Head of Major Donors Fundraising

Sightsavers is looking for an experienced and strategic Head of Major Donor Fundraising to lead the next phase of growth for our high value individual giving programme.

Contract: Permanent / full time (or minimum of four days per week with pro-rated salary)

Salary: £61,065 to £71,841 per annum (FTE, pro-rated for part-time)

Location: This role must be worked from the UK, and can be primarily home-based with regular travel to our Haywards Heath (West Sussex) office.

As part of the Fundraising and Marketing directorate, you will develop and deliver a long-term major donor strategy, lead a specialist team and personally manage a focused portfolio of high value donors and prospects. The role will focus on supporters giving £10,000 or more per year, while also strengthening nurture and loyalty programmes that help build a sustainable future pipeline.

Working closely with colleagues across fundraising, technical leadership, programme delivery, finance, planning and senior leadership, you will identify compelling funding opportunities and help build strong cases for support. You will also represent Sightsavers externally with donors, prospects, philanthropy advisers, wealth advisers and sector networks.

We would like to hear from confident and collaborative senior fundraisers with experience of leading or managing a high value fundraising programme. You will bring a strong track record of securing, cultivating and stewarding significant gifts, including six-figure prospects, alongside the ability to use data and insight to manage pipelines, forecast income and support decision-making.

Application and interview process

To apply, please complete an application through our recruitment portal by uploading an up-to-date CV and answering the job-specific questions. We are particularly interested in understanding your motivation for applying. We anticipate a two-stage interview process, with first interviews from w/c 12 October and second-round interviews expected w/c 19 or 26 October 2026. The process will include a role-specific presentation task at first interview stage, and one interview will be held in person at our Haywards Heath office. We would like the successful candidate to start by the end of January 2027. Please read the full job description for further details.

Sightsavers is a Disability Confident employer. We welcome applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences and are committed to making reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.