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Head of Philanthropy (3 days)

People are often surprised by the Bromley by Bow Centre. Perhaps they don’t expect a charity with 135 staff delivering over 40 separate projects in 27 venues across East London. Nor an organisation that provides essential services to over 2,500 people every month.

They may be surprised that we are a charity working in partnership with a clinical team that delivers primary care to 30,000 patients every year. Or that we have incubated 87 social businesses across East London.

People are often surprised we have our own in-house research team and a knowledge share project that has welcomed 1,500 visitors from 14 different countries in the last 12 months. And not everyone expects us to have a staff team that hails from 30 countries and speaks over 20 different languages and dialects. And then there is the inspirational three-acre therapeutic gardens, with a beautiful Mediterranean-style courtyard with fig trees and which permeates with the smells of jasmine and lavender in the springtime!

We’ve spent many years creating a really positive, compassionate, creative and inclusive place here in East London and we can all testify to the fact that the Centre has a very special culture.

We are a diverse team and really enjoy what we do and want to make a positive difference to peoples’ lives. We hope you might be the next person to join our team....and be surprised.

What we do

The Bromley by Bow Centre is a vibrant community charity in the heart of East London. It has a national and international reputation for its highly innovative approach which inspires and empowers local people to transform their lives. The Centre delivers an incredible range of projects based on a unique model that combines social entrepreneurship, the arts, learning, social support, horticulture and holistic and integrated health programmes.

The charity supports families, young people and adults of all ages to learn new skills, improve their health and wellbeing, find employment and develop the confidence needed to achieve things they could never have dreamed of.

We work with the most vulnerable people in our community, those who are isolated, facing physical or mental ill health or who are lacking confidence, skills or qualifications. The Centre operates in an area with deep-seated economic and social challenges. This includes having a very high level of child poverty, the worst acute mental health admission rate in London and the second lowest employment rate in the capital.

The Centre was founded 35 years ago and our vision is of a community where everyone benefits from the opportunities the future holds and where no one is ignored, excluded or forgotten.

The charity’s mission is to use our empowering social entrepreneurial model to create a cohesive, healthy, successful and vibrant community that becomes a blueprint for others across the UK.

This is a new role at the Bromley by Bow Centre. And it’s an unusual job. The postholder will work directly with Rob Trimble, the charity’s Chief Executive, and have responsibility for major donor and unrestricted fundraising. She/he will have full responsibility for securing large-scale donations and play a key role in driving forward the strategic overarching propositions of the organisation working alongside Rob, whilst helping to reposition the charity and increase its profile.

This appointment comes at a crucial moment in the charity’s journey, as it celebrates its 35th Anniversary and embarks on ambitious plans for the future. The Bromley by Bow Centre has developed a strong reputation for innovation and over the next five years it will build a sustainable long-term base for the expansion of its work in East London and also in creating the blueprint for the replication of its model. In addition, the charity is about to embark on a major redevelopment of its East London site.

Over the years, the charity has built a broad and diverse range of funding partnerships that have sustained its work. It has also created a strong fixed asset base which generates significant unrestricted income through its buildings. It has had exemplar status and attracted significant amount of statutory partnership income, alongside strong relationships with foundations and corporate businesses.

However alongside these successes, the Centre has not consistently raised significant amounts of unrestricted income every year, nor developed a major donor strategy. This is despite the fact that the charity has an exceptionally strong network of key supporters from across sectors and an engaged and well-connected board of trustees. This role represents a significant challenge, but you will be coming into an organisation with a well-established track-record, a strong reputation and a latent body of networks and connections.

More about us:

The Bromley by Bow Centre is a great place to work.

We are a very diverse organisation and pride ourselves that our delivery and support teams comprise many backgrounds and cultures. In fact we represent over 30 different nationalities and between us we speak more than 20 different languages and dialects. The Bromley by Bow Centre is a real United Nations!

We are committed to fostering an inclusive culture which promotes equality, values diversity and maintains an environment in which the rights and dignity of all our staff and service users are respected. The inherent strength of a vibrant, diverse and inclusive workforce helps us to forge strong connections with all our clients, as well as ensuring we align our decisions to the local environment. We are very intolerant of intolerance.

Our Employee Assistance Programme is part of our staff wellbeing project. This service provides any member of our team with unlimited 1:1 telephone counselling (24 hours a day, 365 days a year) and up to 6 face-to- face sessions (per year) with a counsellor near where you live. And it’s all free to Bromley by Bow Centre staff. In addition, we offer weekly yoga and mindfulness sessions, alongside hand massages to our team.

Would you like to apply?

For an informal discussion about the role in advance of an application, please do not hesitate to contact Charlotte Wilmot, charlotte@eardleywilmot.co.uk.

The deadline for this position is rolling and we are inviting initial applications for the role by sending your CV, a completed application form and equal opportunities monitoring form.

The recruitment is being managed by Eardley Wilmot and they will be pleased to send you the two forms. We ask that you make your application directly to Charlotte Wilmot. 

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