Executive Director of Engagement & Income Generation

Job description

Over 130,000 of us in the UK have multiple sclerosis (MS). It’s unpredictable and different for everyone. It’s often painful and exhausting, and can cause problems with how we walk, move, see, think and feel. It can make it hard for us to work and do the things we enjoy. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The MS Society is a community of people living with MS – scientists, campaigners, volunteers and fundraisers. We understand what life’s like with MS, and we support each other through the highs, lows and everything in between. And we’re driving research into more – and better – treatments for everyone. Together, we are strong enough to stop MS.

As our new Executive Director of Engagement and Income Generation, you will be joining a charity that is moving at pace, at a time when engaging support to help us achieve maximum impact for those living with MS is more important than ever. A key member of our Executive Group of Directors, you will shape and lead our strategy to maximize income – fundraising and commercial – shaping and leading engagement strategies that will grow our supporter base and, in turn our income and opportunity to impact. As importantly, you will also contribute to our wider strategic direction, ensuring the Society as a whole, achieves its goals. 

We’re looking for an enterprising and experienced leader who has led multi-disciplinary marketing and fundraising teams, with hands-on experience of shaping strategy and delivering results. Whether your roots are in fundraising or marketing, you will bring ability to lead a broad and integrated team encompassing fundraising, commercial revenue generation and marketing/brand. A strong communicator with the ability to engage across a wide range of media and audience and motivate a talented team, you will bring a successful track record of operating in an organisation of comparable scope and scale, with the skills, experience and ambition to deliver a real step change in our income. 

Purpose

 

• • To provide leadership and strategic direction for MS Society’s Engagement and Income Generation Directorate.
• • As a member of the Executive Group, to contribute to the strategic leadership of the organisation as a whole, to
• ensure the achievement of our organisational goals and deliver the maximum impact for people affected by MS.

Key Relationships

The postholder reports to the CEO and will work closely with:

• Trustees.
• Executive Group members.
• Other senior manager/teams across the charity.

The postholder will also be expected to build and foster collaborative external relations with

• Members
• Volunteers
• The Stop MS Appeal Board
• Supporters/donors (including charitable foundations, institutions and statutory funders)
• Key research scientists who are involved in fundraising activities related to our research programme
• Other stakeholders including independent advisors and advisory and regulatory bodies

Key Accountabilities

The key accountabilities of the postholder underpinning this leadership are:

• Strategic leadership of the Marketing and Brand team and the Fundraising/Income Generation team.
• External stakeholder management, networking and collaboration.
• Operational delivery and improvement.
• People management.
• Financial management, including complex research grants budget.
• Monitoring and reporting on performance.

Overall responsibilities

The overall responsibility of the post holder is to maximise the Society’s income by shaping and leading the delivery of
our Income Generation and Marketing strategies. This means specifically:

 

• Shaping and leading a broad-based programme of restricted and unrestricted fundraising; using the Stop MS Appeal– launched 5 years ago and now half way towards its £100m target – as a key vehicle for driving restricted giving.
• Developing new commercial revenue streams to complement fundraising income generation.
• Increasing our reach and connection so as to grow supporter numbers and increase our impact.

Specific responsibilities

Shaping and leading a broad-based programme of restricted and unrestricted fundraising

• Maximising income generation from a broad-based fundraising programme covering philanthropy and special events,trusts, corporates, institutional grants, individual giving, community and events, and legacies, as well as local group fundraising.
• Focusing on delivering fundraising excellence with specific focus on (a) rolling out “fewer, bigger, better” community fundraising events; (b) further developing our special events programme and enhancing our stewardship to attract more high value donors; (c) establishing a UK-wide network of support groups and champions; and (d) further developing and promoting our legacy programme.
• Continuing to nurture the Stop MS Appeal as a key vehicle for driving restricted giving, with particular focus onlocalised opportunities flowing from the launch of our OCTOPUS multi-arm clinical trials platform.

Developing new commercial revenue streams

• Identifying the most attractive and deliverable opportunities for the Society to generate commercial revenue to complement its fundraising income streams.
• Developing and implementing a commercial programme focused on the highest potential opportunities.

Increasing our reach and connection

• Systematically generating insights into the needs and priorities of different parts of the MS community so as toenable the Society to develop propositions which are relevant to all parts of the community.

Growing beneficiary and supporter numbers by:

• Maximising the use of all our channels to reach and connect with people in our community.
• Ensuring that we are systematic in understanding how people wish to be communicated with, securing theappropriate consents.

Growing beneficiary and supporter numbers by developing seamless, joined up customer journeys which:

• enable us to build enduring relationships over time with more people in our community and maximise cross-sellingopportunities.

Developing our ability to personalise our offering to reflect individual needs and priorities.

• Developing our brand so that it fully reflects our values and strategy, and ensuring that it is embedded across the organisation.

Financial Management

 

• Proposing and being accountable for the efficient management of expenditure including effective budget preparation, planning, monitoring and review.
• Ensuring effective financial and resource management.

People Management

 

• Being responsible for the leadership, recruitment, development, retention and appraisal of staff, acting as a role model in living our values.

Monitoring and reporting on performance

• Being accountable for the analysis and evaluation of performance information, monitoring and reporting againstobjectives, outcomes and KPIs.
• Ensuring action is taken in a timely manner to enable corrective action to be taken when required.
• Ensuring the social impact of the department’s work is measured in accordance with the MS Society’s research impact framework.

General
• Being compliant with MSS’s governance procedures.
• Ensuring compliance with MSS policies including those on working with people with MS, Volunteers, Recruitment, Safeguarding, Health & Safety and Equality & Diversity.
• Ensuring compliance with MSS guidelines on the requirements of Disclosure, where applicable.
Digital approach skills:

• Leading by example, encouraging and role modelling transparency, learning from failure, reducing complexity, user centricity, seeking feedback and ideas from all and using expertise from within.
• Collaborating using a variety of methods and tools.
• Communicating through a variety of approaches and tools.
• Applying new technology and techniques in improving efficiency, quality and impact.
• Learning through peers and experimentation, sharing the results and learning from them.
• Keeping abreast of the digital landscape, innovation and the application of new initiatives, tools or techniques.

Other Duties

• To be prepared to travel to meetings across the UK and be away from home overnight, as the job reasonably demands.
• To undertake any other works as could be expected of an Executive Director.

Reporting Responsibilities

• To supply information as required by the Chief Executive.

Knowledge and Experience

 

• Substantial experience at a senior level in medium to large sized organisations with a strong mass consumer orientation, ideally in the voluntary sector.
• Proven experience of working within a multi-disciplinary marketing and fundraising environment, with hands-on experience of shaping strategy and delivering results.
• Although the successful candidate could potentially come from either a fundraising or a marketing background, they will need to demonstrate that their experience in the round will position them to lead an integrated team spanning fundraising, commercial revenue generation and marketing/brand. Key positive indicators include some/all of the following:
• Sound hands-on experience of fundraising across a variety of disciplines, with evidence of meeting or exceeding fundraising income targets.
• Specific experience of leading a significant multi-year appeal including managing an appeal board, with success in personally soliciting and achieving seven figure income gifts through major gift support.
• Experience of developing and delivering a significant commercial revenue generation programme.
• Strategic marketing experience (brand, insights, segmentation, proposition development, channel optimisation, customer journeys, personalisation, etc.).
• A proven track record of success in leading and managing a team of comparable size and complexity, to deliver high quality results to deadlines.
• Experience of managing a team to develop, communicate and implement business plan.
• Proven planning, program and project management experience to control effective use of resources.
• Experience of applying effective problem-solving techniques when the situation demands.
• Experience of financial and budgetary management.

Skills and Abilities

• A well-developed understanding and sound knowledge of charity marketing principles.
• A well-developed understanding and sound knowledge of the UK fundraising environment, and fundraising principles.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, and able to influence/persuade a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively in a wide range of media and audiences.

Leadership Style and Behaviours

• Open and inclusive leadership style.
• The ability to drive and embed lasting change.
• The ability to make trade-offs where appropriate and understand the impact on interrelated areas.
• High level planning skills to control effective use of resources.
• The ability to focus on impact and deliver outstanding results.
• Demonstrable commitment to collaborative teamwork.
• Demonstrable commitment to inclusive working, ensuring equality and valuing diversity.

MS is a condition that doesn’t discriminate and at the MS Society our commitment to our people is to provide equal
opportunities for everyone employed here. We actively encourage applicants from underrepresented groups. If you need
any adjustments made to the application process to accommodate your needs, please let us know

How to apply

To apply please send your CV, a supporting statement and how you meet the knowledge and experience criteria to: Katy Giddens or Mark Crowley by Monday 30 November.