Head of Philanthropy

Head of Philanthropy

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Balmer Dawson Executive Search is delighted to partner with Debra Ireland in their search for a suitably qualified Head of Philanthropy to join their team.

Balmer Dawson Executive Search is delighted to partner with Debra Ireland in their search for a suitably qualified Head of Philanthropy to join their ambitious and passionate team. Debra Ireland are dedicated to transforming the lives of people living with EB, caring for someone with EB, or bereaved by EB, through care, research and advocacy.

Debra Ireland is the national charity established in 1988 to provide patient support services and to drive research into treatments and cures for those living with the genetic skin condition, epidermolysis bullosa (EB).  EB can be an extremely severe and painful, rare, skin-blistering condition, which leaves the skin as fragile as the wings of a butterfly. Even gentle contact can cause devastating wounds.  Many of their patients who survive childhood face the frightening reality that they could develop a very aggressive form of skin cancer, due to the constant breakdown of their skin. Some of Debra Ireland’s strong supporters include Ray D’Arcy, Johnny Sexton, Miriam O’Callaghan and Colin Farrell.

Balmer Dawson are seeking an exceptional experienced candidate for Debra Ireland, that will play a critical role in developing and implementing effective fundraising strategies to secure financial support from Corporate Partners, Major Donors as well as Trusts and Foundations and Events fundraising. 

This position offers a unique opportunity to use your business development, project and people management skills to make a tangible impact by fostering relationships with businesses and individuals and raising funds to support our services and strategic initiatives. 

The Head of Philanthropy will be responsible for securing, managing and delivering the management of middle to high value relationships (with a value of over €1million).           

In carrying out the role, the post holder will lead the team in developing plans, budgetary goals, and key performance indicators to help Debra achieve our growth ambition.  

This person will prioritise the provision of outstanding supporter journeys and be responsible for developing plans, setting targets, and managing the effective performance of their team.

This role will be expected to work in a strategic and integrated way with the Head of Strategic Communications and Supporter Engagement to achieve income targets. 

The role will report directly to the CEO and be part of the Senior Management Team.

About the job

Role’s responsibilities

1. Cultivate relationships with corporate partners and secure corporate donations:

• The role will have lead responsibility for delivering the organisation’s income target.
• Develop clear prospect pipelines and activity trackers for all current and prospect corporate partners including, but not limited to, donations, COTYs, brand partnerships, etc., focusing on securing financial contributions, sponsorships, and in-kind donations.
• Manage the team to ensure Debra builds and maintains strong relationships with existing and potential corporate partners.
• Regularly communicate and provide updates to corporate partners on the impact of their contributions. 
• Attend networking events and corporate meetings to promote Debra’s work and identify new partnership opportunities.
• Negotiate mutually beneficial partnerships and sponsorship agreements with corporate donors. 
• Manage the major donors portfolio, cultivating and soliciting and stewarding high-capacity prospects and donors, elevating the calibre and impact of the major gifts program, meaningfully contributing to revenue.
• Identify new donors and work with existing supporters, to secure 5 and 6 figure gifts.
• Lead the annual process of developing the major gifts team’s collective work plan, including setting goals, objectives, strategies, activities, and revenue targets.
• Prepare and manage the annual major gifts revenue and expense budget. This includes monitoring progress, re-forecasting, and adjusting work plans where needed to meet goals.
• Oversee a robust and results-oriented major gifts program that is effective at every stage in the donor cycle, develops and utilizes compelling collateral materials, fundraising packages, proposals, and impact reports, and existing and new in-person engagement opportunities and events, and supports the development and completion of targeted fundraising campaigns.
• Ensure a recurring pipeline of applications for foundations and trusts is in place.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive strategy and pipeline to grow a more balanced fundraising model and build long-term sustainable income from events.
• Develop and deliver an events roadmap including a range of audience-led cultivation and special fundraising events designed to engage donors and supporters and ensure a consistent and sustainable stream of annual income. 
• Create and implement innovative fundraising events and initiatives to engage multiple tiers of donors. 
• Oversee the planning and execution of a steady calendar of events, including existing and new events, led by the Community and Events Manager.
• Oversee the management and stewardship of events and nurturing of leads to become major donors.
• Represent Debra and use various forums to generate quality leads for Debra, including meeting with potential new supporters and presenting both the organisation’s work and specific programme-focused work to them.
• Develop clear prospect pipelines, activity trackers and supporter journeys for major gifts, corporate gifts fundraising, and event participants.
• Implement strategies for donor recognition, reporting on impact, and stewardship, ensuring that supporters and partners feel valued and appreciated.
• Coordinate and oversee the fulfilment of sponsorship benefits and ensure timely reporting to corporate partners.
• Maintain accurate donor records and provide regular reports on fundraising activities to the senior management team. 
• Collaborate with the Marketing and Communications team to create effective marketing materials, cases for support and sponsorship packages in line with brand guidelines.
• Work closely with the Fundraising team to align corporate, events and major donor fundraising efforts with overall fundraising goals.
• Work closely with the Head of Strategic Communications and Supporter Engagement to develop priority projects and campaign messaging to develop engagement and growth.
• Coordinate with the internal teams to understand the impact of donations and effectively communicate and report to corporate partners, supporters, and donors.
• Engage the development committee in fundraising activity through annual events, prospect identification and introductions.
• Lead a small team in setting and managing budgetary goals, key performance indicators, and an operational plan to deliver revenue growth, as part of Debra’s Development and Fundraising Strategy.
• Ensure the team is goal-orientated, and performance led, following the highest of standards on processes and procedures. 
• Manage relationships with funders and partners, ensuring timely reporting on impact and key success metrics. This will include the co-ordination of internal stakeholders to ensure that partner contract terms and expectations are met and there is a clarity around roles of responsibilities, budgets, activity, and reporting frameworks across all stakeholders.
• Ensure all data and information gathered by the team is up to date and recorded accurately on the database. 
• Generate regular analysis and produce reports on fundraising activities for Debra’s senior management. 
• Foster a team culture of accountability, innovation, and learning.

1. Cultivate relationships and secure donations from major donors (including foundations and trusts):
2. Develop and execute Philanthropy, Corporate and Events fundraising strategies plans and calendar of activities:
3. Conduct donor stewardship, and recognition: 
4. Collaborate with internal stakeholders:  
5. Team and relationship management:
6. Leadership:

• As a key member of the Senior Management team, to contribute to the wider strategic development of Debra Ireland.
• To work closely with the Board, accounts department, Patient Care and Research team.

Person specification and qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field.
• Over 5 years of proven experience in corporate fundraising, business development, or excellent sales skills. 
• Strong understanding of fundraising principles and techniques.
• Excellent communication written and verbal and interpersonal skills. 
• A strong and adaptable Head of Philantrophy, comfortable at working collaboratively with senior stakeholders both, internally and externally. 
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with corporate partners, major donors. 
• Strong leadership skills and the ability to manage and coach a team to inspire, motivate and develop high performance, delivering gifts with a value of over €1m  annually. 
• Demonstrated negotiation and persuasion abilities. 
• Self-motivated and able to work independently as well as in a team. 
• Exceptional organizational and time management skills. 
• Proficient in using fundraising databases and software. 
• Passion for the mission and vision of Debra.

Terms

• Attractive salary: €70,000 + depending on experience.
• 20 days annual leave + 5 discretionary leave days: Good Friday, Christmas Eve, working days between Christmas-New Year
• Generous paid Sick Leave entitlement 
• Employer matched Pension Scheme up to 6%, following 6-month probationary period
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Bike to Work Scheme
• Opportunity for flexible/hybrid working

Location              

Primary place of work will be DEBRA Ireland’s office based at Butterfly Cottage, 8 Clanwilliam Terrace, Dublin 2.  Flexible working (a mix of remote/office based) is facilitated and embraced.