Strategic Philanthropy Lead (2 roles)

Role: Strategic Philanthropy Lead (2 roles)

Location: UK, Hybrid (minimum 1 day per week in HALO's Salisbury or London office)

Contract: Full-time, Permanent (subject to probationary period)

Salary: Circa £65k per annum, dependent on experience

Role Overview:

The Strategic Philanthropy Leads will play a critical role in driving income growth from high-net-worth individuals to support HALO’s mission. This role is responsible for identifying, cultivating, and stewarding major donor relationships, developing and leading high-value philanthropic partnerships, and navigating complex donor networks.

About HALO:

The HALO Trust’s mission is to protect lives and restore livelihoods for communities affected by conflict. For over 35 years, HALO has worked in post-conflict zones to make land safe by clearing landmines and explosive remnants of war. In the aftermath of conflict, contaminated land prevents families from farming, accessing water, or safely sending children to school. HALO recruits and trains local men and women to clear these hazards, enabling communities to reclaim their land, rebuild their lives, and shape their futures. Today, HALO is one of the world’s leading humanitarian mine clearance organisations, operating in 32 countries and territories with a global workforce of over 10,000 people, the majority of whom are local staff.

About the role:

Although HALO has been operating for over 30 years, its dedicated philanthropy programme has seen significant growth only in recent years. Over the past five years, global philanthropic income has grown from £4 million to £44 million in 2023/24, with UK-based philanthropic income (led by the Global Philanthropy Team) rising from £3.6 million to £8.9 million. Much of this recent increase has been driven by exceptional donor support for HALO’s work in Ukraine, particularly from the United States.

This growth has been underpinned by the development of six- and seven-figure partnerships with philanthropists, corporates, and foundations, supported by HALO’s influential network of trustees and ambassadors and delivered by our committed and professional global philanthropy team.

The Global Philanthropy Team consists of 12 fundraising professionals, predominantly based in the UK, who are responsible for cultivating and stewarding donors across the UK, Europe, and an expanding range of international markets, including the Middle East. The team works closely with HALO’s US- based philanthropy colleagues, who lead the strategy and delivery of fundraising in the United States.

Following recent success, HALO is significantly increasing its investment in philanthropic fundraising to diversify its income portfolio and enhance financial resilience amid reductions in government funding. This includes a commitment to growing our mass market individual giving programme and strengthening our major donor fundraising capacity through recruitment of new roles over the coming year.

The Strategic Philanthropy Leads will play a key role in advancing HALO’s next phase of philanthropic growth. The roles will be responsible for developing and managing high-value relationships. The postholders will work closely with HALO’s leadership, trustees, and senior stakeholders to unlock new funding opportunities and deepen engagement with existing supporters.

The roles will also support the development and management of a growing team of philanthropy professionals, helping to build a high-performance culture and deliver significant income in support of HALO’s mission.

The Strategic Philanthropy Leads will each manage one Philanthropy Engagement Manager to deliver growth in income in line with strategic funding priorities. Both roles will report to the Global Head of Strategic Philanthropy.

These are high-impact roles, where the successful candidates will be expected to deliver against ambitious team targets in a fast-paced and results-driven environment. This is a fantastic opportunity for two experienced fundraising leaders to join our high-performing team and contribute to the next phase of HALO’s philanthropic growth.

If you're motivated by ambitious goals and want to make a real impact, you'll thrive at The HALO Trust.

Key Responsibilities:

Please note - as we are recruiting two roles simultaneously these may be adjusted to reflect the skills and experience of the candidates appointed.

• Lead the growth of a robust pipeline of ultra-high & high-net-worth individual prospects to secure six and seven-figure gifts.
• Design and deliver tailored relationship strategies for a personal portfolio of prospective donors, guiding them through cultivation and solicitation stages in line with HALO’s global funding priorities and prospect strategy, in collaboration with the Global Director of Philanthropy and Global Head of Strategic Philanthropy.
• Maintain and strengthen existing multi-year donor relationships to ensure long-term, sustained income.
• Lead the development and growth of a bespoke high-net-worth membership group to include delivery of a series of high-level dinners and strategic communications to secure multi-year unrestricted funding.
• Build new philanthropic opportunities through collaborative relationships with family offices, wealth advisors, and family foundations.
• Work closely with HALO’s highly connected senior volunteers to identify and engage new prospective donors.
• Develop effective internal relationships with global senior stakeholders and programme teams to enable the creation of high-quality, compelling proposals and timely impact reporting.
• Deliver exceptional stewardship to both new and existing donors, providing a high-quality experience at every stage of the relationship.
• Ensure accurate and timely management of donor records, communications, and reporting through Salesforce.
• Collaborate closely with colleagues in the USA, UK, and program teams globally, working as part of a distributed team to drive forward HALO’s global fundraising objectives.

Requirements

Person specification - Essential Qualities

• A minimum of five years' experience successfully managing relationships with high-net-worth individuals or equivalent philanthropic partnerships, with a personal track record of securing six- and seven-figure gifts.
• Proven ability to identify, cultivate, and solicit major gifts, guiding donors through complex giving journeys with strategic relationship management.
• Resilient and goal-orientated, with a proven track record of achieving ambitious targets in a similar role.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, with the ability to demonstrate tact, diplomacy, and gravitas when engaging with supporters, senior stakeholders, volunteers, and advisors.
• An excellent understanding of donor networks and how to navigate them
• A confident and compelling communicator able to inspire support with the ability to convey complex ideas clearly and persuasively across diverse cultural and professional contexts.
• Excellent written skills, with experience developing high-quality, donor-focused proposals and reports in collaboration with programmatic and finance colleagues.
• Excellent attention to detail with the ability to work with technical and financial content.
• Experience using fundraising databases (e.g., Salesforce) to manage donor records and track engagement.
• Intellectual curiosity and a strong grasp of philanthropic trends, with the ability to understand and articulate HALO’s mission and strategic priorities to a high-level audience.
• A collaborative team player who thrives in a global, fast-paced, and entrepreneurial environment, with the flexibility to work across time zones and geographies.
• Resilient and self-starting, with the initiative to drive work forward independently while contributing to broader team goals.
• A good sense of humour, an ability to self-reflect, and a commitment to HALO’s mission, values, and ambition for global impact.
• The ability and willingness to travel within the UK and overseas if required.

Person specification - Desirable Qualities

• Experience of high value fundraising in the following areas is desirable: mine action, conflict resolution, the environment/conservation.
• Experience of working with family offices and wealth advisors and/or managing and growing a private giving group.
• Experience of pipeline development in international markets for example Europe, the Middle East or South East Asia.
• Experience leading on high level bespoke philanthropy events including private dinners.

Benefits

• Annual Leave: 25 days leave, plus 8 bank holidays.
• Private medical insurance.
• Non-contributory life insurance.
• Pension contributions matched by HALO up to 5%.
• Emergency medical insurance when travelling overseas (including on leave).
• Flexible working policy.
• Cycle to work scheme

Location and Working Pattern

• Flexible. The Philanthropy Team is based between HALO’s office in Wilton, near Salisbury and our soon-to-be-open office in London. Depending on their location, team members work from one of our offices on at least a weekly basis and we try to come together as a team monthly.
• This is a full-time role, with HALO operating a 40- hour working week (with the office closing at 3pm on Fridays).
• We are open to exploring working arrangements that meet the needs of employees whilst ensuring delivery against the role’s objectives and our strategic goals.

To apply for this role please submit your CV and supporting statement before the closing date for applications which is 7th September 2025.

The HALO Trust is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any applicant for employment because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

The HALO Trust is committed to a culture that is both diverse and inclusive and we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.

The HALO Trust is committed to ensuring that it provides a safe and trusted environment which safeguards and promotes the welfare and wellbeing of anyone who comes into contact with, or is part of, the Charity, with a zero-tolerance approach to behaviours which challenge this.