Head of Fundraising
National Role
Salary: £75,000 - £80,000
Are you a strategic fundraising leader passionate about transforming young people’s lives through STEM education? Are you driven by building meaningful partnerships and securing sustainable, multi-year income? If so, this is your opportunity to play a pivotal leadership role in a highly purpose-driven organisation with a mission focusing on improving teaching, enriching learning, and growing the STEM talent pool, to open up a world of opportunities.
About Us
At STEM Learning, we believe every young person deserves access to high-quality STEM education and career support, regardless of their background. We aim to empower students with the skills and knowledge to thrive. We do this through:
Professional Development for educators: Subject-specific training for teachers and technicians in science, computer science and AI.
Resources: Quality-assured materials that enhance teaching and learning.
Destination STEM: Inspiring, hands-on student-facing experiences including to support skills enrichment and career education.
STEM Ambassadors: A nationwide network of 28,000 volunteers from over 5000 employers bringing STEM to life for young people.
The Role
Reporting directly to the Chief Executive, and as a member of the Senior Management Team, you will lead our fundraising strategy and team to secure significant, multi-year income from major donors, trusts and foundations and corporates. You’ll be responsible for expanding our funding base including with high-net worth individuals, deepening key relationships, and ensuring STEM Learning has the partnerships and resources to achieve its mission.
Key priorities include:
- Driving new funder engagement and positioning STEM Learning as a trusted, high-impact partner delivering measurable social value.
- Building and maintaining a strong, diverse, pipeline of six plus figure partnerships.
- Securing sustainable, multi-year income across a balanced portfolio of major donors, trusts and corporate relationships.
- Leading, motivating, and developing the fundraising team.
- Collaborating across the organisation to align funding proposals with STEM Learning’s strategic priorities and ensure exceptional programme delivery and stewardship.
- Contributing to organisational strategy improvements as a member of the Senior Management Team.
Download the full Role Profile to find out more!
What we’re looking for
Candidates will demonstrate our values: Sustainable – Innovative – Proactive
We’re looking for an entrepreneurial, relationship-driven leader who will take ownership for identifying opportunities for new funds and contribute to the overall fundraising strategy of STEM Learning. You’ll have:
- A strong track record of securing significant income from high-net-worth individuals and trusts and foundations.
- The confidence and gravitas to engage senior stakeholders, trustees, and C-suite decision-makers and must be comfortable ‘making the ask’. You will be required to develop external relationships with institutional investors and High Net Worth individuals, and you may already have an existing range of investor contacts.
- Exceptional communication and influencing skills, with a collaborative, values-driven approach. You will be able to demonstrate your knowledge of the organisation and its strategic priorities to achieve our goals and support the stewardship of our new Fellowship scheme.
- Experience leading and empowering teams to achieve shared goals and maintain momentum.
- Creativity, resilience, adaptability and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- A passion for/understanding of the power of STEM education and enrichment is desirable.
- Experience of establishing or maintaining a Fellowship programme is desirable, but not essential.
By joining us, you’ll:
- Contribute to exciting, high-profile STEM initiatives that have a lasting impact on students and employers alike.
- Work alongside passionate colleagues dedicated to shaping the future of STEM careers.
- Be supported by a collaborative and dynamic work environment that fosters innovation and creativity.
- Gain the opportunity to grow professionally.
- If you’re passionate about STEM education and ready to progress your career in project management, we’d love to hear from you.
Our Benefits
- 30 days holidays plus bank holidays (plus your birthday)
- Access to an attractive pension scheme
- Our full-time hours are 37 hours per week
- Up to 3 paid volunteering leave days per year
- A comprehensive employee assistance programme
- Access to a voluntary staff benefits scheme including cycle to work loan scheme; health cash back plans; free eye tests; discounted vouchers and much more. Take a look at our to find out more about the benefits we offer.benefits brochure
Next Steps
The closing date for applications is 26 June 2026, at 14:00.
First stage Interviews (via Teams) – 2/3 July 2026
Second stage interviews – week commencing 13 July 2026
To Apply
Please provide us with:
- Your up-to-date CV including the contact details of two referees (please note, references will not be approached without your permission and will not be taken up until the offer stage)
- A covering letter (no more than the equivalent of 2 sides of A4) explaining your interest in the role and why you think you would be the ideal candidate.
STEM Learning strives to be diverse and inclusive – a place where we can ALL be ourselves. We encourage applications from all backgrounds and communities, and are committed to employing teams with diverse abilities, skills, and experiences.
We foster a culture where every employee’s voice is respected and valued.