Senior Fundraiser for Trusts and Foundations 2025
About the organisation
CARAS is a dynamic and exciting charity offering holistic support to refugees and people seeking asylum. We pride ourselves on coupling the expertise of our staff team with strong values that mean we always place the voices, needs and wants of our group members at the heart of all that we do. We know that this is a transformative way of working. Our Strategy, Monitoring Framework and Values were all written with full participation from our group members.
Our Values are:
Kindness. CARAS will nurture all who are part of our community, helping everyone to develop their skills, talents and interests.
Justice. CARAS will strive for social justice following a rights-based approach in all of our work and challenging instances when rights are not upheld in wider society.
Empowerment. CARAS works alongside people, recognising and respecting their skills and strengths and striving together for better outcomes.
‘With’ not ‘for’. CARAS will put the voices, opinions, experiences and needs of its community members at the heart of all that we do.
CARAS is a thriving organisation with a highly motivated, friendly and experienced staff team, bolstered by the generous support of equally skilled volunteers and trustees who come from many walks of life. We are impactful across a range of measures that demonstrate the life-changing work we do and are proud to receive testimonials from our group members that bring our impact to life.
The Senior Fundraiser for Trusts and Foundations will be our lead fundraiser, drawing in support and expertise from across the team. They will take ownership of identifying funding sources, refining a strategy, forecasting our fundraising income, and building strong relationships with donors, bringing the experiences of our group members to life in fundraising communications. They will line management a full-time fundraiser who specialises in individual giving while the Senior Fundraiser for Trusts and Foundations will lead on grant writing.
In the last 5 years, CARAS has had huge success, more than trebling our income and enabling us to expand our staff team and therefore our reach. We are a highly impactful organisation that is often looked to for our insight in the sector. We have an ambitious three-year strategy, co-produced with group members, staff, volunteers, trustees and partner organisations, that will launch in September 2025 and guide our current work.
This is an exciting role that comes with many varied commitments, expectations and timescales. We are seeking applicants who want to be at the forefront of change, striving to improve the rights, entitlements and day-to-day experiences of refugees and people seeking asylum. You will need to be able to show how your skills and experiences fit the role, as well as possessing a drive for social change in support of under-served people. Within this role, you will have scope to shape and secure the future of CARAS.
You will be supported in a variety of ways, including by an expert team of staff around you who will collaborate with you and work together as needed; a highly professional Board of Trustees who you will work with at key points throughout the year and who are available for consultation and advice as needed; robust and effective systems; and a network of organisations and funders who share CARAS’ goals. Additionally, you will have regular and detailed supervision with your line manager, and you can access our Employee Assistance Programme at any time.
This opportunity comes at a very exciting time. CARAS has been piloting a 4 day week from since the 1st of January 2025, meaning that all staff work 20% less time for 100% pay. Full time employees reduced their hours to 4 days per week. We have seen this be a huge boost to staff wellbeing and will become part of our commitment to care for staff as well as our community members.
We are also preparing for a future in which CARAS continues to grow, mature and develop, standing as a highly respected, impactful organisation with a £1million income by 2028.
Key info
Role title: Senior Fundraiser for Trusts and Foundations
Salary: £37500 p/a
Hours: 4 days per week at full pay
Contract type: permanent, full time
Annual leave: 28 days full-time equivalent, plus additional time off between Christmas and the New Year. Annual leave increases with length of service.
Employee benefits:
7% employer pension contributions
Other benefits include flexible working, enhanced parental leave and sick pay, a cycle scheme, tech scheme, interest-free loans, study leave and volunteering leave. All staff are offered access to an Employee Assistance Programme.
Preferred Start date: ASAP, but flexible for the right candidate
Reports to CEO
Location: The role is based in Tooting with a significant portion of remote working if desired. You can choose to work from home or from our premises in Tooting. You will need to be able to attend meetings and events in Tooting and in other London locations on occasion.
Equalities Statement.
As an organisation who works with refugees, we especially encourage applications from people with lived experience of forced migration. You will be invited to say whether you have been an asylum seeker or a refugee in the UK on the application form. Applicants with lived experience who meet essential criteria are guaranteed an interview.
The role:
The Senior Fundraiser for Trusts and Foundations is required to lead a wide range of activities. You will be expected to manage your own time, prioritising tasks and leading a small team of people who contribute to CARAS’ fundraising. You will inherit excellent systems and skilled, supportive and enthusiastic team players. You will work closely with the CEO, and the senior leadership team which draws together Heads of Service from each of our programme areas. You will collaborate with our Finance Manager to ensure smooth management of grants and donations and will play a key role in budget setting with the Finance Manager and CEO.
The role demands cross-departmental working, and regular contact with community members to enhance your ability to advocate for them. You will be at the forefront of developing new ideas and approaches, ensuring that teams have the money and resources to have an impact.
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RESPONSIBILITIES
Fundraising
Line-manage our Fundraising Officer and work together to generate income to meet CARAS’s budgetary targets through trusts and foundations, individual giving, community fundraising and other means at our disposal.
Develop and deliver a fundraising strategy which synchronises with the CARAS Strategic Plan.
Research and maintain a real-time pipeline of fundraising opportunities and oversee delivery. Lead or allocate all income generation opportunities in good time so that appropriate co-design and decision-making processes are behind applications.
Maintain up-to-date records on potential and active funders in CARAS’s database.
Ensure compliance with best practice in fundraising including use of data and confidentiality.
Work collaboratively with Heads of Service and CARAS’ Finance Manager to develop, deliver and iterate systems to ensure grants are accurately and effectively managed.
Work closely with CARAS leadership to align fundraising priorities with programme plans and organisational growth.
Lead on the development of programmatic and core budgets for diverse grant funders.
Write and submit high-quality, tailored applications that articulate CARAS’s impact, values and plans.
Ensure applications are accurate, persuasive, and meet deadlines and funder requirements.
Collaborate with the team to gather supporting information, budgets, and case studies.
Reporting & Stewardship
- Maintain excellent records and monitor deadlines for reporting and renewals.
Develop CARAS’ outcomes report and donor report ensuring they are data rich and clearly demonstrate impact.
Monitoring the wealth of data CARAS collects through our frontline service to ensure we stay agile and adaptable within a changing policy context, supporting Heads of Service and other relevant stakeholders to deliver excellence.
Collaboration with Finance
Work collaboratively with the Finance Manager to ensure the rigorous financial management across all income and expenditure to ensure all grants and donations are accurately accounted for and spent.
Working collaboratively with the Finance Manager and CEO, develop the organisational annual budget and lead on income projections for the year ahead to ensure expenditure budgets are feasible and unlock multi-year growth.
Governance
Contribute to the maintenance of up-to-date policies relevant to the role.
Attend board meetings as requested to share reports with the Board on fundraising.
Work closely with the Treasurer and the Finance Committee on fundraising strategy.
Cross-Organisational Contribution
- Coordinate annual impact reporting, including data analysis, case studies, and visual storytelling.
- Build strong internal relationships and stay connected to CARAS’s work by attending occasional programmes, events and residentials.
- Contribute ideas and support the fundraising team’s broader work (e.g. campaigns, supporter communications).
- Engage with programme staff to gather stories and data that demonstrate CARAS’s impact.
- Other duties as may be required from time to time
IDEAL EXPERIENCE
Excellent writing and editing skills — clear, concise, persuasive and adaptable to different audiences.
Highly organised, diligent and able to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
Ability to analyse funder criteria and align proposals strategically.
Strong team player, willing to engage with programme staff, volunteers and community members to understand and communicate CARAS’s work.
Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage funders and supporters with warmth and professionalism.
Commitment to ethical fundraising practices and compliance with UK fundraising regulations.
Personal or professional understanding of issues affecting people from refugee backgrounds.
Passion for CARAS’s mission and commitment to centering people with refugee backgrounds.
Proven experience of fundraising or business development successfully raising income from a range of sources.
Proven experience in line management, supporting teams to deliver excellence and creating clear CPD plans to ensure staff are happy and motivated.
Outstanding written communication with demonstrable experience of creating compelling cases for support and experience of successfully securing funds from large foundations.
Confidence working with numbers and developing programmatic and organisational budgets.
Experience collecting and analysing data.
Committed to reflecting, refining and iterating practice to ensure learning is embedded throughout your work.
Works collaboratively across teams and isn’t afraid to ask for help, recognising the diverse expertise held across the organisation.
Proven experience in creating budgets, forecasting income, analysing and extracting data for reports.
Ability to understand and clearly convey financial information to others for a wide range of purposes, ranging from grant applications and reporting, budget preparation and scrutiny with the Board of Trustees, and transparent communication with programme staff and participants.
Proven experience building or delivering a fundraising strategy to increase corporate and individual funding streams.
A confident and charismatic communicator.
Commitment to upholding CARAS’s values in all your work.
Desirable
Experience in co-designing services or ideas with a community.
Experience or knowledge of issues affecting refugees and asylum-seekers.
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To apply.
Please complete our application form and return it by email.
We do not accept CVs or covering letters. You must include all details within the form.
Deadline: 9am, 10th September 2025.
We offer a guaranteed interview to applicants who meet all essential criteria and who have lived experience of forced migration.
Interviews will take place in-person at our offices in Tooting the week beginning 22nd September. They will include interview questions, a presentation, and a short skills test.
We will share interview questions with selected candidates ahead of time. Should you need other adjustments, you can request these when you are invited to interview.
