Job title: Head of Major Gifts
Reporting to: Director of Fundraising & Comms
Salary: TBC
Location: London, SW10 9HS
Contract: Full time
About CW+
CW+ is the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Our vision is to enable every patient to receive outstanding care, in our Trust’s community of more than a million people and beyond.
Our mission is to work with our Trust to create world-class facilities, drive innovation and research, and enhance patient and staff wellbeing. Using our expertise in partnership building, arts in health and healthcare innovation, we develop creative solutions to support an evolving NHS. Find out more at: www.cwplus.org.uk
Over the last six years CW+ has grown its fundraising programme extensively. We have completed a £12.5 million fundraising campaign to fund a complete redevelopment of critical care services at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital; we designed and deployed a COVID Rapid Response Fund that raised over £3 million in a matter of weeks to support our front-line clinical teams; and we secured £8 million to build and deliver a pioneering young people’s mental health programme – Best For You.
Through these campaigns, we have established a network of high profile, high net worth donors and a core group of external leaders who are committed to supporting us on future projects both personally and through their networks. This community of support has underpinned the progress made so far in our most ambitious fundraising campaign to date, Thirty at Thirty. Launched in May 2023, to mark the 30th anniversary of the opening of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, CW+ has pledged to raise £30 million to fund state-ofthe-art clinical units for surgery and young people, new digital innovation initiatives and clinical research facilities, and an extension of our pioneering patient and staff wellbeing and experience programmes. To date, over £19 million has been raised in gifts and pledges and we are now seeking an exceptional Head of Major Gifts to support the delivery of the final phase of the appeal.
Role purpose
Reporting to the Director of Fundraising and Communications, the Head of Major Gifts will lead the delivery of high-value fundraising, managing a portfolio of key relationships and leading the Major Gifts team to solicit significant gifts from major donors, trusts, foundations and corporate partners.. The successful candidate will be a highly experienced and accomplished relationship fundraiser with a demonstrable track record in securing six and seven figure donations. Working closely with the CEO who is an experienced and active fundraiser, the Head of Major Gifts will manage the CW+ Development Board, a core group of senior supporters who network on behalf of the charity to attract philanthropic support. The Head of Major Gifts will build and steward their own meaningful relationships, inspiring transformational giving through compelling cases for support, bespoke curated events and driving momentum across the department by overseeing a healthy and robust prospect pipeline. Working closely with senior leadership, clinicians and volunteers, the role holder will drive a donor-centred, insight-led approach to maximising philanthropic impact for CW+.
Key responsibilities and duties:
Support the successful delivery of the Thirty at Thirty campaign to completion and to agreed targets, in collaboration with colleagues.
Manage, support and motivate the Philanthropy Manager and the Philanthropy & Partnerships Manager, embedding a high-performance, collaborative and supporter-focused culture.
Work closely with the Development Lead (responsible for major Trusts, statutory funding and strategic partnerships) to ensure opportunities to apply to major Trusts are maximised, delivered efficiently and are aligned with internal resources and skills, to ensure optimum funding success rates.
Establish and maintain relationships with a portfolio of high value donors and prospective donors, including private individuals, family trusts and foundations and companies.
• Solicit six and seven figure major gifts to support the hospital Trust.
Lead robust, disciplined pipelines across major donors, trusts and foundations and corporate partnerships
Maintain organisation-wide approaches to pipeline management, review and progression, reducing reliance on individual relationships.
• Lead the design and execution of private special events, tours and dinners.
• Produce bespoke reports and funding bids to existing and prospective donors.
Produce bespoke stewardship material and updates to individuals and trusts in the portfolio.
Support the Chief Executive on key relationships, including management of the CW+ Development Board
Build high quality relationships internally and externally, including with senior hospital staff.
• Support events, meetings and other projects as required.
Person Specification:
Experience of successfully identifying, cultivating and asking for six and seven figure gifts from private individuals and/or trusts and foundations
Experience of building high quality relationships with individuals
• A team player
• A proven ability to persuade and influence others
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including:
o Ability to convey complex ideas clearly and succinctly to a lay audience
o Ability to write compelling proposals and engaging reports for prospects and donors
o Meticulous attention to detail
Excellent organisational skills, able to work on a variety of tasks with a range of deadlines simultaneously
Experience with working with databases
• Aptitude for working in a high-pressure, target-driven environment
• Knowledge of the healthcare sector (advantageous, but not essential)
Key terms and benefits:
Hours: 35 per week (normally 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday with flexible and/or hybrid working where appropriate) with an expectation of 2-3 days in the office each week.
• Pension: employer contribution of 8%.
• Holiday: 27 days per annum, plus UK bank holidays (pro-rata for part time staff).
• Probation: six months is standard unless you have a specific reason to reduce/increase.
• Other benefits available: HSF health plan, season ticket loan.