Senior Philanthropy and Partnership Manager

Do you want to play a pivotal role in ending impunity for corruption and defending democracy?

Spotlight on Corruption has an exciting opportunity for a passionate and creative individual with a flair for networking and a track record of bringing in funds for charitable causes to lead our fundraising programme.

Now more than ever, powerful anti-corruption voices are needed in a fragmented world where democracy is under threat globally. Join our small, tenacious, driven and highly collaborative team, and be part of the anti-corruption movement creating a more hopeful future.

Deadline for applications is 23.30 on 31st August 2025.

About Spotlight

Spotlight on Corruption is a bold, brave voice that pushes forward the anti-corruption agenda in a pragmatic and credible way. We are agile and opportunistic, seizing political opportunities to push for reforms, while continually building the evidence base through our court monitoring, enforcement tracking and research. We punch above our weight in holding the government to account for taking action against corruption, cronyism, and dirty money in the UK.

Spotlight s team consists of an Executive Director, Deputy Director, Head of Finance & Operations, Senior Policy & Campaign Lead, Senior Advocacy Adviser, Senior Communications Advisor, and Senior Policy Researcher. The Senior Philanthropy and Partnership Manager is a new role, bringing the staff team to eight. We are committed to maintaining our exceptional team working environment, flexible working arrangements, and ensuring that staff are recognised, respected and have opportunity to develop in their roles.

In the six years since it was established, Spotlight has had significant trust fundraising success and established strong relationships with institutional funders who understand our work and its impact. Under a new three year strategy we are seeking to sustainably grow and diversify our funding base - across trusts and foundations and by establishing a major donor programme to enable us to increase our impact.

We are looking for someone experienced, ambitious and creative to be our first Senior Philanthropy and Partnership Manager, to drive our fundraising strategy, create new opportunities and relationships, lead the cultivation and stewardship of new trust funders, and develop a new major donor fundraising programme.

In this role you will have strategic accountability for fundraising and overseeing progress towards fundraising targets, working with the team and the Board to generate ideas and deliver proposals for raising funds, and for highlighting our impact to potential donors. You will be a hands-on fundraiser, who builds relationships with donors, keeps on top of developments in the funding landscape, develops compelling and creative pitches and proposals for funders, and as a result delivers sustainable income generation to ensure Spotlight achieves our organisational goals.

Key responsibilities

• Lead on executing Spotlight s fundraising strategy and donor management

• Identify, maintain and develop a robust pipeline of prospects and funders across high-net-worth individuals, trusts and foundations and other appropriate giving vehicles

• Nurture long-term relationships with existing and prospective trusts and foundations, high net-worth individuals and Donor-Advised Funds

• Work with the team to develop exciting ideas to pitch to funders and to highlight our impact, as well as identifying funding gaps and opportunities

• Prepare and submit high-quality, tailored grant applications to secure trust funding for specific projects and core activities

• Work effectively and collaboratively with the wider team, Executive Director and Board to deliver the fundraising strategy and embed fundraising confidence and process across the team

• Work with the team to develop Spotlight s impact story and generate ideas about promoting Spotlight s work, in line with our values

• Track our fundraising efforts and maintain an effective overview of relationships through our Beacon CRM system

Person specification - essential criteria

• A creative and proactive mindset, with the ability to take initiative and generate new opportunities

• Proven ability to communicate effectively and persuasively, with strong oral, writing, presentation, relationship building and networking skills

• Proven track record in developing and nurturing productive and long-term relationships with potential funders

• Proven track record of meeting targets from a high-value fundraising programme (trusts and major donors)

• Proven track record in researching and identifying new trust and major donor prospects, and developing effective cultivation, solicitation and stewardship plans

• Experience of developing exciting pitches and high-quality funding proposals with narrative and financial reports

• Collaborative and solutions-focused, with the ability to lead internal engagement in fundraising and grant management

• Highly organised, with the ability to prioritise and meet deadlines and excellent attention to detail

• IT proficiency, with the ability to maintain accurate and timely records using our Beacon CRM system

• An understanding of due diligence in relation to donors and donations

• A passion for fighting corruption

• Eligibility to live and work in the UK

Person specification - desirable criteria

• Ability to think strategically about fundraising and how it interacts with the overall organisation strategy

• Experience of raising funds a field that is relevant or related to fighting corruption

• Good financial literacy and understanding of project budgets and restricted / unrestricted funding

• Experience of organising major donor cultivation events

Spotlight on Corruption is committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment where all staff feel respected and valued. We conduct anonymous long-listing to help promote fairness and diversity. We encourage candidates from different backgrounds and experiences to apply, especially those from underrepresented groups. If you don't meet 100% of the qualifications but are excited about the role, we'd love to hear from you.

Working arrangements:

Two year contract with a view to making this a permanent role. Four days (28 hours) per week - with flexibility depending on the right candidate. 24 days of annual leave (pro rated from 30 for full-time roles) plus pro rated public holidays. Remote working from home required, with regular meetings - sometimes at short notice - in London. Flexible working available.

Responsible to: Head of Finance & Operations

Start date: As soon as possible