Owned Events Lead

Overview:

This role sits within a vibrant and ambitious fundraising team spanning major giving, trusts and foundations, prospect research, individual giving, community, events, legacies, innovation, and supporter experience. Together, we work to raise vital income for our three hospitals, helping them continue their life-changing work.

As Owned Events Lead, you will play a key role in developing and delivering a portfolio of our in-house fundraising events from flagship campaigns like the St Thomas Abseil and Steps for Evelina, to new concepts we re planning to pilot in the coming years. This is an exciting opportunity for a creative, hands-on event professional to shape original products, build memorable supporter experiences, and drive long-term income growth.

You'll be joining a forward-thinking team at a time of strategic growth, with the chance to make a tangible difference to how we engage supporters and grow our owned event programme for the future.

About us

Guy s & St Thomas Charity, Guy s Cancer Charity and Evelina London Children s Charity are part of Guy s & St Thomas Foundation. Our collective mission is to build the foundations of a healthier society.

As part of our team, you will work alongside talented people from a mix of personal and professional backgrounds. We are a Living Wage employer and support flexible working, part-time roles and job shares. Though our ambitions are serious, this is a friendly place to work with lots of opportunities to meet and socialise with colleagues. We believe there is immense power in diversity and aim to recruit and nurture talent who think and act differently.

There is more information about working with us on our website, where you can read about:

• how we approach recruitment

• our team, culture and values

• the benefits of working with us and our approach to diversity, equity & inclusion, health & wellbeing, and learning & development

Overall purpose of the role

The Owned Events Lead plays a pivotal role in shaping and delivering Guy s & St Thomas Charity s evolving portfolio of owned and virtual fundraising events a strategically important area of growth for the organisation.

Working as part of a dynamic and cross-functional fundraising team, this role leads on the planning, execution and scaling of original event products from large-scale mass participation experiences like the St Thomas Abseil, to creative, insight-driven virtual campaigns and supporter-led challenges. It s a diverse, hands-on portfolio that brings together live delivery, digital innovation and product development.

With a clear focus on income growth, audience engagement and supporter experience, the role blends operational expertise, creativity, and entrepreneurial thinking. You ll work closely with teams across fundraising, supporter experience, digital, innovation and comms to pilot new ideas, improve performance, and build events that inspire action and loyalty.

This is a delivery-focused role requiring end-to-end event management experience from logistics, safety and supplier coordination, to data-led decision-making, budget ownership and multi-channel stewardship. It s an exciting opportunity for someone who thrives on building things from scratch and wants to make a real and lasting impact on how we connect with our supporters.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of a portfolio of owned and virtual fundraising events from concept through to post-event evaluation ensuring operational excellence, creativity, and supporter satisfaction.
• Deliver large-scale in-person events such as the St Thomas Abseil, including venue and supplier coordination, safety planning, risk management, insurance, and on-the-day execution.
• Develop and grow virtual fundraising products, such as Steps For Evelina, drawing on insight, testing and digital best practice to create scalable, supporter-led experiences.
• Lead cross-functional project teams and working groups aligning stakeholders across digital, supporter experience, innovation, comms and fundraising to deliver shared outcomes.
• Manage event budgets end to end including forecasting, reforecasting, reconciliation and performance analysis and use financial insight to inform decisions on where to invest, scale or refine.
• Lead on supporter acquisition for owned products, including paid digital campaigns (PPC, social), segmentation strategies, audience targeting and grassroots recruitment.
• Create and implement behavioural, insight-led supporter journeys driving engagement and long-term value through personalised, multi-channel communications.
• Produce and maintain risk assessments, permits and compliance documentation, ensuring safe and well-managed delivery across all owned events.
• Build strong, collaborative relationships with internal teams, suppliers, venues and agencies to ensure delivery is aligned, effective and on brand.
• Monitor KPIs and use performance data, feedback and market trends to evaluate success, inform future development and drive continuous improvement.

Work environment

• The post holder should expect to:

• Work in a hybrid hot desk environment, generally working 2 days a week in the London office and three from home.

• Be responsible for the input and maintenance of databases and files relevant to the post requirements.

• Will occasionally be required to attend events in the evening and at weekends.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Experience

• At least 3 years experience delivering owned, public-facing or virtual fundraising events, with full responsibility for planning, delivery, compliance, and performance.
• Strong track record in hands-on event delivery, including supplier and venue management, live production, logistics, and on-the-day coordination.
• Experience developing and implementing risk assessments, permits, insurances and health & safety documentation.
• Demonstrated success in launching new fundraising products from concept through to live delivery using innovation frameworks or test-and-learn methodology.
• Knowledge of digital acquisition, including PPC, paid social and segmentation strategies for events.
• Proven ability to lead cross-team project groups and manage external partners, contractors or agencies.
• Experience managing detailed budgets, with strong financial accountability and performance tracking.
• Expert in live event planning, delivery, and documentation including compliance, health & safety and supplier contracts.
• Strong understanding of virtual fundraising best practices and digital supporter engagement.
• Confident using audience insight and supporter data to drive product development and communications.
• Clear grasp of behavioural communications and how to apply them across email, WhatsApp, SMS and face-to-face.
• Skilled project manager with the ability to juggle multiple workstreams, deadlines and priorities.
• Collaborative, solutions-focused, and able to build strong relationships across teams.
• Familiarity with fundraising regulations, GDPR, and Facebook Fundraising platforms is desirable.

Personal Attributes

• Strategic and delivery-focused equally comfortable shaping the vision and getting stuck into delivery.
• Entrepreneurial and innovative thrives on building new things and improving existing ones.
• Proactive and accountable takes ownership and drives progress without needing close oversight.
• Calm and composed under pressure especially during live delivery or external stakeholder engagement.
• Highly organised and detail-oriented ensures everything is well documented, planned and communicated.
• Passionate about delivering exceptional supporter experiences and meaningful fundraising moments.
• Adaptable and resilient thrives in a fast-moving environment and embraces change with a positive mindset.

Benefits

• Up to 12% employer pension contributions
• Annual personal development budget
• Annual health and wellbeing personal allowance
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, and parental leave pay accessible without length of service requirements.
• Health and wellbeing programme that offers optional free yearly health check-ups.
• Support for healthy eating via fruit bowls and onsite lunch facilities.
• Agile working, flexible hours, and supportive IT kit.
• Shower facilities and bike lock area.
• Generous annual leave (27 days + bank holidays)
• Subsidies for glasses
• Employee Assistance Programme