ABOUT US:

Established in 2021, Opportunity Green is a fast-growing not-for-profit organisation that helps to identify and unlock opportunities to tackle climate change. We build ambitious coalitions, support climate vulnerable countries in international negotiations and find innovative legal pathways to fight climate change.

YOUR ROLE:

The Philanthropy Manager will be our first hire in our fundraising team and so is an exciting opportunity to work closely with Opportunity Green’s CEO as the organisation grows. We have grown to 25 people with a turnover of £3m in just over three years. There is significantly more potential for Opportunity Green to reach even further and have an even greater impact.   

We are now looking for a Philanthropy Manager to maximise Opportunity Green’s ability to grow. You will work closely with OG colleagues across the organisation to understand their work and help us to find new donors, whilst also assisting the CEO in managing our current donors. You will develop new successful applications and cultivate strong relationships with prospects.  

This role is essential in Opportunity Green’s expanding team and organisation. You will develop ambitious, strategic and innovative funding partnerships with trusts and foundations and HNWIs, focusing on grants at the £500,000+ unrestricted level and increasing the number of unrestricted grants. You will also consider and advise us on how to build OG’s strategy on digital fundraising and the potential for legacy grants. You’ll be the kind of person who searches for connections, chases opportunities, gets out from behind your desk to meet people, and influences internally and externally to achieve results. You will be driven, determined, tenacious and focused on solutions.   

As you will be the first full-time fundraising hire in Opportunity Green, we are looking for someone who is willing to throw themselves into all things fundraising. That means for example assisting with all current grants, ensuring proposals are compelling, ensuring our impact is highlighted in all our reports, effectively managing donor relationships, planning donor events, and developing our digital fundraising efforts. You will also advise the CEO on new prospects and a strategic to approach them to help ensure Opportunity Green’s continued and long-term success. There is huge potential for the right candidate to grow this role, working directly with the CEO, and a longer-term potential to expand into a fundraising team over time. 

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

• A passion for using their fundraising skills to tackle climate change;


• The ability to engage funders at an organisational, not project level. 

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

Desirable

We do not expect any candidate to have all the skills listed below but rather we look for transferable skills and potential as well as past experience.

• Excellent relationship-building skills and proven ability to manage philanthropic donor income streams, focusing on strategic relationships and implementing creative engagement plans to maximise opportunities and income with current and prospective donors; 


• Researched, developed and secured new sources of income from trusts, foundations and HNWIs, preferably with a strong focus on funders with a potential to give £500,000+ annually;


• Executed a fundraising strategy and developed a strong pipeline, managing a portfolio of current donors at the same time; 


• Experience of managing the complexities of restricted income projects;  


• Ability to understand diverse donor motivations and deliver a bespoke relationship to meet these. Demonstrable skill in adapting written and verbal communications for a philanthropy audience;  


• Engaging presentation and writing skills for tailored presentations, proposals and grant reports for donors;  


• Confidence in working with senior stakeholders internally and externally, using tact and diplomacy;  


• Excellent numeracy and attention to detail, ability to analyse and prepare budgets;  


• Organised and methodical approach to plan and deliver against a varied workload, managing competing priorities under your own initiative and to strict deadlines. 

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION:

Diversity and inclusion are important principles at Opportunity Green. We believe that diversity and inclusion make teams stronger and more effective. We are committed to fair and equitable employment practices, and we are striving to ensure that a variety of voices and experiences are included in our organisation. Our commitment to diversity and our parental leave policy are available to view on our website, here.

We will consider all applicants who meet most or all of the essential competencies regardless of their identity or background. That said, we know that diverse candidates may be reluctant to apply for jobs where they don’t meet 100% of the criteria outlined in the job description. We encourage anyone to apply who can demonstrate the variety of skills and experiences relevant to meeting the requirements of this role.

We recognise that many diverse experiences and perspectives are not represented in our current workforce, and are seriously underrepresented across the non-profit sector in general, and as such, we particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities, non-white people, people from marginalised backgrounds, and members of the LGBTQIA+ communities. We will use positive action under the Equality Act 2010 to appoint from these groups if two candidates are equally qualified.

To learn more about our application process and receive advice on how to prepare in such a way as to showcase your full potential, please find our Application Guide here.

WHAT WE OFFER(UK ):

The successful candidate will be offered an annual salary of £50,000 plus 10% employer-contributed pension. Please note that Opportunity Green has fixed salary scales, with the possibility of step increases with strong performance. When hiring we always hire at the bottom of a band and do not enter negotiations with new employees as negotiations have been historically shown to disadvantage women and minorities.

We take our team’s well-being and professional development seriously. In addition to a competitive salary, we offer:

• A commitment to work/life balance, with a 4-day work week at 28 hours;


• A generous holiday entitlement of 20 days’ holiday per year, plus bank holidays and office closure between Christmas and New Year’s that does not count towards your holiday entitlement (and expectation that you fully disconnect when taking time off);


• A market-leading pension of 10%;


• A progressive family leave policy, including 26 weeks’ paid leave for both parents, as well as other support;


• Lots of flexibility within a hybrid working arrangement, with regular opportunities to come together as a team;


• Support for your professional development as part of Opportunity Green, with a budget to support your learning & development plus opportunities to lead projects, publish content, learn from experts, work directly with policymakers and stakeholders, and take part in conferences and events.

However, it is important to note that while this role is permanent, employment is always reliant on Opportunity Green continuing to receive philanthropic support from our funders, which we expect every member of the team to play their part in working towards.

WHAT WE OFFER(Belgium): 

The successful candidate will be offered an annual salary of EUR 60,000. Please note that Opportunity Green has fixed salary scales, with the possibility of step increases with strong performance. When hiring we always hire at the bottom of a band and do not enter negotiations with new employees as negotiations have been historically shown to disadvantage women and minorities.

OG has only recently established its office in Brussels. As such, initial benefits will be set up to comply with statutory requirements in Belgium, with enhanced offer outlined below mirroring OG UK set up.

We take our team’s well-being and professional development seriously. In addition to a competitive salary, we offer:

• A commitment to work/life balance, with a 4-day work week at 28 hours;


• Office closure between Christmas and New Year’s that does not count towards your holiday entitlement (and expectation that you fully disconnect when taking time off);


• A progressive family leave policy, including 26 weeks’ paid leave for both parents, as well as other support;


• Lots of flexibility within a hybrid working arrangement, with regular opportunities to come together as a team;


• Support for your professional development as part of Opportunity Green, with a budget to support your learning & development plus opportunities to lead projects, publish content, learn from experts, work directly with policymakers and stakeholders, and take part in conferences and events.

However, it is important to note that while this role is permanent, employment is always reliant on Opportunity Green continuing to receive philanthropic support from our funders, which we expect every member of the team to play their part in working towards

HOW TO APPLY:

To minimise the risk of unconscious bias, we ask that applicants remove certain identifying elements from their CVs. If you do not remove these details, we reserve the right to withdraw your application from review.

• Photos;


• Name – if needed, please use ‘Applicant’;


• Age;


• Email and/or phone number.

We also reserve the right to withdraw your application from review if you use AI tools such as Chat GPT to complete the sift questions / write your CV.

Unfortunately, if you do not already hold the right to work in the UK or Belgium and/or require sponsorship to continue working in the UK or Belgium, Opportunity Green will not be able to consider your application at this time.

The closing date for applications is 9:00am GMT, 24 February 2025.

WHAT HAPPEN NEXT:

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an online interview to discuss their experience and suitability for the role. After this, candidates that are most suitable for the vacancy will be invited for an in-person interview in our London office, for which there may also be a short task. Travel will be reimbursed for non-London-based applicants, including Eurostar travel from Brussels.

• Online interviews are likely to take place w/c 10 March. In person interviews will likely be shortly after this (w/c 24 March);


• We reserve the right to ask for references during the recruitment process;


• We actively encourage applicants to reach out if there are any reasonable adjustments we can make to help them demonstrate their full potential in the hiring process;


• Please get in touch at recruitment@opportunitygreen.org and we can discuss how to best make the recruitment process as accessible and comfortable for you as possible;


• You can read our application guide here.