Recruitment Pack: Director of Development
RECRUITMENT PACK: DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Can you grow wildflowers?
For 25 years Plantlife has had a single, unique ideal: to save and celebrate
wildflowers. As the only wild plant conservation charity in the UK, we could not
do what we do without our loyal members, generous donors and supportive
funders.
But we are ambitious to do even more for people and plants. Can you grow our
network of support so that we have more income and more resources to carry
out conservation and education projects throughout the UK and overseas?
About the role
This is a newly-created post which pulls together all of our income generating
activity into one team and also develops initiatives which build our profile and
generate support from new sources, as well as building a fundraising culture across
Plantlife.
You will lead an experienced team of fundraisers and membership managers, based
in our Salisbury Headquarters and elsewhere in the UK. Working closely with senior
colleagues, in particular our Director of Communications, you will deliver
innovative programmes of activity to build new support from corporate partners,
and individual donors as well as maximising income from our current funders. You
will find ways to diversify our funding base, which ranges from government grants
to an online shop.
You will have a track record of securing, growing and sustaining income, either in
the charity sector or beyond. You’ll also understand the importance of providing
services to members and regular supporters. You will be able to manage
relationships with supporters and work with a wide range of stakeholders, from
individual donors to charitable trusts and foundations. You’ll have ideas, passion
and drive and the ability to turn initiatives into income and hit challenging targets.
You’ll be an experienced manager and able to provide leadership to the whole of
Plantlife as one of our senior management team.
And perhaps you’ll even love wildflowers as much as we do!
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Recruitment Pack: Director of Development
About Plantlife
Established in 1989, Plantlife International is the only UK charity dedicated to
conserving wild flowers, plants and fungi in their natural habitats and helping people
to enjoy and learn about them.
Our charitable aims and objectives are simple:
 To improve the fortunes of threatened wildplants in the UK and overseas
 To help everybody – young and old- to enjoy wildplants and to get involved in
their conservation
 To campaign for policies and practices to sustain wildplants
We own 23 nature reserves across the UK and carry out conservation and outreach
work on our own land and in partnership with others, such as the National Trust,
RSPB and the Forestry Commission. We advise landowners and publish best practice
guidance. We carry out research and gather data to inform government policy. We
engage people of all ages and abilities in plant conservation and education and
give everybody opportunities to enjoy wildflowers. We work overseas with bodies
such as the IUCN and Kew and, as a lead partner in the Global Strategy for Plant
Conservation, identify Important Plant Areas across the world and plan their
conservation with government and community groups.
Our Flagship programmes include:
 The Fen Orchid project, restoring and reintroducing one of our most
endangered wildflowers in the Norfolk Broads.
 Coronation Meadows and Magnificent Meadows, which we are restoring and
recreating thousands of hectares of flower rich meadow
 The Celtic Rainforest, with projects to train professionals and amateurs to
conserve the unique lichen rich woods of the west coast of Scotland, Wales
and SW England.
 The Road Verge Campaign, with over 15,000 signatories to change the way
councils manage wildflower habitat on roadsides
 The National Plant Monitoring Scheme, a government-funded, volunteerlead citizen science project to gather data on plant distribution
 Tropical Important Plant Areas, working with Kew in Africa and the
Caribbean to identify places that need dedicated plant conservation
We are governed by a board of 11 trustees, chaired (from 1 Oct) by Professor David
Hill OBE (succeeding Peter Ainsworth). Our Patron is His Royal Highness The Prince of
Wales. Philip Mould is our President and Rachel de Thame Vice President.
We have 50 staff, based in our Salisbury head office or outposted to other Plantlife
offices or with partners. Plantlife Scotland has fully devolved responsibilities and is
based in Stirling; similarly Plantlife Cymru works from Cardiff. We also have a team
of 1500 volunteers, who work in the field, at events and in our offices.
Our balance sheet stands at around £5m, with expenditure on conservation and
communication work (ie our turnover) approximately £3.5m pa. A large proportion of
our income comes from our 11,000 loyal members and supporters, but we also
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Recruitment Pack: Director of Development
receive funding from the UK governments and their conservation agencies, grant
making bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and Land fill tax funds, donations
from charitable trusts and foundations as well as income from business partners and
fundraising events.
For more information please visit our website: www.plantlife.org.uk
You will also find information here about our trustees, our policies and projects, as
well as our annual reports and accounts.
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Recruitment Pack: Director of Development
About the job
This is a full time post (35 hours per week), although we are open to considering
part time working or job shares from candidates who are particularly strong in only
some parts of this far reaching role.
Our Head Office is in Salisbury and this is the nominal base for this post. The role
will require frequent travel across the UK to meet supporters and visit other
Plantlife locations. We work normal office hours (9-5, Monday to Friday), although
this role will also require some weekend and evening working (for example for
fundraising events). We offer flexible working and will consider a home base for
the right candidate.
The reward package is based around a salary of around £50,000 plus contributions
to a group personal pension scheme and other benefits, including up to 6 weeks
annual leave.
How to apply
A full job description and person specification are set out below. If you fit the bill,
please write explaining why you would like to be considered for this role and
enclose a copy of your CV and the Plantlife application form (available on line or
on request) and return it to Julia Clements (julia.clements@plantlife.org.uk) by 4
October 2015. You can also apply on line at:
http://www.plantlife.org.uk/about_us/jobs_at_plantlife/
We expect to hold initial interviews on 15 October in Salisbury.
If you have any questions about the role please contact Julia Clements
((julia.clements@plantlife.org.uk , 01722 342749). Julia will be able to arrange an
informal discussion with our Chief Executive Officer, Marian Spain
(marian.spain@plantlife.org.uk) and/or a chat with other members of the team
and the outgoing post holder.
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Recruitment Pack: Director of Development
Job description: Director of Development
REPORTING TO
Chief Executive
KEY RELATIONSHIPS
Director of Communications; Director of Strategy
REPORTING TO JOB HOLDER
Head of Project Development; Membership Manager; local fundraisers
OVERALL PURPOSE OF JOB:
 Secure income and build support for all of Plantlife’s work
 Develop and maintain relationships with funders, donors, members and
supporters
 Ensure grant funded projects are viable and achieve full cost recovery
 Corporate leadership as a member of the Senior Management Team
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
 Develop and deliver a strategy to grow membership, maintain member
satisfaction and maximise income from regular supporters
 Develop relationships with and secure income from major donors and corporate
partners
 Establish a programme of regional fundraising in England and work with Heads
of Scotland and Wales to develop devolved income generation strategies
 Lead and build a fundraising culture across Plantlife and provide practical
support to all staff to help them identify and secure project funds
 Identify, alongside the Director of Communications, campaigns which will
engage new people in Plantlife’s work and work with the Director of
Programmes to maximise conversion of project activity to support
 Develop and deliver an innovative fundraising strategy and take forward
initiatives which sustain and diversify Plantlife’s income base
 Lead the project development team to develop projects as part of a rolling
annual work plan and secure income from trusts, grant givers etc
 Investigate and create new income generating/business opportunities for
Plantlife, including products, services and consultancy
 Contribute to all leadership, strategic and operational matters as a member of
the Senior Management Team and undertake other duties as required by the
Chief Executive
INDICATORS OF SUCCESS WILL INCLUDE:
 A growing membership and more income per member
 Corporate sponsorship for priority projects and initiatives and a new cohort
of major donors
 Project funding sufficient to meet operational needs and from new sources
 All Plantlife teams contribute to finding funds for their work.
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Recruitment Pack: Director of Development
Person Specification
Essential
Evidence of a track record of securing
and growing income in the third sector
(or elsewhere if comparable in
objectives and culture)
Experience of membership organisations
and a track record of growing support
Desirable
Experience in, or understanding, of the
environmental sector
Experience of managing fund raising
events and working with high net worth
individuals
Business development experience and
the ability to create and assess a
business case
A senior leadership role in a similar
organisation
Excellent communication and
interpersonal skills and the ability to
engage with a wide range of people
Ability to develop and deliver
innovative but realistic strategies which
will meet stretching income targets
Numeracy, literacy and the ability to
manage , interpret and respond to
performance data
Ability to work as part of a senior team
and to support and win support from
colleagues
A grasp of communication and
marketing and the ability to commission
effective products and services,
internally and externally.
Experience of managing skilled,
professional people
Educated to at least degree level
A track record of securing corporate
partners, sponsors and donors
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