Senior Challenge Fundraising Officer
Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis
Senior Challenge Fundraising Officer
Job description
Job title: Senior Challenge Fundraising Officer
Direct Reports: None
Location: Hybrid minimum 1 day per week in the Peterborough office
Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week. Typically 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, with flexibility to maintain a good work–life balance. Occasional out-of-hours work may be required, with time off in lieu. Part-time considered, minimum 4 days.
Grade: 2b (£31,000 - £34,500)
About Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis
Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis (APF) is the UK’s leading patient charity dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by pulmonary fibrosis. Our mission is underpinned by values of compassionate, bold, expert and collaborative. We believe in creating a supportive environment in which both our employees and beneficiaries can thrive.
Founded in 2013 by people affected by PF and clinicians, APF has grown into a respected national charity rooted in community and evidence. We provide trusted information and support, help a growing network of support groups, campaign to
Role purpose
The Senior Challenge Fundraising Officer will lead the delivery and growth of APF’s third-party and mass participation challenge events portfolio. This role exists to significantly grow income and participation by managing end-to-end third-party challenge events, developing community-facing charity-owned fundraising products and delivering excellent supporter stewardship.
improve access to care and invest in research to bring hope of new treatments. APF strives to be an organisation of equity and inclusion, welcoming people from all backgrounds – our team and volunteers aim to reflect the diverse communities we serve.
We have just launched an ambitious five year strategy (2025–2030), co-created with the PF community, which focuses on expanding support, transforming care, and accelerating research. This strategy marks a step change with a clearer focus, stronger delivery model and greater ambition to ensure no one faces pulmonary fibrosis alone.
Working closely with the Head of Fundraising and colleagues across Communications, Services and the Operations Team, you will increase recruitment, empower supporters to raise ambitious funds, and create journeys that encourage long-term engagement with APF.
Success in this role means more people fundraising for APF, raising more income and feeling valued, supported and inspired to stay connected to our mission.
Key responsibilities
1. Grow participation in third party events
• Manage the full lifecycle of third-party and mass participation challenge events, from planning and recruitment through to stewardship and reengagement.
• Develop and execute creative marketing strategies to boost participation and attract new event participants.
• Draft engaging promotional content that inspires and engages our supporters in collaboration with the Communications team.
• Promote third-party events proactively across relevant channels and networks.
• Work with the wider Fundraising team to improve and refine the stewardship journey for challenge participants to maximise the participant experience.
• Identify and pursue opportunities to grow participation in new and existing events.
• Attend key events as required, managing on-theday logistics and volunteer coordination.
2. Community product development
• Work with Head of Fundraising to shape and improve APFs fundraising offer and remote products.
• Test and refine new fundraising concepts that increase accessibility and broaden participation.
• Work collaboratively across teams to ensure our community fundraising products align with wider campaigns and strategic priorities.
3. Income growth and fundraiser empowerment
• Inspire participants to achieve ambitious fundraising targets through engaging, creative communications.
• Develop and enhance fundraising materials, including participant packs and digital resources to support our fundraisers.
• Use insight and sector trends to identify opportunities to boost event visibility and maximise fundraising efforts.
• Monitor fundraising performance to ensure we’re meeting targets and delivering strong ROI on our challenge activities.
4. Stewardship and re-engagement
• Foster personal connections with supporters through thoughtful, tailored stewardship that keeps them engaged and feeling valued.
• Create clear re-engagement plans to encourage repeat participation and long-term loyalty.
• Collaborate with wider Fundraising and Services teams to support acquisition and ensure our supporters have a smooth, high-quality supporter journey.
• Represent APF publicly when required, acting as a confident ambassador for the charity at events and in public settings.
5. Data, insight and compliance
• Support on the management of CRM data to enable accurate segmentation, performance tracking and reporting.
• Monitor recruitment, participation, income and ROI to help inform future planning and improvements.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge with GDPR regulations and compliance and ensure personal data is handled responsibly and securely.
• Work closely with the Governance and Operations Manager to ensure our fundraising activities are fully compliant with GDPR and the Code of Fundraising Practice.
Person Specification
Essential experience
• Experience in third-party mass participation challenge fundraising, supporting participants through their fundraising journeys and working with external event providers to deliver successful participation and income.
• Proven ability to grow participation and increase income, with experience developing stewardship journeys, recruiting supporters and identifying opportunities to maximise fundraising potential.
• Experience in donor stewardship and supporter relationship management, providing excellent support to fundraisers, building long-term relationships and delivering engaging supporter journeys that encourage repeat participation and loyalty.
• Experience using CRM systems and supporter data to track engagement, monitor fundraising performance and identify opportunities for improvement, using insight to inform decisionmaking and strengthen fundraising outcomes.
Essential skills and attributes
• Highly motivated, proactive and well organised, with the ability to manage multiple fundraising activities and competing priorities effectively. Demonstrates initiative, takes ownership of projects, and consistently delivers high-quality work to agreed deadlines.
• Confident communicator, able to engage and inspire a wide range of audiences across multiple channels, including email, telephone, social media and in-person events.
• Skilled relationship builder, able to develop and maintain positive, long-term relationships with colleagues, supporters, event participants and stakeholders. Demonstrates empathy, professionalism and enthusiasm when representing the charity and supporting people in their fundraising journeys.
• Data-aware and insight-led, comfortable using fundraising data, CRM systems and campaign reporting to monitor performance, identify trends and inform improvements. Able to use evidence and supporter insight to strengthen participation, engagement and income growth.
• Opportunity-focused, actively identifying ways to increase participation, engagement and fundraising income. Brings creativity and curiosity to testing new ideas, improving supporter journeys and developing fundraising opportunities.
• Committed to excellent supporter experiences, ensuring all interactions with participants and fundraisers are positive, responsive and supportive. Demonstrates a genuine commitment to stewardship that builds loyalty, repeat participation and long-term supporter relationships.
Desirable experience
• A keen interest in monitoring sector trends in mass participation and challenge events, with the ability to identify new opportunities, formats or engagement approaches that help keep the organisation’s fundraising offer relevant, competitive and appealing to supporters.
• Experience managing relationships with thirdparty stakeholders, such as event organisers, ensuring clear communication, effective collaboration and positive outcomes for both APF and its supporters.
• Experience using and developing supporter stewardship journeys, designing communications and touchpoints that motivate participants, encourage fundraising success and build longterm supporter loyalty.
• Experience developing or supporting charityowned virtual or digital fundraising events, helping to plan, launch and grow participation through engaging supporter experiences and effective promotion.
• Experience managing or coordinating volunteers, providing guidance, encouragement and clear communication to enable volunteers to contribute confidently and effectively to fundraising activities.
Person Specification (continued)
Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
• Demonstrates a proactive commitment to inclusive fundraising that engages diverse audiences.
• Understands barriers to participation and designs supporter journeys with accessibility, relevance and representation in mind.
• Champions equitable practice in campaign design, storytelling and donor experience.
• Strong understanding of ethical fundraising practice, regulation, data protection, GDPR and supporter consent.
Knowledge and compliance
• Awareness of the Code of Fundraising Practice and sector standards.
• Understanding of GDPR and best practice in handling personal data.
• Willingness to represent the charity publicly when required.
• Commitment to $\mathsf { A P F } ^ { \prime } \mathsf { S }$ values: compassionate, expert, bold and collaborative.
Safeguarding and Compliance
APF is committed to safeguarding everyone we work with. This role will complete relevant safeguarding training and uphold all policies.
Diversity and inclusion
At Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis, we are committed to promoting equity and inclusion. Pulmonary fibrosis does not discriminate and neither do we. We believe that our team should reflect the diverse communities we serve.
We warmly welcome applications from all candidates, irrespective of age, disability, race, sex, pregnancy or maternity, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, or marital or civil partnership status.
Terms of appointment
Contract: Permanent
Salary band: Band 2b (£31,000 - £34,500)
Pension: Auto-enrolment (APF contributes 3%)
Holiday: 25 days plus 3 discretionary days at Christmas, plus bank holidays (pro rata for part-time). Buy/sell leave scheme available
Location: Hybrid (Peterborough office 1 day per week)
Hours: 37.5 hours full-time (flexible with TOIL), part-time considered (minimum 4 days per week)
Other benefits: Flexible working policies, free gym membership at Peterborough office, life assurance
Probation: You will have an initial six-month probationary period.
Notice periods: Two weeks on both sides during the probation period and extending to three months thereafter.
How to apply
Please submit a CV and a covering letter (maximum of two pages) to HR@actionpf.org highlighting your skills and suitability to the role, reflecting the key responsibilities in the job description.