JOB DESCRIPTION
JOB TITLE: Head of Private Philanthropy
DIVISION: Development
RESPONSIBLE TO: Development Director
APPROVED BY:
JOB HOLDER(S):
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OR DIRECTOR: Development Director
JOB DESCRIPTION REFERENCE NUMBER:
GRADE ALLOCATED:
JOB DESCRIPTION / MAIN PURPOSE
To raise funds from high value individual donors in support of ZSL’s mission objectives, building and
increasing a sustainable income stream. The post also oversees ZSL’s Patron, Fellowship and legacy giving
activities, and ensures that all groups of individual supporters are managed effectively and efficiently,
maximising their lifetime value to ZSL.
Principal elements:
1. Develop and implement a multi-year strategy to secure income from high net worth individual
donors (giving at £10k+), including:
 Embed a high quality, effective stewardship and cultivation programme for high value
individual supporters across ZSL.
 Lead an effective prospect generating process to ensure an ongoing and strong pipeline of
potential high level supporters.
 Personally manage an agreed caseload of high value individual relationships, and support
senior staff and other colleagues managing other individual relationships.
 Work with the Development Director to support ZSL’s external Development Board(s).
 Identify and develop peer to peer opportunities using the contacts and networks of Board
members and other supporters to recruit new prospects, proactively networking and
liaising with trustees, directors and senior members of the organisation, providing the
highest quality support and strategic direction for fundraising approaches to their contacts.
 Devise compelling and effective cases for support for ZSL projects to present to donors.
 Provide strategic leadership and guidance to the ZSL Patrons programme, ensuring that
Patron numbers and income continue to increase in line with targets, and that it provides a
pipeline of major gift prospects.
2. Provide strategic leadership and guidance to the ZSL Fellowship programme, ensuring that it
continues to meet the needs of ZSL and its Fellowship, and that new Fellows are recruited and
retained, and income raised, in line with targets.
3. Oversee ZSL’s legacy giving programme, including:
 Ensure that an active annual legacy marketing programme is in place and that
opportunities to promote gifts in Wills to ZSL audiences are maximised.
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Ensure that legacy pledgers are stewarded appropriately and that legacy, in memory and in
celebration enquiries are acknowledged and answered appropriately.
Oversee the administration of notified legacies, so that income is collected in a timely,
efficient and sensitive manner.
4. Oversee the planning and delivery of an events programme for individual supporters, working with
relevant teams to ensure that events meet the needs and expectations of donors, and linking with
other activities planned by other teams as relevant.
5. Build strong relationships at all levels across the organisation, in order to support colleagues
managing individual fundraising relationships elsewhere in ZSL, and to raise the profile of major gift
fundraising and optimise funding and cross-selling opportunities. Promote integration and cross
departmental working where this improves efficiency and effectiveness.
6. Line manage, coach, develop and motivate staff in the team. Set and monitor standards to ensure
that all staff are working to clear objectives and monitored according to the KPIs in place. Devise
individual employees’ development plans in line with the team strategy.
7. Maintain an awareness of philanthropy trends, news, events and legislation in the UK and – where
appropriate – overseas. Ensure compliance with all relevant legislation and maintain the highest
levels of confidentiality and best practice. Represent ZSL externally at networking events.
8. Promote the intelligent use of ZSL’s fundraising database to ensure that accurate records are kept
for individual supporters, income is recorded and pledges fulfilled. Ensure regular reporting
upwards and sideways.
9. Be responsible for budget management, target setting and achievement, planning, monitoring and
forecasting, and performance and development of line reports. Evaluate progress against strategy
on a regular basis, updating and revising as necessary. Work with the Development Director and
Development team colleagues on long-term strategies and plans for the team, and undertake other
projects as reasonably required for the overall success of the Development team.
JOB DESCRIPTION ANALYSIS
A.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
1. VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL SKILLS
 A degree or equivalent qualification.
 Excellent relationship management skills, with the ability and confidence to operate at a high
level with donors and senior stakeholders internally and externally.
 A willingness to ‘make the ask’ personally where appropriate, and to support others doing so.
 Comfort in suggesting new ideas, radical alternatives to current thinking and innovative
solutions to problems.
 Proven ability to think strategically, and manage a pool of donors to deliver growth and
maximise opportunities.
 In-depth knowledge and understanding of the major giving process and the various techniques
used, including latest developments in trends, approaches and codes of best practice, and
relevant legislation (eg tax-effective giving).
 An understanding of donor motivations and processes for fundraising through gifts in Wills,
personal trusts and appeals.
2. EXPERIENCE
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Demonstrable success in identifying and recruiting donors to achieve income and other
measurable targets, with a track record of making and facilitating five- and six-figure asks.
Experience of building credibility and developing productive working relationships with senior
volunteers, supporters and colleagues.
Experience in the development and implementation of an appropriate strategy and to manage
the resources (including staff) required to ensure fundraising targets are met.
Experience of working across departments within a complex organisation in order to ensure
appropriate personnel are kept abreast of progress and are brought into negotiations with
funders as necessary.
Experience in the identification of opportunities for approaches, the co-ordination of
approaches and the mobilisation of key individuals to ensure a steady stream of approaches to
potential supporters.
Experience of managing a variety of diverse and complex approaches concurrently.
3. INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
 Excellent interpersonal skills to develop and maintain relationships with donors at all levels.
Able to manage relationships across organisations and work with key personnel across ZSL,
including Directors, ZSL’s Development Strategy Board, and members of the education,
communication, commercial, conservation, science and animal care departments.
 Well-developed ability to write in a clear, persuasive and understandable way to colleagues,
supporters, external contacts and the public, and to communicate ZSL’s mission and activities
to supporters in an articulate, knowledgeable and passionate way.
 Able to produce creative, imaginative and inspiring proposals, reports and other
communications that encourage support of ZSL.
 Able to deal sensitively and appropriately with confidential information.
 Ability to develop co-operative relationships with colleagues at all levels in order to service
relationships with donors and potential supporters in a timely and appropriate way.
 Excellent people management and leadership skills.
B.
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RESPONSIBILITY
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
 Line management responsibility for Assistant Development Manager (ADM), who in turn has
one direct report, plus any additional staff or volunteers who may be recruited on a temporary
or permanent basis.
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PHYSICAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
 Responsible for managing agreed income and expenditure budgets, and the timely collection of
monies donated and pledged.
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COMMUNICATION
 Liaises effectively with a diverse range of audiences at all levels, including externally with
supporters and prospects, and internally with staff up to and including Directors, Council
members and other senior stakeholders.
 Required to translate complex project information into compelling oral and/or written
fundraising proposals that meet the requirements of supporters.
 Required to represent the organisation effectively to potential and current supporters on a
daily basis in a variety of formats (written, telephone, face to face).
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LIAISION
 Works across the organisation to have a good understanding of project priorities, to ensure
that sufficient information is available for the development of proposals and to work with the
relevant personnel to ensure that projects are delivered to the funders’ expectations.
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C.
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Works closely with colleagues in Development and other teams to ensure fundraising
opportunities are maximised, maintaining an awareness of others’ activities and promoting and
undertaking joint working where appropriate.
Represents ZSL at internal and external events including fundraising functions, scientific
meetings and other occasions.
MENTAL DEMANDS
JUDGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING
 Takes decisions that could impact directly on the trust and confidence of existing or potential
donors and the overall reputation of ZSL.
 Responsible for devising and managing multi-year strategies that have direct impact on ZSL’s
income and therefore ability to deliver projects.
 Self-motivated, well-organised and able to manage and advance multiple relationships with a
range of supporter groups simultaneously.
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ORIGINAL THOUGHT AND PROBLEM SOLVING
 Ability to think and plan independently, finding creative solutions to problems.
 Able to design cultivations and proposals that meet the needs of both donor and ZSL, involving
appropriate personnel to help design and present these. The post holder will need to be able
to react to changes in projects or cultivations and develop appropriate solutions to any issues
which may arise so that parties are informed and expectations managed.
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CONCENTRATION
 The development and submission of proposals and other communications to potential
supporters and of reports to donors will require clarity of thought, concentration and attention
to detail. Concentration will be required to ensure that all communication to supporters is
clear, accurate, appropriate and timely.
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FLEXIBILITY
 Able to be sensitive to the fact that projects evolve over time and ensure that any changes are
acceptable to donors. Donors’ needs and demands may change over time and their
expectations will need to be managed effectively. ZSL’s priorities for fundraising will be
regularly reviewed and this will have implications for prospects and supporters.
 Able to adapt plans to take advantage of new opportunities.
 Ensure a flexible approach in terms of ensuring sufficient new prospects are identified, and
cultivations moved forward, to meet targets while meeting the reporting and relationshipmanagement requirements of existing donors at the same time. This may involve
reprioritisation of tasks at short notice to meet the requirements of a donor or prospect.
D.
WORKING CONDITIONS
The post will be based at ZSL’s Regent’s Park offices with some travel to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. Occasional
overseas travel may be required.
The role will require some evening and weekend working to support ZSL events, network and manage
behind-the-scenes events and visits with supporters, for which time in lieu may be claimed.
The postholder will be required to undertake VEM duties on a rostered basis.
A full driving licence will be extremely helpful in fulfilling the demands of this role