CoppaFeel!

Fundraising Director

Help shape the exciting new chapter for one of the UK’s most innovative charities.

CoppaFeel! has never stood still.

From a bold idea around a kitchen table to one of the UK's most recognised health charities, they have continued to challenge convention, reach young people with a life saving message and build a community that believes breast cancer does not need to be diagnosed late.

They are now entering an exciting new chapter.

After a period of exceptional growth, CoppaFeel! has the opportunity to broaden their reach, deepen their impact and invest in the future. Their challenge now is not simply to become bigger but become more strategic, resilient and sustainable, while protecting the authenticity, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit that makes CoppaFeel! distinctive.

This is an opportunity to help shape what comes next for Fundraising at CoppaFeel! — bringing your experience, skills and energy to a role that requires strategy and inspiration.

Put simply, this is one of the most exciting senior fundraising roles in the UK.

Are you as excited as we are about this?!

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About the Role

Five years ago CoppaFeel! raised £1.6m a year. Today it's near £8m. That growth was built on one of the most creative corporate partnerships in the sector, a team that punches far above its size, and a brand young people actually want to be part of. The question now is what comes next, and this role exists to answer it.

As Fundraising Director you will sit on the senior management team, report to the CEO, and lead a team of 16 across partnerships, challenge events and public fundraising. The job is not to keep the machine running; the Heads of department do that well. It is to look across the whole organisation, decide where the next five years of income comes from, and build the team and the portfolio that gets there.

That means three things at once. Deepening what already works: the Asda partnership is extraordinary, and stewarding it at a strategic level, so it keeps growing and its impact is told well, is a core part of the job. Opening what comes next: individual giving, new partnerships, new audiences, the income streams that will make CoppaFeel! resilient whatever happens to any single relationship. And leading in a way that lets a diverse, talented team do the best work of their careers: setting direction clearly, then creating the room, the trust and the backing for people to run with it.

You will shape the three-year budget with the CEO and Finance Director, take fundraising to the Board, and be the person the sector sees when it thinks of CoppaFeel! and money. You will have a strong platform to build from, a CEO who wants ideas rather than agreement, and a cause where early diagnosis, quite literally, saves lives. Few fundraising director roles come with all three.

Who are we looking for?

You are an inspiring fundraising leader who has led across streams, not just within one. You might be a Fundraising Director already, or a Head of Fundraising ready to step up. What matters is that you have run a whole portfolio, made the calls about where to invest and where to stop, and can demonstrate positive results.

You think in strategy and act in income. You can take an organisational plan and turn it into a fundraising model, a three-year budget and a set of priorities a team can deliver, and you are as comfortable explaining the numbers to trustees as you are getting a partnership over the line.

You know what to do with a brilliant corporate partnership: how to deepen it, steward it at the top table, and make the impact visible, while being clear-eyed that no charity should depend on one relationship. You will have ideas, see the value of failure and be passionate about about building individual giving and finding new audiences. You see the gaps as the exciting bit.

You lead by making other people better. Your Heads of department are capable; the job is to set a clear direction, back them, and create the kind of space, trust and safety that lets a diverse team bring their whole selves and their best thinking. You are confident enough to disagree with the CEO and curious enough to be persuaded.

You get the brand. CoppaFeel! doesn't take itself too seriously but it takes the cause and impact incredibly seriously and you are at ease with both. You will be a visible presence in the sector, on stages and in award entries, because you believe the story is worth telling. And you bring a perspective of your own. CoppaFeel! wants to be challenged, and wants a leadership team that thinks deeply about the young people it serves.

What it is not. It is not a role for a specialist in one income stream, however good. It is not a role for someone who needs the structure and scale of a large organisation around them. And it is not a caretaker's job: the platform is strong, and the brief is to build.

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Process Overview

We are committed to a transparent, engaging and accessible recruitment process, designed to give candidates a strong understanding of the organisation and the opportunity to demonstrate their interest and suitability.

To apply please provide CV and cover letter.

Launch Date: Tuesday 3rd November
Closing Date: Friday 27th November (5pm)
First Stage Interview: Friday 4th December & Monday 7th December (Online)
Final Stage Interview: Monday 14th December (In person)

Please contact eddie@charitybegins.org to discover more and register your interest.