Senior Trusts and Foundations Manager

Job details

• Salary: £50,253 on Grade G, depending on qualifications and experience.
• Contractual hours: 36.5
• Package: Generous holiday allowances, flexible working, pension scheme and relocation package (if applicable).
• Job category/type: Admin, Professional, Managerial
• Date posted: 17/12/2025
• Job reference: R63712
• Attachments: R63712 JD.pdf

Job description

External Engagement and Global - Philanthropy

The above full-time (1.0FTE) post is available from 1st May 2026 on a permanent basis within External Engagement and Global.

This role offers the opportunity for hybrid working - some time on campus and some from home.

Summary of the role

Following the successful conclusion of the Making the Exceptional Happen campaign (which raised over £71m) attention is turning to a future campaign in support of the University's 2030 strategy which has three core themes: sustainability (greener); improving human health and wellbeing (healthier); and creating a fair and inclusive society (fairer).

Aligned to the Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, the post-holder will plan, develop and produce fundraising proposals to trusts and foundations of a consistently high quality. These bids will be tailored to the needs of a wide range of funders based both in the UK and internationally. The post-holder will influence the trust and foundation fundraising strategy and take an active role annual planning. They will have direct responsibility for securing significant new funds to support the university's strategic objectives. The post-holder will work closely with academics and senior university leaders to create funding proposals. The post-holder will be expected to build personal relationships with key trust and foundation contacts (trustees/administrators) and to find ways to open doors to new trusts and foundations by exploring the networks of academics and supporters. The work will focus particularly on major proposals for grants of £100k or more.

With a significant track record of securing major gifts from Trusts and Foundations through your own endeavours and delivering against financial targets, you will have excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication and negotiation skills, with the ability to liaise confidentially and diplomatically both externally and internally at all levels and to a range of audiences.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role.

The University of Exeter

We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities and in the top 200 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 and QS World University Ranking 2024). We combine world-class teaching with world-class research, achieving a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework Award 2023, underpinned by Gold ratings for Student Experience and Student Outcomes.

Our world-leading research impact has grown more than any other Russell Group university in recent years, and we are home to some of the world's most influential researchers, seeking to answer some of the most fundamental issues facing humankind today. More than 99 percent of our research is of international quality and 47 percent is world-leading (2021 Research Excellence Framework).

We encourage proactive engagement with industry, business and community partners to enhance the impact of research and education and improve the employability of our students. Read about our world leading research - Green Futures and how we are transforming education for a changing world. We are located in a beautiful part of the country and Exeter (a fast growing tech hub) is one of only a few UK cities to have been designated as a UNESCO Creative City.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

We are committed to ensuring reasonable adjustments are available for interviews and workplaces.

Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our working community.

With over 30,000 students and 7,000 staff from 150 different countries we offer a diverse and engaging environment where our diversity is celebrated and valued as a major strength. We are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all members of our community are supported to thrive; where diverse voices are heard through our engagement with evidence-based charter frameworks for gender (Athena SWAN and Project Juno for Physics), race equality (Race Equality Charter Mark), LGBTQ+ inclusion (Stonewall Diversity Champion) and as a Disability Confident employer.

We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and welcome applications from service people.

Benefits

• 41 days leave per year
• options for flexible working
• numerous discounts at leading retailers
• onsite gyms on all of our campus' and a cycle to work scheme
• sector leading policies around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 weeks full pay), paternity leave (up to 6 weeks full pay) and a Fertility Treatment Policy
• stunning campus environments in Exeter and Cornwall, in the beautiful South West of England

Further information

For further information, or for an informal chat, please contact Stephanie Cherington-Rimmell, Head of Development - Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy via .