Fundraiser/50th Anniversary Coordinator
JOB DESCRIPTION
Accountable to:
Director
Hours:
5 full days plus three hours on Sundays. Due to the nature of the position
working hours are variable, however not less than 37.5 hours per week. All
community members are expected to engage in extra evening activities 2 or
3 times a week, including weekends.
This is a residential post involving full Community Membership and participation in Lee Abbey’s
lifestyle of daily corporate worship, prayer and service.
VISION & PURPOSE
Lee Abbey London seeks to communicate Christ through relationships, through our serving each
other and the world - revealing the love and welcome of Christ to all who come to our home.
Lee Abbey in London is at once many things: a registered charity, a limited company, a student
residence, a Christian Community, a work-place, a home from home for students of any nationality
or creed, somewhere for a brief holiday, a witness to God’s glory in Jesus, a business, a place of
friendship and reconciliation.
Our vision includes a clear outward looking focus on evangelism and mission while providing
practical hospitality and excellent facilities to students and guests.
Tasks / Areas of Responsibility
Your main goal will be to increase financial contributions from individuals, groups and trusts to Lee
Abbey London. This will be a long-term ongoing need, however, the two events around which
fundraising efforts will need to be centred initially are:
 The 50th anniversary of Lee Abbey London in 2014/15
 The proposed building/renovation project which is scheduled to begin in either 2016 or
2017.
Together with the Director and a small team, you will coordinate the celebratory events to mark the
50th anniversary of Lee Abbey London. You will use these events to significantly raise the profile of
Lee Abbey London and “kickstart” your fundraising efforts.
A key element of this fundraising effort will be building successful relationships and networking to
raise the profile of Lee Abbey London and awareness of its ongoing mission, work and goals. This will
include building relationships with the following:
 Lee Abbey Friends groups
 Past Lee Abbey London residents (Alumni)
 Past Lee Abbey London Community Members
 Other parts of the Lee Abbey Movement
 Local Church and Community groups
Additional tasks will include:
 motivating and facilitating supporters to maximise giving to Lee Abbey London;
 maintaining and developing relationships with existing and potential Friends and supporters;
 developing and implementing a strategy for supporter recruitment and inspiring new supporters
to raise or donate money;
 managing and updating a database of supporters and recording donor contact information;
 developing a “Lee Abbey London Alumni” group to help past residents stay in touch with each
other and with the work of Lee Abbey London. This will include organising regular “reunions” and
events;
 organising traditional fundraising activities such as sponsored events;
 developing new and imaginative fundraising activities;
 raising awareness of Lee Abbey London and its work at local and national levels, e.g. through use
of social media, by giving talks to groups or seeking photo opportunities with the media;
 increasing funds by researching and targeting charitable trusts whose criteria match Lee Abbey’s
aims and activities, and submitting funding requests;
 writing applications and mail-shots, using your networks and relationships to reach a wide range
of potential and current donors;
 making risk analyses and balancing time-cost ratios to focus effort on the most appropriate
fundraising activities with the highest chance of success.
Community Living
At the heart of this commitment is the understanding that living in this Community is a lifestyle and is
more than a regular job. Anyone who joins the residential Community at Lee Abbey London will be a
Christian, accepting Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. You need to be eager to join in our worship, be
ready to welcome and serve the students and be prepared to witness to your faith in Jesus by your life
and work. We are a Church of England (Anglican) foundation and live together as a Christian Community
welcoming people from other Christian denominations to work and worship with us. It is a requirement
that you join fully in our daily worship and weekly services of Holy Communion.
As well as our daily work, there are opportunities to share in the task of witnessing to the love of God in
our daily life among students and other guests who may come for brief stays. It is also expected that you
will become actively involved in the life and worship of the Church outside Lee Abbey.
If you are accepted for membership of the Community, you will be asked on arrival to affirm before the
Community your personal faith in Jesus Christ and your desire through prayer, study and service to seek a
deep and mature faith; to understand that your mind, your time, your talents, your possessions and all
your relationships are to be surrendered to Christ as Lord; and to promise to be loyal to the Community
in its aims, its work, its standards of behaviour and its disciplines.
As this is a new position at Lee Abbey London, this job description may be reviewed and adjusted
from time to time to better reflect the nature and duties of the job. Any changes will be made in
consultation with you.
FUNDRAISER/50TH ANNIVERSARY COORDINATOR
PERSON SPECIFICATION
You should be a committed Christian, secure in and enthused about your faith in Jesus Christ and in
full agreement with our mission of “Communicating Christ through relationships”.
A successful track record of experience in the following areas is essential:
 Achieving grant funding from trusts, foundations, lottery distributors or similar.
 Undertaking high quality research to efficiently identify grant and contract funding
opportunities for voluntary sector organisations.
 Experience in planning and developing effective fundraising strategies.
 Experience of fundraising from a supporter base.
Please note that experience in community / event / street-based fundraising or more general
experience in the voluntary sector is not sufficient to be considered for this role.
Further Essential Qualities:
 A team player with a confident manner and a professional, flexible, positive and studious
approach to the work
 An ability to quickly develop a detailed understanding of wide ranging and complex topics
 A high standard of written English with an ability to produce concise and persuasive prose
 High level computer literacy, for word processing, emailing, record keeping, developing
budgets and web-based research
 A good telephone manner
 Close attention to detail
 An ability to work with figures and to use spreadsheets
Desirable Qualities:
 A detailed understanding of the wider funding environment and changing trends in the
voluntary sector
 Relevant professional qualifications or memberships
 A current valid driving licence
The post holder must take ownership of, and reflect our ethos in their behaviour; including high
professional standards and effectiveness in working with colleagues to achieve the best possible
outcomes for Lee Abbey.
The post holder will be expected to engage in and undertake with enthusiasm all opportunities for
his/her own training and professional development in order to achieve additional skills as this role
develops.
We require employees to show a proactive attitude to developing the quality and efficiency of their
own work and in support of Lee Abbey London’s ministry and outreach. The post holder will need a
flexible approach to his/her duties, accepting new tasks with enthusiasm.
Terms and Conditions of Service
1.
Allowances:
As this is a residential post involving full Community Membership you will receive a “Community
Allowance” of £8500 per annum (including London weighting) rather than a salary. Allowances are
reviewed in May each year. Suitable accommodation, food, utilities, Council Tax, broadband and
phone line are provided as part of the package.
The type of accommodation provided will be discussed at interview. We will take into account your
family situation and any dependants who would require accommodation with you. However, due to
accommodation limitations, preference may be given to single applicants.
2.
Working Pattern:
The working week consists of five full days plus 3 hours on Sundays and Bank Holidays. Days off vary
from week to week and you should not expect to receive the same day off each week.
Due to the nature of the position working hours are variable – however it is expected that the
working week will be not less than 37.5 hours. All community members should expect to engage in
between 2 and 3 extra evening activities each week in support of Lee Abbey London’s ministry.
Community Membership at Lee Abbey is essentially a way of life, and does not include work for
which hourly rates of pay would be applicable. Your times of work may vary according to the
particular needs of the Community at any given time.
It will be necessary for you to work on bank/public holidays as required; these are considered to be
part of your normal working week and do not attract any additional payment.
3.
Duty Person (On-Call) Duties
Senior members of Community take turns to be on call for a 24 hour period on a rota system, to deal
with any emergencies that may occur. On these occasions you will need to remain within the
building or arrange another Duty Person to cover if you need to go out.
It is expected that you would have between 4 and 6 Duty Person duties per month, including at least
one weekend duty.
4.
Pension Arrangements:
The employer has a designated stakeholder pension scheme into which any employee with
earnings above the National Insurance threshold may choose to make regular contributions once
they have completed their probationary period. Should an employee on a “package” (not a
voluntary worker) who has completed 12 consecutive months or more full-time service wish to
make regular contributions of £80 per month or more net of tax, and these amounts are paid by
deduction from salary by the company, the latter will additionally contribute £100 per month in the
form of employer’s contributions.
All Community members are covered by Lee Abbey for death in service. This is at the rate of
£50,000.
5.
Holidays
The working week consists of five full days plus three hours on Sundays and Bank Holidays. You are
entitled to thirty days holiday each year.
6.
Retreats
All Community members who stay at Lee Abbey for a year or more are eligible for an annual 5 day
retreat at either Lee Abbey Devon or Scargill House.
7.
Review
You will undertake a work review with the Director of Lee Abbey London after six months in post and
thereafter at annual intervals. Regular reviews with the Chaplain and/or Director to discuss your
spiritual journey are a normal part of Community life.
8.
Notice
After an initial probationary period of six months when the period of notice on either side is one
week, the period of notice will be two months on either side.
9.
Length of Contract
The appointment will be for three years, with the option for renewing unless terminated on either
side.
10.
Review of Lee Abbey Contracts
We are in the process of reviewing the terms of all contracts throughout the Lee Abbey Movement,
so the above Terms may be subject to some changes.