About National Trails UK

National Trails UK (NTUK) is the independent champion of the UK’s inspirational National Trails: designated long-distance walking, cycling and riding routes which connect millions of people to the UK's finest landscapes. Our mission is to strengthen National Trails so they can sustainably deliver more for people and nature, advocate on their behalf, and inspire more people to use them as a gateway to the great outdoors.

NTUK was incorporated as a registered charity and membership organisation in 2021, and our team was recruited in 2023. Now a small but mighty team with a passionate and experienced Board of Trustees, we're already making a difference to our members - the National Trails - and to the wider sector.

About the role

Fundraising at NTUK is building momentum. We are developing a new Fundraising Strategy aligned to our Business Plan, currently focusing on a blend of grants and corporate partnerships but with a view to expanding our income streams in future. Key governance and administrative frameworks are in place, including policies, fundraising assets and a functioning CRM. We have a qualified list of potential funders, a growing portfolio of corporate partners and grant funders, and a well-attended Fundraising Special Interest Group to support our members.

We're now looking for a Fundraising and Development Manager to take our fundraising to the next level.

This is an exciting opportunity for a proactive and strategic fundraiser with a proven track record in securing grants, developing meaningful corporate partnerships, and managing the funding pipeline from research to stewardship. We’re looking for a confident self-starter who excels at building strong relationships with donors, partners, and sector peers while providing outstanding support to our members. As the sole fundraising expert in a small, close-knit team, you’ll play a pivotal role in expanding NTUK’s income and shaping our future strategy—putting you in a unique position to make a real impact.

If this sounds like you, and you want to help secure the future of the UK’s National Trails, we’d love to hear from you.

Key responsibilities

Trusts and Grants

Manage relationships with the small existing portfolio of grant funders, including National Lottery Heritage Fund
Develop the current portfolio through research and networking, working with the team and members to identify funding needs and match these to funding opportunities.
Lead bid writing and submissions for core costs and project costs, including working with the CEO and team to develop budgets for grant applications, and gathering evidence and case studies to support bids.

Corporate partnerships

Manage and grow relationships with the small existing portfolio of corporate partners.
Work with the Board of Trustees to develop the current corporate pipeline using NTUK’s existing prospect research and taking advantage of networking opportunities, including LinkedIn, events and online forums.
Identify and engage with new corporate partners and develop bespoke strategic relationships in line with NTUK’s Strategy and Business Plan.
Identify and secure sponsors and partners for NTUK events.
Work with Business Development function and NTUK’s members to build on NTUK’s current corporate offer to develop meaningful strategic relationships, including securing income, gifts in kind, pro bono work and benefits for NTUK’s members. This could include the development of a corporate membership scheme.

Membership support

Lead the member Fundraising Special Interest Group, liaising with members to identify topics of interest and securing speakers.
Develop good relationships with members, understanding their unique funding needs, responding to their queries and signposting to funding opportunities.
Occasionally support members with their own funding applications, or applying for and dispersing funding on their behalf.
Occasionally attend National Trail Partnership meetings.
Support the CEO with membership administration.

Governance and Oversight

Lead NTUK’s Trustee Fundraising and Development Committee to scope and develop longer term income streams including High Net Worth Individuals.
Keep abreast of, and respond to, the funding landscape to identify trends, challenges and opportunities - particularly within heritage, environment and health & wellbeing sectors. This could include joining and engaging with relevant funding networks such as the Natural Environment Funding Group and Green Fundraisers Forum. Use insights to contribute to NTUK's wider advocacy work to make the case for better, longer term, more joined up funding for National Trails and the sector.
Manage the fundraising and membership CRM, Beacon, ensuring it is kept up to date and in compliance with relevant legislation such as GDPR.
Ensure all fundraising activities are delivered in compliance with NTUK’s Ethical Fundraising frameworks and wider sector policies and best practice, and keep policies and frameworks relevant and up to date.
Support the CEO in the delivery of the charity’s Business Plan, setting annual budgets for fundraising and membership.
Monitor progress against targets and report regularly to the CEO and Board of Trustees.

General

Foster good communications and trusted teamwork with colleagues, volunteers and external partners.
Be aware of, and take advantage of, any potential “quick wins” as they arise, for example Movement for Good, short-notice grant opportunities and marketing/PR opportunities.
Some travel across the UK to deliver membership and fundraising work, and engage with funders, partners & stakeholders.
Support the CEO and team to contribute to NTUK's wider workstreams.

The ideal candidate is:

An innovative self-starter: confident in developing and managing their own workplan, taking the initiative and setting their own direction. Comfortable testing, trialling, failing and learning.
Adaptive and responsive: Able to work flexibly and creatively, responding to new opportunities as they arise and being agile in a rapidly changing environment.
A team player: Able to work effectively within a small team, contributing to the wider team’s goals and getting buy-in from the team on funding opportunities.
Brilliant at building relationships: Able to build rapport and deliver exceptional service and support to our members, partners and donors.
Savvy with budgets: Able to creatively package and pitch organisational budgets to generate core operational income as well as restricted or project income. They should be familiar with fundraising for core costs, including Full Cost Recovery model.
Conscientious and possesses integrity: Keeping up to date with current charity governance and applying this to NTUK’s fundraising policies and frameworks. They are committed to championing NTUK’s values and fundraising ethically and responsibly.
Familiar with charity CRMs. Able to quickly familiarise themselves with NTUK's CRM, Beacon: a powerful tool which enables us to manage our membership and fundraising, and has the potential to do much more.
Passionate about the outdoors and peoples' access to it: At the heart of NTUK lies our vision of a network of high quality, nature rich National Trails which are valued and used by everyone. The candidate should feel passionate about championing and enabling peoples' access to all the benefits that National Trails bring.

Skills and Experience

Essential:

Trust & Grant fundraising: Experience of researching, writing and winning a range of bids, from small grants, to major grants such as National Lottery Heritage Fund and Garfield Weston Foundation.
Corporate partnerships: Experience of identifying, developing and managing strategic, win-win relationships with corporate partners
Networking skills: Able to identify and utilise opportunities to network with potential corporate partners, funders and sector peers.
Knowledge of charity fundraising legal and financial frameworks
Experience of using charity CRMs

Desirable:

Membership experience: An understanding of membership/ infrastructure charities, business associations or trade bodies
Understanding of government funding
Knowledge of issues relating to access, protected landscapes, outdoor recreation, tourism and/or heritage sectors in the UK