We’re on the lookout for a new Trusts & Foundations Manager!

Literacy Pirates’ vision is for every child to have the literacy skills, confidence and perseverance to succeed at school and beyond. We provide free, after-school literacy support to children who are falling behind in class and who have fewer opportunities for additional support due to their personal circumstances than others. Founded in East London, Literacy Pirates’ programme now runs online and serves children anywhere in the United Kingdom.  
 
Literacy Pirates is on an exciting journey of growth, rolling out our innovative learning programme to reach more children than ever before. An ambitious, fast-growing charity we have set ourselves a goal of reaching 3,000 children a year nationally, by 2030 compared with 650 this year. To support this, the fundraising team must double the charity’s revenue over the next four years, from £1million to £2million annually. 

This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious Trust and Foundation specialist with a keen interest in developing strategy and a flair for building strong relationships with funders. You will be excited to play a pivotal role in the growth of this charity, knowing the huge impact every new grant will have on the number of disadvantaged young people we are able to support. You will have significant freedom to design and execute a strong growth-oriented trusts strategy.

Salary: £45,000 Contract Type: Full-time, permanent (35 hours per week, Monday to Friday) Location: Hackney, London with access to flexible working arrangements Application Deadline: 12 noon, Friday 5th December 2025 Stage One Interviews: Telephone Interview, 10th December Stage Two Interviews: In person, 16th and 17th December Start Date: January or as close as possible

Who we’re looking for

Proven track record of securing significant multi-year grants from trusts and foundations.

• Strong grant-writing skills with the ability to produce clear, persuasive, and tailored proposals.

• Experience using AI to generate proposals and grant reports time-efficiently.

• Excellent relationship building and management skills, with experience engaging funders and external stakeholders.

• Strong track record of prospect research using a mixture of techniques and strategies

• Experience representing an organisation at events and conferences.

• Strong numeracy and experience in preparing budgets for funders.

• Highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines and priorities.

• Familiarity with Salesforce or other CRM systems.

• Commitment to safeguarding and the welfare of children and young people.

• Commitment to the mission of improving outcomes for children from less advantaged backgrounds.

• Knowledge of the education sector a plus, but not essential.

Responsibilities

• Research and identify trusts, foundations, and other funding opportunities to grow Literacy Pirates’ funding base.

• Develop a pipeline of high-quality funding applications to meet agreed income targets.

• Write or generate compelling funding proposals and grant applications, drawing on organisational impact data and stories

• Place AI tools at the centre of routine content generation for applications and reports.

• Build and maintain excellent interpersonal relationships with funders, ensuring effective stewardship at all stages.

• Attend conferences and networking events, and arrange funder visits, meetings.

• Track progress against targets and provide regular updates to the Head of Development.

• Provide support and leadership to the broader fundraising team

• Contribute to the development of the charity’s wider fundraising strategy, ensuring trusts and foundations income complements individual giving, corporate partnerships, and community events.

• Work with the Education and Comms team to ensure the right impact data and case studies are available to strengthen proposals and reports and contribute to organisation’s marketing work

• Ensure accurate and up-to-date records of applications, grants, and funder communications in the CRM system.

• Monitor sector trends and share insights on funding opportunities and best practice.

What to expect as a member of the crew

• Be part of a committed, inclusive organisation that supports its team to thrive.We value each member of our team’s professional development and provide training to make sure you have the chance to develop your skills and grow your experience as part of our expanding team.Click herefor more information about our commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

• Request flexible and home-working arrangements.We know how important your personal life is, so every member of the team is able to apply for flexible and home-working arrangements around their delivery commitments.

• Receive enhanced sick, maternity, paternity and adoption pay, with supportive parenting arrangements.Your family is important and we are committed to supporting our you as a parent, which is why we go above and beyond our statutory responsibilities.

• Take a mental wellness day. Staying well means looking after our mental health and physical health so, rather than taking a sick day, a mental wellness day acknowledges that sometimes we can feel overwhelmed, not quite ourselves and we need time out.

• Takea career break. After four years with The Literacy Pirates, you can take sabbatical leave to pursue personal development or time with your families, and come back to work without needing to end your contract.

• Gain 24 hour access to qualified counsellors for yourself and your immediate family.Through theHealth Assured Employee Assistance Programme, yourself and your immediate family can receive free, confidential advice and support from qualified counsellors, on everything from stress and anxiety to family issues, bereavement and finances.

• Save up to 39% on a commuter bike and accessories throughThrough our partnership with Cyclescheme, you can get a bike for work with payments automatically taken from your monthly salary and no upfront payments. This means you’ll be able to spread the cost over 12 months and pay less Income Tax and National Insurance.Cyclescheme.

• Get time during work hours to volunteer.As an organisation that relies on the passion and generosity of volunteers, we know how valuable volunteering is. We offer all employees 14 hours of volunteering time per year, which you can take by the hour or in one go, so that you can support issues and causes that you care about.

• Receive 23 days of annual leave per year, plus bank holidays and the days between Christmas and New Year, and increased allowance with service.

• Get 8% pension contributions, with 3% paid by The Literacy Pirates.

• Get to work in a pirate ship!

How to apply

To apply for the position, complete our online application form and upload a CV by midday on Friday 5th December 2025.

Stage one interviews will take place via telephone on 10th December.

We will invite the two strongest candidates for an in-person interview on 16th or 17th December.

The successful candidate will be called for a final interview with a few of our Young Pirates.

All employees are required to complete an Enhanced DBS check prior to starting work. You can see our policy on employing those with a criminal record here.

If you need to take time from work to attend interviews, we are happy to compensate you for your time.

We’re committed to ensuring our recruitment practices are accessible to and inclusive of all prospective candidates. If you require any reasonable adjustments to accessing our recruitment materials or attending interviews, please let us know by emailing admin@literacypirates.org or by calling us on 020 3327 1777. 

Want to learn more about the role? Get in touch at admin@literacypirates.org to sign up to our open evening on 19th November.