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Executive Director of Impact and Investment

Employer
Comic Relief
Location
London (Central), London (Greater)
Salary
c. £85,000
Closing date
21 Jul 2020

Job Details

Comic Relief is one of the UK’s best loved and most widely recognised charities. We work to drive positive change through the power of entertainment, and our flagship events include Comic Relief, Sport Relief and Red Nose Day. Millions of generous participants and donors have raised an astonishing total of over £1bn in the past 35 years, all of which has gone to improving lives in the UK and across the globe.

A lot has changed since 1985, and we’ve invested considerable time and thought into recasting our focus and philosophy to address emerging challenges and opportunities. We are committed to being impact-led; to channelling creativity; and to working smart. If you’re looking for a genuinely creative way to make a concrete difference to the world, this influential and visible leadership role could be the most important move you make.

At the heart of our Executive Leadership Team, and leading Comic Relief’s Social Change Strategy, you’ll have overall responsibility for our global philanthropic funding, as well as managing key relationships with partners. We’ll expect you to provide absolute assurance that everything we do is congruent with both our strategy, and our organisational values. You’ll also be accountable for ensuring that we communicate the impact of funded projects in a way that’s compelling and moving – because the better we can show why we’ve committed to changing something, and what we’re achieving, the more we will retain the confidence and loyalty of our amazing supporters.

If it sounds like a big job, that’s because it is. It follows that we’re looking for people with a record of leadership at significant scale, and probably in a sector that is aligned (or closely associated) with our mission. Big numbers won’t faze you, and extensive experience of managing large budgets is a must. You’ll have a sophisticated understanding of strategic fundraising and communications, as well as experience of developing plans and teams that can deliver exceptional outcomes. A confident and resilient decision maker, you’ll relish the opportunity to work with and across highly-motivated teams.Adept at building enduringly productive relationships, you’ll bring exceptional emotional intelligence, and specialist skills to influence, persuade and collaborate at the highest levels.

Please visit www.comicrelief-directors.co.uk to find out more. For a confidential, informal conversation, please contact Shani Newbold at Cadence Partners on +44 20 7947 4960.

Company

Our mission, thanks to our comedy heritage and the fantastic relationship we enjoy with the BBC, is 'positive change through the power of entertainment'.

And our biggest tool, in trying to achieve these two goals, is the ability to inspire people across the whole country especially those who don’t normally do charity - to do charity.

As the world has changed and become more complex over the last two decades, so Comic Relief has had to adapt and change too but the fundamentals remain the same - a just world free from poverty. In trying to achieve that vision we make this promise to the people who make those efforts possible - our supporters:

"In order to run itself in a professional and effective way Comic Relief incurs necessary costs. Raising funds, making grants and organisational overheads cost real money.

Despite these costs, Comic Relief is still able to promise that for every pound the charity gets directly from the public, a pound goes to help transform the lives of people living with poverty and social injustice. If Sport Relief raises £20 million, Comic Relief will spend at least £20 million doing just that.

It can make this promise because its operating budget is covered in cash or in kind from all types of supporters like corporate sponsors and donors, suppliers, generous individuals and government (including Gift Aid) as well as from investment income and interest"

AND IF YOU'VE GOT A FEW MINUTES TO SPARE HERE'S THE MORE DETAILED ANSWER:

Comic Relief is obviously a charity - but it's also a business too.

The money we raise is allocated to a wide range of grants and social investments aimed at delivering real and long-lasting change to the poorest, most vulnerable people at home and across the world; as well as informing the public and young people in particular about global citizenship and the underlying causes of extreme poverty.

That money comes in from a number of different sources. Traditional charitable fundraising obviously plays a vital role. The public contribute to Comic Relief's annual campaigns by raising money through sponsorship and by making donations online, by post, by telephone and through major banks and building societies. This support, from almost the very day Comic Relief was formed, has been both humbling and inspirational.

On the business side of things, Comic Relief works with key corporate partners to produce products and promotions that are profitable. The clearest example of this is the Red Nose that is the emblem of Red Nose Day.

Where possible these products tie-in with the charity's commitment to delivering benefits to poor farmers and producers. The Red Nose Day 2007 T-shirt for instance was made with fair trade cotton from Mali, Cameroon and Senegal and there will be a fair trade Maraba Bourbon coffee grown in Rwanda, a country to which Comic Relief has had a clear commitment since the appalling genocide of 1994.

Another way Comic Relief raises funds is via the creativity made available to the charity. Comedians from time to time offer access to key brands like Little Britain for commercial exploitation. The charity also develops and owns key sub-brands like Robbie the Reindeer and Monkey, both of which deliver a revenue too.

Company info
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