Fundraising and Partnerships Assistant

Fundraising and Partnerships Assistant

Introduction to National Numeracy:       

We are on a mission to empower children and adults in the UK to get on with numbers so they can fulfil their potential at work, home and school. Our work improves how people understand and work with numbers in everyday life, sparking better opportunities and brighter futures.

The issue: Numeracy levels in the UK are significantly below the average for developed countries: nearly half the working age population (49%) has the expected numeracy level of a primary school child. And it costs the UK economy a staggering £25 billion a year.

Enabling social mobility: Basic number skills and confidence provide a gateway to financial inclusion, wellbeing and employment prospects. Without number confidence and skills, people are locked out of many life opportunities. And it’s a problem handed from one generation to the next.

Enabling a fairer society: Poor numeracy blights lives and livelihoods. People with low numeracy earn less, and it contributes to pervasive problems from unemployment to poor health and debt.

Our diversity: Our stakeholders have different backgrounds and experiences, and we are committed to having a diverse team who can bring their experiences from work and home into this role. Therefore, we actively encourage applicants from black, Asian or minority ethnic groups, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities to apply for this role.

Introduction to the role

A new and exciting opportunity has arisen for a Fundraising and Partnerships Assistant. Our funding comes primarily through charitable trusts and foundations, corporate supporters and a number of commercial partners. This position will provide crucial support to the whole partnerships and fundraising function, helping to drive the income generation to support our charitable activities.

National reach for our work is achieved by working in collaboration with partner organisations that have an interest in improving people’s life chances. This includes schools, colleges, adult education organisations, other charities, employers, government departments and public-sector bodies. This position is key to supporting those  partnerships, from helping to identify and onboard partners, through to supporting effective ongoing relationships.

The Fundraising and Partnerships Assistant will also work alongside the Programmes team and the Impact and Evaluation team to provide administrative support to organisations that work with us, including helping to gather the impact data that shows the positive difference we are making and contributes to our ongoing improvement. The post holder will also work with the External Relations team to help create the inspiring materials that drive engagement with our work.

We are looking for someone who is flexible, a self-starter and able to use their own initiative. The successful candidate will be comfortable communicating with organisational partners as well as with the individual beneficiaries of our programmes. It’s not imperative that you come from the charity sector or that you have held an equivalent role previously, as long as you can show us that you have relevant transferable skills and an understanding of what it takes to be successful in this role. 

National Numeracy is based in Lewes, East Sussex, but with significant home working potential. The expectation is that you will be in Lewes at least occasionally when the work requires it but we offer significant flexibility opportunities. The role may include occasional travel to London and beyond.

Overview of Main Duties:     

Fundraising support

• Support the Partnerships team with pipeline development for new funding opportunities, including researching potential corporate, trusts and foundations partners.
• Support the drafting of engaging funding applications.

Partnerships support

• Attend relationship meetings with partners, helping to ensure partners are supported and informed on the progress of activities and shared goals.
• Work with both the Partnerships team and the External Relations team on the recruitment and management of Champion organisations for our flagship national campaign National Numeracy Day.
• Support partners to use National Numeracy’s online tools and wider programmes, such as the National Numeracy Challenge platform. This includes being first point of contact for partner and user queries.
• Support all partners to adhere to National Numeracy’s guidelines and processes.
• Help co-ordinate partnership activity, including setting up surveys, organising meetings and monitoring uptake of numeracy programmes.

Administrative support

• Provide admin support to the partnership and fundraising team: booking meetings, providing documentation, taking notes, etc.
•  Oversee our CRM tool and work with the wider team to ensure we are using this effectively to support our fundraising pipeline and partner management.
• Establish, manage and maintain appropriate administration processes and documentation control systems, ensuring accurate, up-to-date records are maintained.
• Maintain the databases of supportive quotes for our work and relevant research on numeracy and related topics; both of which are crucial for partner relationship management and fundraising.
• Work with the team to monitor activity and impact across multiple projects, gather learnings and contributing to the direction of future projects.

Communications

• Pro-actively build and maintain good working relationships with colleagues, customers and external agencies to reflect the values of the organisation, including owning and managing relationships with some of our key smaller partners.
• Support project communications development and dissemination to partners. This includes, for example, working with the External Relations team and external partners on writing copy for newsletters, staff communications, email campaigns and web content.

Essential Skills/Experience

•  Competent in Word, Excel and PowerPoint (or other presentation programme).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to build effective relationships across the organisation and with external stakeholders.
• Good organisational, multi-tasking and prioritisation skills.
• Flexible in your approach, and able to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Able to identify with what we do as a charity and why it’s important.

Desired skills/experience            

•    Fundraising support experience with experience of contributing to bid writing
• Previous use of a CRM.
• An interest in quantitative and qualitative research methods.

The Details:       

We are offering: 

•            Salary of £21,000 per annum

•            37.5 hours a week

•            33 days’ holiday a year including bank holidays

•            Company pension scheme

•            Flexible approach to office/hybrid/remote working 

•            Full induction and a supportive approach to career development 

•            Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategic plan 

•            Multiple staff social opportunities

National Numeracy offers a supportive, friendly culture with a focus on wellbeing and collaboration. We take life-long learning seriously and support our staff to develop their skills and knowledge.

We have an open hybrid approach to office/remote working and welcome applications from candidates interested is either in office or predominantly remote working options.

National Numeracy is an equal opportunities employer and all applicants are treated equally and fairly throughout the recruitment and selection process. 

How to apply     In the first instance, please submit a CV with covering letter of no more than two pages to Emily Kramers at  enquiries@nationalnumeracy.org.uk by 10am on 7th February 2022.

Please include in your covering letter an outline of your suitability for the role with reference to the essential skills and experience criteria. Applications without a cover letter will not be accepted.

* This job description doesn't constitute a promise or guarantee of employment . National Numeracy reserve the right to make changes to this job description.

** National Numeracy reserves the right to change the deadline for applications or to close the application window if a suitable candidate is found. 

*** National Numeracy cannot offer visa sponsorship for this opportunity. Please do not apply unless you can demonstrate eligibility to work in the UK.