Hours: 35 hours per week – Monday to Friday  

Salary: £40,000 

Location: Home working with a minimum of two monthly visits to our offices at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. This may increase during busier periods. 

About Innovation for Agriculture 

Innovation for Agriculture is a charitable organisation working with UK farmers to develop the knowledge that will make modern farming more environmentally and economically sustainable, resilient, and productive. 

IfA specialises in knowledge exchange through the process of peer-to-peer learning and facilitation. To achieve this, we run multi-stakeholder workshops, farm demonstrations and group study tours to inspire and support change in UK farming. Utilising our consortium of 16 key national agricultural societies, we specifically focus on engaging more ‘hard to reach’ farmers and design our programmes of support to ensure we trigger change on the ground. 

Our independence coupled with our strong team, many of whom are active farmers themselves, means that we are a trusted source of information for farmers up and down the country. 

Ensuring healthier ecosystems in our rural environment via the uptake of sustainable farming is core to what we do. 

Our focus areas are: 

-              Soil & Water Management 

-              Regenerative Agriculture 

-              Farm animal Health & Welfare 

About the role 

This interesting and varied role will include research, administration, planning and creative thinking. You will support and guide all charitable fundraising activities, events, initiatives, and campaigns and help ensure all our supporters and donors receive regular updates, maintaining relationships and engagement. You will also play an important role in developing and coordinating our corporate fundraising programme, working with stakeholders across the agricultural industry and beyond.  

The role requires someone who is confident, organised and articulate, who has ideas, energy, and enthusiasm to promote the work, need, relevance and impact of Innovation for Agriculture. With such a varied role the candidate will need to be comfortable talking about the importance of a sustainable British agricultural industry, and the subsequent change that the sector is facing. We are looking for an enthusiastic individual who is keen to learn, has a “can do” attitude, and who will be a passionate ambassador for the charity.  

A critical element of the role will be to research new funding opportunities, as well as focusing on how we market ourselves to potential new donors. Whilst you will be supported by and will work alongside our Head of Stakeholder Engagement, much of the role will require you to use your own initiative and instinct.  

Part of the role will also include raising funds and sponsorship for IfA’s sister charity, The Royal Agricultural Society of England.  

Key Responsibilities  

  • Working alongside and reporting to our Head of Stakeholder engagement to manage and maintain relationships with existing funders, providing them with progress reports and ensuring correct and proper communications.  
  • With the support of our Head of Stakeholder engagement, embarking upon a research campaign to identify and approach new funders, taking responsibility for the establishment of a corporate fundraising programme. 
  • Drafting and writing funding applications, utilising strong communication and persuasion skills. 
  • Maintaining and updating our funder CRM system. 
  • Working with our communications team to develop and create fundraising engagement strategies. 
  • When necessary, attending and networking at industry events, acting as a representative of Innovation for Agriculture. 
  • Working as part of the wider team and when needed, supporting them in the delivery of events and workshops. 

Person Specification:  

Essential  

  • A hard working and self-motivating individual with persuasive communication skills and excellent written communications. 
  • Relevant experience and understanding of charitable fundraising and sponsorship. 
  • A basic understanding of the agricultural industry and ideally sustainable farming practices and trends. 
  • The ability to present confidently to a variety of audiences.  
  • Ability to manage time effectively, prioritise workload and plan-ahead.  
  • Good IT skills (MS Office including Excel and Word) with proficiency in using Microsoft Office. 
  • Understanding of Data Protection and fundraising regulations, compliance and best practice.  
  • The ability to create and tailor engaging and emotive copy for a range of different channels.  
  • Empathy with the goals and objectives of Innovation for Agriculture. 
  • A positive and creative approach to work, with the ability to multitask.  
  • Ability to record accurate data and work with a CRM system. 
  • Strong interpersonal skills, including good telephone manner and empathy towards donors.  
  • A full UK driving license.  

Desirable 

  • Experience planning, delivering and managing fundraising programmes.  
  • Experience delivering donor recruitment and retention projects from initiation to completion.  
  • A proven track record of meeting or exceeding targets from donations.  
  • Experience building relationships and maximising engagement with donors and supporters. 
  • Voluntary sector experience.  
  • Experience of database use. 
  • Experience of fundraising platforms such as Just Giving.   

Applications via a CV and covering letter to marthah@i4agri.org by midnight on the 2nd September. Please note that we reserve the right to close applications sooner should we be successful in finding a suitable candidate