Philanthropy Manager, UK

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

IRC UK is part of the IRC global network, which has its global headquarters in New York. Our team in the UK works to raise profile, deliver policy and practice change, and increase funding to help restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Since 2021, IRC UK has also provided integration services directly to refugees in England.
In Europe, the IRC also has offices in Berlin, Bonn, Brussels, Geneva and Stockholm.

The Purpose of the Role
Reporting to the Associate Director of Philanthropy, UK, the Philanthropy Manager will support the implementation of the UK Philanthropy team’s strategy, with a focus to identify, establish and develop new and existing high value relationships with individuals who have the capacity to support IRC at a five and six figure level. This is an exciting role working with senior stakeholders across IRC, in the UK and internationally, to cultivate and steward relationships with philanthropists to effectively solicit multi-year gifts to fund high-impact programmes that will deliver transformative change for IRC clients across the world.

As part of this, the Philanthropy Manager will:
•    Develop and implement initiatives to identify, cultivate and solicit gifts from donors in the major gift range of £10,000 and above, both in partnership with the Director of Philanthropy and through account management of a discreet prospect portfolio
•    Work closely with the Director of Philanthropy and the research function to identify and cultivate positive relationships with existing donors and new prospects to significantly grow our major donor pipeline
•    Manage a portfolio of major donors through various personalised approaches, including face-to-face meetings, phone calls, events and written and verbal communications
•    Develop personalised donor stewardship plans with the aim of increasing their engagement and uplifting their support to achieve the revenue target for the UK Philanthropy team and the overall revenue target for the International Philanthropy team
•    Lead on gift management, reporting and proposal development for new prospects and existing donors, ensuring timely and accurate communications that match the individual’s requirements
•    Identify and deliver unique stewardship and cultivation opportunities for donors
•    Maintain thorough and up to date files and records relating to major donors
•    Maintain strong knowledge and understanding of IRC’s work in the UK and around the world
•    Collaborate proactively with a network of internal and external senior stakeholders, garnering their support and influence in the development of relationships with philanthropists
•    Contribute to profile raising of the IRC’s Philanthropy programme and the IRC more widely through proactive networking and external engagement with potential donors and their advisors
•    Proactively collaborate with other members of the Philanthropy team, supporting the delivery of the wider Philanthropy strategy as required
•    Carry out administrative activities and other duties, as required, to maximise fundraising.

Scope and Authority

Authority: This position is responsible for supporting the delivery of Philanthropy and contributing to the identification, cultivation and stewardship of £10,000 and above gifts from HNWIs.

Key Working Relationships
•    HNWI donors and prospects
•    Third party philanthropy advisors
•    Key contacts across IRC in UK and internationally:
o    International Philanthropy Team
o    USA Philanthropy
o    Engagement with the UK and International Board
o    Global Partnerships and Philanthropic Services
o    Communications team
o    Policy and Advocacy team
o    UK Finance team
o    Country Programme and regional teams, the Awards Management Unit as well as IRC’s Technical Units
o    President’s Office and Executive Director of IRC- UK

Key Accountabilities

Partnership identification, cultivation and stewardship (65%)
•    Manage a portfolio of HNWI prospects and donors, working closely with the Director of Philanthropy to cultivate successful, high-impact relationships
•    Collaborate with colleagues to develop transformative funding opportunities, create tailored plans for the cultivation of donors, deliver unique stewardship and cultivation opportunities, and coordinate internal and external meetings to drive donor relationships forward.

Partnership Management (25%)
•    Lead on the creation of inspiring and engaging impact reports and proposals for donors, ensuring timely and accurate communications that are matched to the requirements of donors.
•    Use Salesforce and IRC’s internal grant management system, OTIS, to keep clear and accurate records of donor communications and interactions related to all donor relationships

Team collaboration (10%)
•    Contribute to the wider ambitions and shared objectives of the Philanthropy team as part of the HNWI Pillar

Person Specification

Skills, Knowledge and Qualifications
•    Knowledge and understanding of the principles and methods of philanthropy fundraising**
•    Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to inspire and enthuse, through the delivery of strong external and internal communications**
•    Ability to establish and build relationships with donors, colleagues and senior stakeholders at all levels and from a variety of backgrounds, both externally and within IRC**
•    Ability to identify potential donors, produce donor stewardship plans and be able to implement and execute them
•    Ability to influence and negotiate with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, ensuring best possible outcomes for the IRC
•    Excellent attention to detail
•    Excellent Microsoft Office software skills including Excel
•    Demonstrable ability to prioritise and organise own workload and meet conflicting deadlines
•    Ability to understand and demonstrate commitment to IRC’s Equal Opportunities Policy and to ensure all activities are consistent with Equal Opportunities
•    Ability to work collaboratively with members of a fundraising team and across departments, whilst managing conflicting priorities and deadlines in a busy working environment

Experience
•    Demonstrable experience of securing gifts from high net-worth individuals**
•    Demonstrable experience of writing persuasive and creative proposals and correspondence in a range of relevant styles
•    Demonstrable experience of managing a portfolio of high net-worth individuals and relationships with senior stakeholders in a fundraising or corporate context**
•    Demonstrable experience of supporting the implementation of events with wealthy individuals and influential contacts
•    Demonstrable experience of managing information on a fundraising database e.g. Salesforce
•    Demonstrable experience of compiling information from various global stakeholders in order to create compelling tailored proposals and reports
•    Demonstrable experience of supporting a team and implementing new administrative systems and processes

Criteria in the Person Specification marked with ** are the minimum criteria in line with our commitments under the Disability Confident Employer Scheme in the UK. UK based candidates who state that they have a disability and meet these criteria, will be invited to interview
 
Related standard content: 
 IRC strives to build a diverse and inclusive team at all levels who as individuals, and as a group, embody our culture statement creating a working environment characterized by critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity for us to achieve our aspirations as a team and deliver the best possible services to our clients.   
 
UK: 
Narrowing the Gender Gap: The IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including flexible hours (when possible), enhanced maternity/adoption leave and pay and gender-sensitive security protocols.
 
Candidates must have the right to work in the UK.
 

The salary for the role is GBP 42000 – GBP 47,250 per annum 
 

The application deadline is 11th January 2026.
 
IRC UK strives to be an equal opportunities employer. IRC UK is committed to equality of opportunity and to non-discrimination for all job applicants and employees, and we seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs, nationality, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.

IRC UK welcomes applications from all candidates, including underrepresented groups and refugees who have the right to work in the UK. 

IRC UK will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided with reasonable adjustments to participate in the job application and/or interview process, and for essential job functions if appointed to a role. Please contact us if you may need such adjustments.  
Recruitment Process
 
The process for this role will be as follows
 
·    Screening call online
·    First round panel interview online
·    Second round panel interview online
·    Third round panel interview online
·    There maybe a including presentation/task included towards the end

  
If you have any questions or need assistance with the online recruitment process, please contact the IRC UK HR team at applications@rescue-uk.org

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PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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