Philanthropy Assistant Coordinator

Philanthropy Assistant Coordinator

Closing date : Sunday 1st November 2026

About Restless Development

Restless Development is a globally connected, locally led network incubating youth-led change. For 40 years, we’ve supported young people to take on the world’s biggest challenges. We shift power and resources directly to young people, equipping them with leadership skills, and connecting them with their peers and decision makers to drive long-term change. We run youth-led programmes to tackle the issues that young people care about the most – We also run the Youth Collective – a growing network of over 4000 local youth civil society groups and organisations in 185 countries. We are committed to creating an agency that walks the talk on power shifting, using the power shifting checklist, both internally and externally.

Our approach to safeguarding

Restless Development considers the welfare and protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults to be an organisational imperative with primacy over the success of programmes or strategic objectives. We recognise that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and we expect all of our staff, volunteers and partners to ensure we protect the communities in which we operate from harm and abide by our Safeguarding Policy.

About the role

As Philanthropy Assistant Coordinator, you will play a key role in growing and stewarding Restless Development's community of individual supporters. You will focus on UK-based major donors and small family trusts and foundations giving between £1,000 and £50,000, while also supporting our wider individual giving programme and fundraising events.

Working closely with the fundraising teams, you will identify and research new prospects, manage a portfolio of existing donors, produce compelling donor communications and help deliver engagement opportunities such as appeals, match-funding campaigns and donor events. You will also ensure donor information is accurately maintained on our databases.

This role would suit someone at the start of their fundraising career who is eager to learn about philanthropy, with excellent people and organisation skills. You will get hands-on experience across research, relationship management, writing, events and data, with training and support from an experienced team.

Key responsibilities:

Prospecting, cultivation and stewardship

• Research potential new major donors and small family trusts and foundations, using online tools, public sources and our networks, and write clear prospect profiles.
  
• Oversee the prospect list and pipeline, qualifying and prioritising prospects, planning next steps and moving relationships forward.
  
• Manage a portfolio of 15+ existing donors, keeping a simple stewardship plan for each so they receive timely, personalised communications.
  
• Arrange donor meetings, calls and visits, and prepare briefing notes, meeting notes and follow-up actions.
  
• Help set up and grow a champions network of former Restless Development staff, volunteers and advocates who want to stay involved and raise funds for our work.
  

Donor communications

• Draft high-quality, engaging content for major donors and small family trusts, including a regular supporter newsletter, fundraising pitches and proposals, and tailored impact updates and reports.
  
• Keep a calendar of donor communications so newsletters, updates, reports and application deadlines are delivered on time.
  
• Work with programme and communications colleagues to gather stories, photos and data that show the impact of donors' gifts.
  

Engagement and giving opportunities

• Work with the events team to organise major donor trips and networking events, from guest lists and invitations to on-the-day logistics and follow-up.
  
• Help to deliver match-funding campaigns and emergency appeals, including messaging, tracking gifts and thanking supporters.
  
• Support school triathlons (May - June) and other community fundraising events when needed.
  

Data Management

• Keep accurate, secure and up-to-date records of donors, prospects, gifts, interactions and next steps in our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, including follow-up from meetings and events.
  
• Record pledges, regular gifts and Gift Aid accurately, and work with the finance team to reconcile donations.
  
• Make sure information about donors is handled in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and our data protection policies.
  
• Produce high level reports on income, pipeline and activity for the team.
  
• Check that information about our philanthropy work shared online is accurate and up-to-date.

Other

Job title: Philanthropy Assistant Coordinator

Location:
UK-based, ideally London (hybrid working available)

Salary: £26,564 per annum

Preferred start date: As soon as possible

Length of contract: 1 years fixed contract

Reports to: Senior Partnerships Manager

Expected travel: Regular travel to London for staff meetings and other areas in the UK. Evening and weekend work for which time off in lieu will be given. Expenses for travel and work outside working hours will be given according to our policy.

Other requirements: Must have a full drivers licence and access to a vehicle. Will be required to complete DBS check.

About you

We are looking for people with the right competencies and skills for the role, and who demonstrate the personal qualities consistent with our values.

Our value: HEART - We are who we serve. We are brave.

Supports Managers to embed a values-led culture within their team by holding junior staff members to account for values-led behaviour. Uses values to guide decision making and group actions.

Involves others in the development of solutions to both the causes and results of problems. Supports Managers to promote change to others.

Our value: HEAD - Delivers Quality. We are 100% professional.

Frequently creates opportunities to maximise their contribution to team priorities. Supports others to deliver quality and continually improve their work. Considers relevant information to propose more effective and cost-efficient ways of working.

Takes ownership for managing elements of a budget and/or programme and/or incidents with little guidance from others. Considers underlying issues and Restless Values when making operational decisions. Consults with others when facing difficult decisions.

Our value: VOICE - We generate leaders. We are proud to carry the banner for youth-led development.

Communicates a compelling vision for the areas which they take partial ownership for; providing strong leadership to others. Will typically manage one or more junior staff members.

Takes responsibility for personal development, committing to take on new challenges which build team capacity. Develops others through proactive sharing of knowledge, skills and opportunities.

Our value: HANDS - We are in it together. We listen and learn.

Confidently adapts their communication style to suit their audience, and coaches others to do so. Is able to influence others to build shared understanding.

Seeks opportunities to collaboratively deliver quality against team goals by building strong internal and external relationships. Facilitates introductions amongst staff and stakeholders to help others to grow their relationships. Cultivates partnerships at a national level.

Skills and experience

Essential

• Excellent written communication skills, with the ability to write clearly and persuasively for different audiences.
  
• Confident verbal communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build rapport with a range of people.
  
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines.
  
• High attention to detail and a commitment to accuracy.
  
• Good research skills and the ability to summarise information clearly and concisely.
  
• Competence in Google Workspace, including word processing, spreadsheets and email.
  
• Willingness to learn new systems, including a CRM database, with training provided.
  
• The ability to work collaboratively as part of a team and to use initiative.
  
• A commitment to Restless Development's mission and values and to youth-led change.
  
• Must have the right to work in the UK.
  
• Willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends and to travel within the UK and overseas (time off in lieu will be granted).
  

Desirable

• An interest in international development, youth leadership or the non-profit sector.
  
• Experience in fundraising, sales, customer service or events.
  
• Experience of using a database or CRM system such as Salesforce.
  
• Experience of creating content using design or marketing tools such as Canva or Mailchimp.
  

Restless Development is an Equal Opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community. Restless Development will ensure that no applicant or staff member receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, marital status, social status, caste, race, ethnic origin, religious belief, age, HIV status, disability, or any other factor that cannot be shown to be relevant to performance.

What we do for you

We are proud to commit to a transparent global salary scale, ensuring a fair and comparable system of pay across all global locations. In addition to salary, we offer pension contributions and other benefits in accordance with the local Hub.

Values and Culture

At Restless Development, we’re proud that the strength and integrity of our Values has been recognised by staff, young people, donors and others who we work with. Beyond this, we have a culture of recognising and celebrating both our Values and our global achievements with monthly Values Champions and an annual Values Day.

Work-life Balance

It goes without saying that we work hard at Restless Development. We also recognise the importance of helping staff to maintain a positive work-life balance by offering:

• 24 days annual leave (in addition to public holidays and with an extra day of annual leave given for each full year of service, up to a maximum of 28 days).
• Birthday Leave
• Access to flexible working.
• Generous study leave, maternity, paternity or adoption leave, and other leave allowances.

Professional Development

Restless Development is proud to be an employer who recognises potential and invests in the development of its staff. We are committed to the professional development of our staff through:

• Empowering opportunities to work on significant projects which stretch and inspire staff – allowing them to develop on-the-job.
• Regular performance management.
• Training and development opportunities, including supporting our staff to identify mentors both within and outside of the agency.
• Quarterly Staff Workshops for all staff to give and receive agency updates, receive training, and socialise.

When travelling abroad with work, all staff will be covered by Restless Development’s travel and medical insurance.