Head of Principal Giving

Job Summary

The salary for this full time permanent role is circa £70,000 per annum

We are sector leading with our heritage, connections, and relationships. Our friends are superbly connected and ready to use their networks to help us. With a talented, hard-working team, we deliver amazing, creative and innovative fundraising that has a huge capacity to inspire people. We have long recognised the opportunity to grow transformational philanthropy. And with strong networks among investors and philanthropists, and a compelling 10-year strategy in place, we’re now creating our first dedicated Head of Principal Giving role.

We are seeking a highly skilled fundraiser to lead this programme – someone with the confidence and credibility to inspire ultra-high-net-worth individuals to make transformational gifts in support of our mission.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact our recruitment partner: Laura Macnamara at QuarterFive, laura@quarterfive.co.uk

Your Role

As our first Head of Principal Giving, you will lead the development and delivery of our newly identified principal giving strand – a bold and focused effort to drive a step-change in transformational philanthropy. This role is critical to engaging high-capacity, values-aligned philanthropists who can sustain our mission for children affected by conflict.

You will build and lead a bold, high-impact strategy focused on cultivating deep, long-term partnerships with influential philanthropists. Working closely with senior leadership, you will be central to unlocking significant funding opportunities that align donor values with the lasting change we deliver for children living through conflict. We have a strong history of co-creation and a team of programme experts who are used to working alongside fundraisers to change children’s lives. We have the networks and the appetite – we are looking for someone with the time and expertise to help us realise our full potential.

Operating as a strategic partner to senior leadership, you will cultivate and manage relationships with individuals capable of making significant, long-term commitments. You will connect the ambitions of influential philanthropists with our most urgent priorities, creating deep, enduring partnerships that unlock meaningful impact.

This role will report into the Director of Philanthropy and Partner Engagement and will complement existing philanthropy efforts, offering a new and distinct channel for growth. You will work in close collaboration with the Head of Philanthropy and Head of Trusts & Foundations to ensure a joined-up approach to donor engagement and income generation. This role has the full support of the of the War Child Alliance CEO and War Child UK CEO - you will work alongside them on relationships of the highest level.

The ideal candidate will bring extensive experience in working with UHNWIs, a sophisticated understanding of relationship-led fundraising, and a proven track record of securing £500,000 figure gifts and above. You will be a strategic thinker and natural collaborator, ready to build a programme with ambition and creativity.

You will bring innovation, strategic insight and a nuanced understanding of relationship-led fundraising to build a high-performing programme. Internally, you will be a key voice in shaping the future of high-value giving, contributing to cross-team projects and the wider WCUK strategy. Externally, you will represent the organisation with credibility and creativity at the highest levels.

Your Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

Lead the development and implementation of a bold, multi-year Principal Giving strategy that drives transformational income growth and aligns with War Child’s mission and strategic objectives.
Act as a strategic partner to senior leadership, providing insight, inspiration and direction to embed a culture of high-value, relationship-led fundraising across the organisation.
Keep abreast of sector trends, philanthropic behaviours, and innovations in UK and global giving to ensure War Child remains at the forefront of high-value fundraising.
As required, lead or contribute to cross-organisational project groups, helping shape the future direction of strategic income generation.

Principal Donor Cultivation & Relationship Management

Personally manage and steward a portfolio of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) and other high-capacity prospects, developing deep, trust-based relationships that result in significant, long-term income generation.
Design and deliver highly bespoke donor engagement and stewardship plans, tailored to individual motivations, values and ambitions.
Build and maintain a dynamic, insight-led pipeline of principal giving prospects, identifying and prioritising individuals with the greatest capacity and alignment.
Work closely with the Director of Philanthropy and Partner Engagement, CEOs across the Alliance, Trustees, and Global Ambassadors to engage principal prospects at the highest level.
Represent War Child with authenticity, confidence and creativity in donor interactions, events and external opportunities.

Collaboration & Influence

Help shape and refine compelling principal giving propositions in collaboration with programme colleagues and external consultants.
Collaborate with the Head of Philanthropy and Head of Trusts & Institutional Funding to ensure strategic alignment across high-value fundraising and to identify crossover opportunities.
Support War Child’s high-profile engagement by advising on the strategic use of Ambassadors and high profile supporters within the Principal Giving strategy.

Performance, Evaluation & Reporting

Set and manage income targets, KPIs, and forecasts for Principal Giving, ensuring robust performance monitoring and evaluation.
Provide timely and strategic reporting to the Philanthropy & Partner Engagement Director and wider leadership, offering insight on progress, learnings and areas for growth.
Use data and feedback to continuously refine and improve the principal giving strategy and donor experience.
Responsible for creating a culture committed to the safeguarding of children and adults and compliant to War Child’s Safeguarding and PSEAH (Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse & Harassment) Policies.
We are committed to building an inclusive and equitable workforce. All staff are expected to actively contribute to this by embedding principles of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging into their day-to-day work, decision-making, and interactions with colleagues, partners and supporters.

These duties provide a framework for the role and should not be regarded as a definitive list. Other reasonable duties may be required consistent with the grade of the role.

You Are

A highly experienced high-value fundraiser with a proven track record of securing gifts of £500,000 and above from ultra-high-net-worth individuals, ideally within an international development or humanitarian context.
Expert in building trusted, strategic relationships with influential individuals, senior stakeholders, and philanthropic partners – with the confidence to inspire transformational giving.
An excellent communicator who understands donor motivations and philanthropy trends, with the ability to craft compelling cases for support, deliver persuasive presentations, and lead philanthropic discussions at the highest level.
Self-motivated, entrepreneurial and adaptable – able to work independently to drive forward a new strand of income generation, while contributing to a collaborative and integrated fundraising environment.
A confident collaborator with strong influencing skills, able to work across senior leadership, programmes teams, trustees, and high profile ambassadors to develop and deliver donor strategies.
Skilled in pipeline development, income forecasting, and performance monitoring, using insight, analysis, and tools (like Salesforce) to inform decisions and track results.
Highly organised, with experience in planning, budgeting, and project leadership at a strategic level.
Deeply committed to ethical fundraising practices, with up-to-date knowledge of GDPR and fundraising regulation.
Passionate about delivering meaningful, lasting impact for children affected by conflict – and excited to play a key role in building a bold new strand of transformational philanthropy.

About Us

At War Child we are driven by a single goal – ensuring a safe future for every child affected by war.

Using our 30 years of experience and proven methodologies, we aim to reach children as quickly as possible when conflict breaks out and stay long after the cameras have gone to support them through their recovery. We work with local communities and governments to help protect and educate children, and support them to heal and learn, for a safer, brighter future.

We understand children’s needs, respect and stand up for their rights, and put them at the centre of everything we do – because one child caught up in conflict is one child too many.

Every day, our local teams are in communities and in refugee camps creating safe spaces for children to play, learn and access psychological support, and we specialise in responding rapidly to emergency crisis situations to deliver immediate and critical care impartially to help to those who need us most, when they need us most.

Because no child should be part of war. Ever.

Our Values

Bold:We use our passion and creativity to deliver high quality evidence-based work designed to maximise our beneficial impact for children in conflict.
Accountable to children:Children can rely on us to respond to their voices and to treat them with respect and dignity.
Anti-racism:Anti-racism is not merely a belief. It includes actions that we mainstream throughout our work to change and challenge policies and behaviours that perpetuate racism.
Transparent:We expect to be held to account by our supporters and participants and we respond with openness and honesty.
Supportive of each other:We support each other to achieve ambitious goals and be the best we can be. We are honest and open, sharing our successes & confronting our challenges.

Our Benefits

Flexible working- we recognise the considerable benefits that flexible working can bring and are happy to discuss any possible flexible working options with our employees from hiring. For most roles, the following types of flexibility are usually possible: flexible hours, occasional working from home and compressed hours.
Annual leave– 28 days per year (full-time) rising to 33 days with service, plus bank holidays
Pension- all eligible employees automatically enrolled into a Group Personal Pension Plan with a 5% employer contribution, with minimum employee contribution on a salary sacrifice basis. This increases to 6% after one year's service.
Family leave– we offer enhanced Maternity, Partner/Co-Parent/Paternity Leave, Adoption & Shared Parental Leave
Health & wellbeing- employees may take advantage of a healthcare cash plan and a range of wellbeing initiatives and training. In addition, all employees have access to free, confidential one-to-one wellbeing consultations with trained counsellors.
Learning & development- dedicated to the investment in learning and continuing professional development for all our employees
Workplace Nursery Benefit– employees make tax and NI savings on nursery costs for children up to the age of 5
Flexible public holidays- up to two standard UK public holidays can be exchanged for those that have cultural or religious significance.
Voluntary contributions can be made through payroll allowing employees to claim back on a range of cancer treatments.Cancer Cover:

GP 24/7 Helpline:A GP helpline is be available to all UK employees providing access to a qualified GP, 24/7 via a telephone or webcam consultation, and offers diagnosis, advice and reassurance on a range of medical matters, as well as authorisation of private electronic prescriptions.

Welcome Bag for new starters:A War Child Tote bag, War Child T-shirt and some other practical things to welcome new colleagues to War Child.

Discounts on War Child Merchandise: 25% discount on full price War Child merchandise, available to all employees, sold through Shop for Good.

Range of flexible benefits such a Cycle to Work scheme and season ticket loans.

Flexible Working

We positively support flexible working arrangements. These currently include: office working, homeworking, part-time hours, compressed hours, flexi-time, flexi-place (hybrid working) and job shares. We would be happy to discuss individual flexible working requests during the interview process.

Safeguarding

Our work with children and at-risk adults to ensure their safety is our top priority. We are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in all aspects of our work. We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any behavior or practices that put children and/or vulnerable adults at risk of abuse or harm.

Successful applicants will be required to comply with and sign our Safeguarding Policy, Code of Conduct, and PSEAH Policy. You can find the Safeguarding and Integrity policies here:https://warchild.sharepoint.com/sites/Integrity

Diversity and Inclusion

We value diversity and inclusion and are committed to ensuring that all our people and job applicants are treated fairly, irrespective of where, what or whom they were born, or of other characteristics. We want to offer a safe and inclusive workplace where all our people, especially those who are currently marginalised or underrepresented, can be themselves at work. You can read our Diversity and Inclusion policy on our website, and if you have any questions about our commitment to diversity and inclusion do get in touch: https://www.warchild.org.uk/our-work/policies-and-reports/diversity-and-inclusion

Pre-employment Checks

Employment with War Child will be subject to the following checks prior to your start date:

a satisfactory police record check to include a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and/or an International/National Criminal Record Check

a clear vetting and Due Diligence check

receipt of two professional satisfactory references