Strategic Funding Specialist

Role Title: Strategic Funding Specialist

Salary: £40,778 to 41,949 (Pro-rata/ A Pay Review Pending)

Location: London-Hybrid

Tenure: 6 month Fixed term (14 hours a week until end of June 2025)

ActionAid UK is a member of the ActionAid Federation, an international charity that works with women and girls living in poverty. As part of the ActionAid Federation, we work with women and girls, our partners, and dedicated staff in 43 countries to end violence and fight poverty so that all women, everywhere, can create the future they want.

Are you a keen advocate of women and girls’ rights in emergencies? 

Are you ready to use your creativity, communication skills, and strategic thinking to secure funding that drives global change?

Then we'd love to hear from you!

ActionAid UK is looking for a Strategic Funding Specialist to join our dynamic Philanthropy and Partnerships team. This is your opportunity to make an impact by supporting transformational projects that promote social justice, gender equality, and community resilience in over 45 countries.

Why This Role is Exciting

• Inspiring Global Impact: You’ll play a key role in securing funding for some of the most vital areas of our work, including emergency responses, institutional donor co-financing, and unrestricted funding that empowers communities to thrive.
• Creative Storytelling: Design and deliver compelling funding proposals, concept notes, and cases for support that resonate with high-net-worth individuals, corporate partners, and trusts. You’ll bring ActionAid’s stories to life, inspiring new partnerships and strengthening existing ones.
• Cross-Cultural Collaboration: Engage with colleagues and country teams worldwide to create powerful donor materials, ensuring our global programmes achieve sustainable, meaningful outcomes.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Compelling Fundraising: Craft high-quality proposals, donor updates, and emergency appeal materials tailored to the interests of philanthropic donors, corporate partners, and foundations. Translate complex programme information into inspiring communications that spark action.
• Strategic Grant Management: Manage and deliver reporting for key strategic grants, ensuring financial and programmatic accuracy. Collaborate with global teams to meet donor expectations and deadlines with efficiency and professionalism.
• Innovation and Knowledge Building: Innovate new systems and processes to improve team efficiency. Monitor trends in donor engagement and international development to ensure ActionAid remains a leader in securing transformative funding.

Who We’re Looking For

• You’re a skilled communicator and relationship builder with:
• A proven ability to produce persuasive, accurate, and inspiring written materials for donors, including successful funding proposals.
• Strong analytical skills to interpret financial information and present it in an engaging, donor-friendly way.
• Exceptional organisational and project management skills, with the ability to balance competing priorities and deliver high-quality work to deadlines.
• Ability to communicate well across a range of people both in the UK and internationally.
• Ability to review existing team systems and processes and innovate to improve team efficiency.
• A commitment to feminist principles, anti-racism, and decolonisation – values that underpin everything we do at ActionAid UK.

Why You’ll Love Working Here

• Be part of a bold, innovative team that values creativity, collaboration, and impact.
• Gain the opportunity to work closely with country programmes, learning from and supporting initiatives that drive long-term change.
• Grow professionally through diverse responsibilities, international collaboration, and ActionAid’s commitment to fostering talent.
• Make a tangible difference by helping secure funding that supports women, girls, and marginalised communities across the globe.

If you’re passionate about international development, skilled at building relationships, and ready to deliver bold ideas that fund ActionAid’s mission, this is your chance to join us in creating a more just and equitable world.

Apply today and help us make change happen!
 

Due to the nature of this role, the successful candidate will be asked to participate in criminal records checks at the point of offer.

Additional Information:

Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Belonging:

Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging are key to our organisational culture. We are on a journey to become not only an anti-racist organisation but one that proudly

celebrates the diversity of all applicants and employees. We look forward to you bringing your full self to work, proudly sharing your unique perspective and helping us to shape our combined future. We especially welcome applications from those from underrepresented/marginalised communities.

AAUK is a disability Confident Committed organisation and as such any candidate that declares a disability will be shortlisted for interview if they meet the essential criteria for the role.

Referencing and Safeguarding:

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include safeguarding, criminal records and terrorism

finance checks. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

ActionAid UK is committed to preventing any form of sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse (including child abuse and adult at-risk abuse) and responding robustly when these harms take place. We expect all ActionAid UK Staff and ActionAid UK Representatives to share this commitment. We will not tolerate our Staff or other representatives carrying out any form of sexual harassment, exploitation or abuse towards anyone we come into contact with through our work.

Working practices:

ActionAid is committed to supporting flexible working. If you would like to discuss flexible working options, including the possibility of a job share for this role, there will be space to do so during the interview process.

ActionAid UK has a hybrid working policy for many of our roles. 

Please note that ActionAid UK does not offer fully remote working

options. We encourage you to discuss hybrid working expectations at interview.

Recruitment Processes:

Please note that ActionAid UK may review, shortlist and interview candidates prior to the closing date so we encourage all candidates to apply as soon as possible.

If we receive a very high response, we may close the vacancy early and will not accept further submissions.

Apply for this role

Job Description