Philanthropy and Major Gifts Specialist

About Us: At Dublin Simon Community, we're dedicated to making home a reality. We empower individuals to access and sustain housing through services like prevention, addiction treatment, emergency response, and targeted interventions, in collaboration with our partners.

If you share our values and want to make a difference, we'd love to hear from you. We're looking for client-focused, friendly, and adaptable individuals to join our team.

We prioritise best practices in HR, including staff training, communication, and involvement in decision-making, to create a supportive and effective work environment.

About the job:

This is a key role within Dublin Simon Community's fundraising team, focused on developing relationships with existing and new donors to grow income from philanthropy and major gifts. The role offers the opportunity to build on an established base of support while identifying new opportunities to deepen engagement and secure long-term funding for priority areas of work.

Working closely with the Senior Manager and senior colleagues across the organisation, the successful candidate will manage a defined portfolio of high-value donors and prospects, developing tailored funding propositions and clear plans to support income growth.

This is a donor-facing role and will suit someone who is proactive, relationship-led and highly organised, with the confidence to engage senior stakeholders and turn organisational priorities into compelling opportunities for philanthropic support. It is a specialist role within a collaborative team environment, with clear structures and support in place to develop and grow in the role. The role will line manage at least one direct report, which will provide administrative and practical support.

Location: Red Cow Lane, Smithfield, Dublin 7. Working from home options available.

Working Hours: We are open to full-time or part-time candidates, with a minimum commitment of 60% FTE or three days per week equivalent. Standard full-time hours are Monday - Friday, 9am - 5:30pm, 37.5 hours per week.

Responsibilities:

• Manage and develop an assigned portfolio of major donors, philanthropists, trusts and foundations, with a focus on growing income annually.
• Identify, cultivate and steward existing and prospective high-value donors through thoughtful, tailored engagement.
• Lead key philanthropy projects linked to agreed funding priorities, working with senior internal stakeholders to shape strong cases for support.
• Work with the Senior Manager and senior management to develop a long-term strategy for increasing major giving and philanthropy income.
• Develop funding proposals, donor communications, impact updates and reports that are clear, persuasive and tailored to donor interests.
• Manage a clear prospect pipeline, from identification through to secured income and ongoing stewardship.
• Coordinate bespoke donor engagement opportunities and events as required, working with colleagues across fundraising, communications and services.
• Lead and manage a direct report(s) to support overall Major Gifts strategy and income generation.

Note: The duties listed in this job description are not exhaustive and you may be expected to perform other duties as are reasonable in the course of your work with Dublin Simon Community.

Minimum job requirements:

• 5+ years' experience in fundraising, donor development, major giving, philanthropy, trusts and foundations, or a closely related relationship-management role.
• Proven ability to develop and steward relationships with donors, funders, prospects or senior stakeholders, with evidence of maintaining and growing engagement over time.
• Experience managing a portfolio or pipeline of opportunities to support income growth, with the ability to prioritise activity, track progress and deliver against deadlines.
• Experience developing funding proposals, cases for support, donor updates or impact reports.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate clearly, persuasively and appropriately with different audiences.
• Highly organised with strong attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple priorities effectively.
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership of work while maintaining regular communication and alignment with senior colleagues.
• Experience working collaboratively with internal stakeholders to develop funding opportunities aligned to organisational priorities.

Desirable:

• Experience contributing to or delivering targeted fundraising campaigns and appeals.
• Experience using Salesforce or a similar CRM system in a fundraising environment.

Benefits to working with Dublin Simon Community:

• 5% matched contribution to your pension
• Paid Sick Leave Policy
• Paid Maternity Leave Policy
• Bike to Work Scheme
• Commuter Travel Tax Savers Ticket
• Progression opportunities

Please note, if you are unsure of any of the requirements, contact:

[email protected]

Shortlisting will be in progress throughout the period that the vacancy is live, so you may be called for interview and/or the vacancy may be filled before the closing date.

Please note: If you are unsure of any of the requirements, please contact the Recruitment Team at (01) 6354860. Shortlisting will continue throughout the recruitment process.

Dublin Simon Community is an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from all qualified individuals.