Senior Events Manager

Delivering high-quality events for UK foundations

We re looking for an experienced and proactive senior events manager to lead the delivery of our learning and events programme for a 12 month period.

This role is pivotal in ensuring excellence in how we deliver value to our members through events and learning.

At the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) we offer a supportive and inclusive work environment where our team can thrive. We are a small friendly team who take a collaborative approach to work. We value work-life balance, and we believe is supporting our employee s professional development and wellbeing.

About the role

You will lead our events function, working closely with colleagues across ACF and line managing a senior events officer. You will deliver a varied, high-quality events programme that supports our members learning and connection both online and in-person.

The successful candidate will be confident running multiple workstreams at once, have a great eye for detail, and bring a strong grasp of what makes for a compelling delegate experience.

The focus will be on delivering three core priorities:

1. Delivering ACF s 2025 annual conference in November and beginning planning for the 2026 event
2. Leading the planning and delivery of a varied programme of events, including our three face-to-face signature events
3. Delivering and evaluating a new series of learning events, in line with member needs and feedback

Key responsibilities

Plan and deliver all aspects of ACF s events, from scheduling and logistics to communications and evaluation

Oversee delivery of our flagship annual conference, managing suppliers, speakers and internal stakeholders

Lead planning and coordination across the events and learning programme, ensuring it is well-structured, relevant and efficient

Manage event delivery systems and processes, ensuring smooth delegate journeys and robust evaluation

Work cross-organisationally to support internal teams to deliver high-quality events

Line manage the senior events officer and contribute to a collaborative, supportive team culture

Who we are looking for

We re looking for someone who can step confidently into the role and deliver at pace. You will have:

Significant experience delivering a busy and varied programme of events

Experience managing large-scale in-person events

Strong project management and organisational skills

Experience line managing or leading a small team

Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills

A collaborative and flexible approach, with an eye for process improvement and detail

About the Association of Charitable Foundations

ACF is the leading membership association for foundations and independent grant-makers in the UK.

We strengthen trusts and foundations so they can rise to the challenges of our time. Our vision is diverse, vibrant and effective foundations working together for social good.

Our values are:
We care We are open We are evidence-based We are ambitious

About our members

We have over 440 members, who together represent one third of the assets of the charity sector and make over 40% of the grants awarded by UK foundations. Our members range from small family trusts to some of the largest charitable foundations in Europe, funding across sectors from social justice and the environment to education and the arts.

Our commitment

We embrace diversity and understand that being an inclusive organisation, recognising different perspectives, will enable us to provide excellent services. We are committed to ensuring all our employees are treated fairly and equitably at work and promoting equity in physical and mental health for all.

We welcome all applicants and are keen to ensure our team reflects the diversity of the UK and the members we serve. We would like to encourage applications from disadvantaged socio-economic, disabled, LGBTQ+ and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know we re happy to support you.

Benefits

ACF has developed a range of benefits to enable staff to perform and be supported in times where personal situations change. Annual leave is 25 days per year, plus all the bank holidays, as well as additional time off between Christmas and New Year. We will also make a pension contribution of 10% of base salary on your behalf without any expectation of colleagues matching the organisation contribution.

ACF supports flexible working arrangements, offers hybrid working and has a family friendly policies. We also support employee wellbeing by offering occupational sick pay and an Employee Assistance Programme to all staff.

• Location: London, E1 (hybrid, minimum one day per week in office)
• Salary: £37,300 per annum (£46,600 fte)
• Contract: 12-month fixed-term (parental leave cover)
• Hours: 28 per week (0.8 FTE)
• Responsible to: Director of Membership
• Responsible for: Senior Events Officer
• Start date: w/c 21 or 28 June
• Interview date: 12 June