Senior Trusts and Foundations Manager

British Exploring Society

Hours
40 hours per week

About the Organisation

British Exploring Society is a world-class youth development charity with a unique heritage, founded on the belief that challenging experiences can define lives, empowering and equipping young people with the courage, integrity, skills, resilience, and motivation to make the most of their future. We prepare young people for adventures and expeditions virtually, and to remote locations in the UK and overseas where they face challenges, gain skills, and learn about themselves, as well as acquire knowledge relevant to their lives and to the environments that they explore.

About the role

Our Senior Trusts & Foundations Manager is primarily responsible for managing and generating income from our Trusts & Foundations portfolio (including Corporate Foundations). They identify new prospects, write compelling and persuasive proposals to secure significant gifts, actively develop relationships with key internal and external stakeholders and provide brilliant stewardship.

We are looking for someone who has a sound understanding of T&F fundraising. You’ll have a strong track record of nurturing relationships, securing multi-year and five-figure+ gifts, and a genuine passion for youth development. You are a creative problem solver with the ability to work independently and take ownership of projects – ensuring they run smoothly and effectively.

Responsibilities

Prospecting:

• Develop a robust and sustainable T&F pipeline.
• Research, identify, and qualify prospective T&Fs whose priorities align with the British Exploring Society’s.

Income Generation:

• Support the Head of Development in setting annual and multi -year income targets and KPI’s for T&F’ s.
• Work closely with internal teams to develop compelling cases for support, outcomes frameworks, and budgets.
• Lead on the preparation and submission of high -quality funding proposals, expressions of interest, and concept notes.
• Actively manage the existing T&F pipeline, building relationships with funders and securing significant funding to support our Wild Pathways (unrestricted and restricted).
• Manage all aspects of funder stewardship, including reports, event invitations, updates, relationship building, and retention strategies.

Stakeholder Management:

• Act as the primary relationship manager for all T&Fs, ensuring professional, proactive, and responsive engagement.
• Build strong internal relationships to ensure proposals are accurate, impactful, and aligned with our Wild Pathways.
• Manage relationships with trustee and Development Board members to support their fundraising and network management.
• Support the CEO, SLT, and Development Board, where appropriate, in funder meetings and strategic conversations.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to ensure consistent messaging, brand guidelines are followed, and effective use of impact data.

Governance, Compliance and Reporting:

• Ensure all applications and grants comply with funder requirements, charity law, and British Exploring Society policies.
• Maintain excellent record keeping, updating our CRM system (Podio) with all funder interactions, applications, donations, and outcomes.
• Maintain up -to-date knowledge of charitable funding trends, compliance requirements, and best practices.
• Support audit and evaluation processes related to restricted funding alongside the Finance team.
• Oversee the dedicated Development inbox and promptly respond to ad hoc queries.

Other Duties:

• Provide planning and delivery support for virtual/in -person events – including pre post event briefings.
• Represent the charity at external events in a professional manner.
• Adhere to the charity’s policies, procedures, and working practices.
• Undertake other tasks as delegated by the Head of Development as necessary for the post.
• Following full induction, the post holder will participate in the team rota as a Duty Officer during periods when the charity is running a 24 -hour support service.

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Skills, Knowledge, Competencies & Understanding:

• Proven ability in T&F proposal and report writing
• Experience in setting and achieving financial goals and meeting deadlines
• Involvement in coordinating and managing virtual and in -person events
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; written and verbal
• Ability to identify/profile/analyse the interests and motivations of stakeholder groups and tailor activity with them accordingly
• Skilled in building positive relationships across a diverse group of people
• Ability to work well and with good humour under pressure
• Ability to adapt and effectively manage a challenging and varied workload
• Accuracy and attention to detail
• Strong administration and organisational skills
• IT proficiency, including office suites
• Knowledge of the Code of Fundraising Practise and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Understanding of youth development and a belief in the opportunities for positive change that expeditions & outdoor education provide for all young people

Required Qualifications

• English and Maths to at least GCSE or equivalent level

Compensation & Benefits

• 23 days’ paid holiday per holiday year in addition to normal English Bank and Public holidays.
• Birthdays are given as leave days following completion of probation.
• Additional leave days are awarded for long service.
• Staff have access to RGS events as corporate members.
• Staff and their families are offered a range of confidential pastoral support services.
• Cycle-to-work scheme. There are showers on-site at our offices. 

Working locations

• Hybrid model, working in the London office and remotely
•  Occasional evening and weekend working is expected

How to apply

• We reserve the right to close applications prior to the closing date if we receive elevated levels of interest and secure a successful applicant for the role.
  • Please send a n up -to-date CV including your contact details to [email protected]. In addition to your CV, please select two of our Values (see below) and write how you have demonstrated those Values in your professional life in no more than 300 words in total. We request that you do not use AI tools – we are most interested in hearing from you in your own voice.
• We will be assessing applications on a rolling basis. The application deadline is 9 am, Friday, 27 th February 2026.
• If you are interested in applying and require any accessibility adjustments to the application process, please do let us know when you apply.

Interviews

• We will contact suitable candidates to arrange a 10 min call with our Head of Development.
• Some candidates will then be invited for an interview in person at our offices in South Kensington on Thursday,16th March.
• If you are not invited for an interview, we will contact you by email to let you know. Unfortunately, we will not be able to offer feedback to candidates not invited to in -person interview.

Policies

We welcome applications from individuals returning to work, looking to change sectors or to apply their skills in a new context. British Exploring Society is committed to equal opportunity and to building a team that represents a diverse variety of backgrounds, skills and perspectives. The more inclusive we are, the better we think we’ll be at delivering our charitable aims.

We are an equal opportunities employer and do not discriminate on the grounds of gender identity, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, disability, or age.

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