Major Gifts Fundraiser / Partnerships Lead (Part-time)

Job type: Part-time (0.5 FTE / 2.5 days/week)

Location: Centrally located, light and airy office on Regent Street, London. Hybrid working possible; minimum one day per week in the office, plus regular travel (one day per week expected) for donor meetings. Occasional evenings may be required for events.

Reports to: CEO

Timetable: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis; early application is encouraged.

Preferred start date: 2 March 2026

Other: Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. Global Returns Project is an equal-opportunities employer.

What we are looking for:

We’re looking for a confident, experienced fundraiser to lead major-gift fundraising — securing transformational gifts from high-net-worth individuals while building wealth-adviser relationships that generate referral leads. You’ll own the full pipeline: prospecting, cultivation, making direct asks, closing and stewardship.

The ideal candidate will be excited to cultivate networks of wealth managers, private-client teams and other advisers to HNWIs, and to convert adviser introductions into committed support. You’ll also prospect independently for major gifts outside those referral streams.

To succeed you’ll master three distinct fundraising pitches: a business case for advisers; an impact case to persuade donors to support our portfolio charities; and a systems-change case to win backing for GRP’s operating costs (salaries, office costs, etc) to keep the charity running fee-free.

You’ll be comfortable making direct asks for funding, with evidence of having closed high-value gifts or multi-year commitments. You’ll be willing to roll up your sleeves and get hands-on with everyday cultivation tasks. You’ll thrive in a small team, taking initiative and juggling priorities. Crucially, you’ll care deeply about climate and nature.

Experience required:

Substantial experience in frontline major gifts fundraising (as a guide, likely 5+ years), or an exceptional track record in adjacent fields (private client advisory, philanthropy advisory, etc).

Skills required:

• Major-gifts fundraising, with track record securing high-value and multi-year gifts
• Confidence making direct asks for major gifts
• Prospecting, research and CRM
• Donor stewardship and tailored reporting
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Team player
• Time management
• High attention to detail
• Strong understanding of, and passion to address, climate change / nature loss

Skills preferred but not required:

• Experience in environmental philanthropy
• Experience managing relationships with wealth advisers
• Geographic expertise in Jersey, Guernsey or other high-potential jurisdictions
• Trust/foundation expertise

Main duties and responsibilities:

Major gifts to GRP’s portfolio of charities

• Prospect, cultivate and convert major gifts from individuals to support GRP’s charity portfolio.
• Act as principal point of contact for HNW client referrals from GRP’s wealth-adviser network.
• Source and qualify major gift leads outside the adviser network and add them to the pipeline.
• Prepare tailored cases for support, bespoke asks and gift agreements for portfolio donors.
• Coordinate with team to ensure timely, high-quality, bespoke stewardship.

HNW wealth adviser relationships

• Prospect, cultivate and manage relationships with wealth managers, family offices, private-client teams, philanthropy advisers, etc as a referral stream for GRP.
• ​Present GRP’s proposition to advisers (meetings, presentations, webinars) and design adviser-facing materials when necessary.
• Develop initiatives to generate adviser referrals (events, webinars, co-branded materials) and track referral performance.
• Target and visit high-potential jurisdictions (e.g. Jersey, Guernsey) and other adviser hubs (est. once per month).

Major gifts to GRP’s operating costs

• Prospect, cultivate and convert major gifts to GRP’s core operating costs.
• Prepare business-case and budget materials that explain the strategic case for core funding.
• Pursue appropriate institutional core funders (trusts, foundations, family foundations) and draft proposals where needed.

5 days’ annual leave (pro-rata), plus statutory bank holidays (pro-rata). Occasional 1–2 days’ additional paid leave over the Christmas period. Flexible working.