Trusts and Foundations Manager

Orbis UK is an affiliate of Orbis International, an eye care charity that transforms lives through the prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness and visual impairment.

Over 1.1 billion people live with vision loss in the world today. Yet for a staggering 90% of these people, visual impairment is treatable or could have been prevented.

At Orbis we work to change this injustice by providing treatment to thousands of people each year, training new generations of eye health-workers, and leading cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs that restore sight. Our vision is a world where communities strive together in the fight to save sight, and no-one is needlessly blind.

Orbis UK (Orbis Charitable Trust) is a registered charity in the UK and raises income from funders across the UK, Europe and the Middle East, towards our global commitment to eliminate avoidable blindness. In 2024, the UK team raised £5.1m. These funds supported 18 projects across 8 countries. With these funds we delivered 9,908 training sessions for health workers,
enabled 469,287 eye screenings, 37,378 treatments and delivered 2.5m doses of antibiotics to tackle trachoma.

Our ambition is to grow our income to £10 million per year within the next five years.

In addition to our long-term country programmes, Orbis operates the Flying Eye Hospital, a state-of-the-art ophthalmic teaching hospital on board a customised aircraft and Cybersight, our online telehealth platform with over 100,000 users and home to our artificial intelligence tool.

The role sits within the Fundraising & Communications Directorate which consists of three divisions:

• Relationships & Partnerships
• Public Giving & Communications
• Data & Insight

The Trusts & Foundations team is led by the Head of Trusts and Foundations and sits within the Relationship & Partnerships division which is responsible for delivering income from trusts & foundations, corporate partnerships and major donors. The division is led by the Deputy Director of Relationships & Partnerships.

Title: Trusts and Foundations Manager 
Directorate: Fundraising & Communications 
Reports to: Head of Trusts & Foundations 
Location: Hybrid (2 days a week required in London, UK (Near Charing Cross)) 
Contract: Full time - 37.5 hours per week, Permanent 
Grade: Professional Level 3 
Salary: £42,840 per annum

This role will be responsible for identifying and securing high value funding from charitable trusts and foundations based in the UK and Europe to meet income targets that will take the Trust programme to the next level. This includes prospect research and qualification, cultivation of new high value funders, securing multi-year sustainable grant funding and managing stewardship activity with funders.

Main responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a live schedule of planned applications to large trusts (over £50K and including six figure grants) using a variety of prospect research and cultivation approaches
• Develop cultivation plans for high value funders engaging them through inquiries and faceto-face meetings
• Prepare case for support material for tailored and generic proposals, as well as preparing content for standard reporting that can be used across a range of donors.
• In collaboration with the Programme Funding Team and Trust and Foundation Lead prepare and submit high quality funding applications
• Review grant contracts on grants won and lead internally on contract negotiation and internal sign off
• Provide accurate and timely reports, case studies and monitoring data to funders
• Ensure grants are implemented in compliance with donor requirements
• Represent Orbis UK at donor meetings, prepare internal pre-meeting briefings to Senior Management and document donor meetings and visit reports
• Manage sign off with Orbis International on funding proposals, grant agreements and reports.
• Maintain all data management systems accurately including in Excel and Raisers Edge
• Accurately code secured income, and thank donors for donations
• Support the Trusts & Foundations team with bid-management across other large proposals coordinating information and contributions from other teams.
• Keep up-to-date with Orbis’s range of programmes so that you can identify fundraising opportunities and talk to prospects knowledgeably about our work.
• Prepare inputs for the team’s high value annual income budget, track restricted income received on grants won, prepare forecasts and variance reports
• Prepare inputs to the team’s strategy and operational planning
• Report monthly on KPIs to the Trust and Foundation Lead
• Support the Trusts and Foundations Officer when required on application and report writing and data collection. 

Other responsibilities:

• Keep up-to-date on Trust fundraising trends and donor developments in the sector.
• Develop your knowledge of Orbis International and other affiliates, how our programmes are improving eye health and of other eye care charities working in similar regions to Orbis.
• Comply with all Orbis policies and procedures, including our Ethical Fundraising policy and procedure, privacy policy and other relevant data protection policies.
• Ensure that fundraising activities, systems and behaviours are compliant with regulatory and sectoral Codes of Practice.
• Occasional travel abroad may be necessary. The responsibilities outlined in this job description are not exhaustive.
• You may be required to undertake additional reasonable duties as necessary to meet the needs of the organisation.

Person Specification

Essential experience:

• Experience of successfully securing high value grants (above 50K) from funders in the UK and/or in Europe.
• Knowledge of the donor landscape relevant to Orbis UK’s work and skilled in prospect research and qualification.
• Experience of developing funding relationships from initial inquiry stage to successful award including for complex applications.
• Excellent written and storytelling skills with the ability to write compelling and persuasive funding applications, donor reports, and engagement materials.
• Strong financial skills for budget preparation and reporting.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to develop relationships with funders and internal stakeholders, fostering collaboration and support.
• Excellent organisational, prioritisation and time management skills in order to work to agreed deadlines.
• Accuracy and strong attention to detail and the ability to review and organise information that makes it easier for the user to understand and use.
• Experienced in multitasking while adhering to deadlines and keeping key stakeholders informed of progress.
• Excellent computer skills, including familiarity with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and ideally Raiser’s Edge (or other similar CRM system).

Desirable experience:

• Experience of high level donor representation and presenting pitches to funders including face-to-face.

Personal attributes:

• You enjoy building relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders and colleagues and are always professional in your interactions.
• You are ambitious, resilient, and focused on the outcome of achieving targets.
• Strong sense of curiosity, supported by excellent questioning skills and critical thinking.
• Able to work collaboratively and be a supportive and effective team member.
• Able to display initiative and work with minimal supervision and manage own.
• Willing to take responsibility for identifying own training/development opportunities.
• A high level of cultural sensitivity.
• A demonstrable affinity with the values and work of Orbis

• Competitive Salary benchmarked annually
• Minimum 25 days holiday pro-rated increasing with length of service
• Life Assurance Policy (4 x salary)
• Employee Assistance Programme
• E-learning Courses
• Social Activities
• Flexitime
• Free Sight test

Plus, following successful completing of your probation:

• Matched employer pension contribution up to a maximum of 10% of basic salary
• Interest free season ticket loan
• Cycle to work scheme
• Contribution to cost of new prescription glasses
• Possibility of an overseas project visit after 3 years’ service

All applicants will need to provide proof of their legal right to live and work in the UK.

Orbis UK is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from any suitably qualified persons. We operate an anonymised recruitment procedure so that no job applicant receives less favourable treatment either directly or indirectly, on the grounds of age, gender reassignment, being married or in a civil partnership, being pregnant or on maternity leave, disability, race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. This aims to ensure all applicants are assessed solely on the strength of their application and not be affected by unconscious bias or confirmation bias.

Orbis UK acknowledges and recognises the disadvantages and barriers people from underrepresented and socially diverse groups face in the workforce. Orbis UK is committed to addressing this issue and we strongly encourage those from underrepresented and socially diverse groups (Black and Ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ and candidates with disabilities) to apply.

Safeguarding: Orbis UK is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and criminal records checks. Orbis UK is also a member of the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS).

Application is via curriculum vitae and covering letter, detailing why you believe you are suitable for the position, referring to your experience and qualification. Please apply via email to [email protected].