and responsibilities accordingly;
• Assess the performance of line-managed staff members and provide constructive, regular formal and informal feedback on performance;
• Support the professional development of line-report through ongoing supervision, influencing them to take positive action and to be accountable for their work and contribution to the smooth-running of the organisation; and
• Identify and resolve issues, conflicts, disciplinary matters as appropriate, in line with organisational policies, practices and values.

Strategy

• Support the Head of Business Development to develop and implement the team’s strategy e.g. geographies; key international donors; type of income sources; and internal resources; and
• Keep up to date on trends and developments in the sector, and ensure these are communicated into internal activities and planning.

Systems and processes

• Provide timely and accurate information to the Head of Business Development on team performance metrics as requested, to enable accurate monitoring and reporting to the Global Director of Development and Senior Leadership Team;
• Support the development and improvement of team systems and processes to enable effective and efficient working by the Business Development Unit and collaboration with other teams across the organisation;
• Ensure effective use of the funder database system (Raiser’s Edge) and other organisational databases (SharePoint) on a daily basis;
• Participate in programme team meetings and strategy sessions to develop understanding of ClientEarth’s funding needs and to inform development of case for support; and
• Have a strong understanding of the medium-long term financial budgetary needs and requirements of the organisation, and use this to inform approaches to new funding opportunities.

Experience and knowledge

• Significant and demonstrable experience of working in a fundraising or business development role for a charity, NGO, private or public entity (essential);
• Significant experience of drafting complex proposals for trusts, foundations and statutory institutions (including EU) and securing multi-year, six and seven-figure grants (essential);
• Experience leading the development and activity of proposal development teams, to ensure the effective and timely input of a variety of internal/external stakeholders into the fundraising process (essential);
• Experience of successfully managing the relationship development process with a new donor, from prospect identification through to cultivation encompassing both personal engagement with prospects and/or coordinating the input of colleagues from across the organisation (essential);
• Experience in line management and overseeing the work and development of a junior team member (desirable);
• Knowledge of and/or interest in environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity, air pollution (desirable); and
• Experience using fundraising databases and internal information management systems (e.g. Raiser’s Edge, SharePoint) (desirable).

Key Competencies

• Fluent (CEFR level C2) in English (essential)
• Fluent (CEFR level C2) in another European language (desirable).
• Excellent organisational skills and efficient management and prioritisation of multiple tasks and deadlines (essential);
• Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills, with ability to foster positive working relationships with diverse internal and external stakeholders, including and especially with funders (essential);
• Excellent writing, editing and verbal communication skills (essential);
• Ability to make strategic decisions in relation to funding opportunities, ensuring alignment of approach/proposal with organisational priorities and mission (essential);
• Ability to respond to competing deadlines and manage multiple tasks and priorities within a working environment (essential);
• Strong ability to absorb and understand large amounts of programme-related information as part of the proposal preparation process (essential);
• Ability to execute work independently and take the initiative when required (essential);
• Strong attention to detail and understanding of the importance of providing timely and accurate information on funder portfolios for the purposes of internal monitoring (essential); and
• Ability to understand and analyse budgets and financial information thoroughly (essential); and
• IT skills (able to use MS Office, teleconferencing (Teams, Zoom) etc) (essential);
• Comfortable with remote or matrix management and working in a global organisation (essential)
• Commitment to ClientEarth’s vision, mission, values, and a working style which reflects these (essential)

How to apply

Please send a letter of application stating your fit with the mission and the skills you would bring to the post with your CV/resume (no photos) in English and in strict confidence by email only to Karem Armstrong  karem@darylupsall.com.

Please ensure that they are sent with the titles “your name cover letter” and “your name CV” Please put “ClientEarth – Business Development Manager” in the email subject line. Also please let us know where you saw the post advertised.

The deadline for applications is Sunday 23rd October, 2022

Daryl Upsall International actively promotes equality, diversity, and inclusion. In recruiting candidates, we seek candidates with the proven skills required, irrespective of race, gender, religion or belief, age, disability, or sexual orientation.