Donor Relations Officer

Job Scope

We are the independent scientific academy of the UK, founded in 1660, the Society has a long history of philanthropic support and in 2015 ran a successful 350th anniversary fundraising campaign which raised £100m. We count many well-known philanthropists, foundations and corporates within our list of current supporters who fund a range of activities including Science 2040, Brian Cox Videos, a Science Book Prize, Wolfson Fellowships and an annual bilateral meeting with India. Due to a convening power and reach that is globally unique, our philanthropic potential is enormous.

The Donor Relations Officer plays a vital role in deepening our engagement with supporters by delivering excellent stewardship, tailored communications, and high-quality donor experiences. You will work across the fundraising team to ensure every donor feels valued, informed, and connected to the impact of their giving.

Please note that we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Reports to: Head of Development

Line manages: Not applicable

Location: Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG plus the option for some hybrid remote working

Hours: Full time, 35 hours per week

Contract type: Permanent

Pay Band: C

Salary: £33, 000 to £42, 000 per annum

The application closing date: 12 August 2025 at midnight.

Interviews will be held: 19, 20 and 21 August 2025.

Responsibilities

• Deliver agreed stewardship plans for a range of donors including major donors, regular givers, legacy pledgers
• Support the planning and delivery of donor events, visits, and other cultivation activities
• Produce compelling donor communications, including thank-you letters, impact reports, and campaign updates
• Collaborate with fundraising and programme teams to gather stories, data, and content for stewardship
• Track and monitor donor engagement using our CRM Microsoft Dynamics, ensuring accurate records and reporting
• Assist with donor insight research to tailor stewardship and inform donor journeys
• Respond to donor enquiries with professionalism and warmth, upholding our standards of supporter care

Key Knowledge and Skills Required

• Experience in a fundraising, communications or supporter care role
• Experience supporting or coordinating donor events
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a flair for story telling
• Strong interpersonal skills and a donor-centric mindset
• Highly organised with attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities
• Familiarity with CRM databases and donor stewardship principles
• Passion for science, research, education and/or public engagement
• Understanding of GDPR and best practices in donor data management

Competencies

Decision-making - Your work is varied, and you have a range of administrative or technical tasks. You take decisions in line with specific routines, guidelines, or procedures. You plan your own work and coordinate with others on how their work fits into the broader plan of activities. Supervision is available for issues that fall outside of existing operating guidelines or your realm of knowledge

Thinking challenges - The solutions to issues or problems are not always obvious and investigation is needed before choosing a way forward. Your initiative is required to help find ways to improve working practices and procedures in your area of work, in sorting out problems that occur in day-to-day work or improvements to work processes.

Communicating - You maintain relationships which involve liaison or coordinating with a range of internal and/or external contacts on mainly transactional issues and a range of levels

Developing people - You may be responsible for allocating work to, or checking the work of less experienced colleagues, or the supervision of temporary staff.

Managing Resources - You may perform activities such as reconciling information/data or analyses of expenditure or income, adhering to agreed procedures.

Applying knowledge & expertise - You require proficiency in, and keep up to date with, skills required for your area of work or technical skills acquired through relevant work experience and/or vocational qualification.

The competency levels for a pay Band C role are described below.

Self-management

Works unsupervised and can motivate self

Produces results under pressure

Can manage in stressful situations

Pushes for the best results

Can be innovative and offer solutions and suggestions when not initially obvious

Keen to be involved in organisational and corporate working groups informally or formally

Can represent section on some duties

Works within the Royal Society Values at all times

Working with others

Contributes ideas and identifies opportunities to work with others both within the team and across the organisation

Willing to provide and accept feedback to and from sectional colleagues when requested

Produces succinct presentations and papers for senior colleagues, is a capable presenter and can explain topics and projects to a range of audiences

Understands when to seek senior advice on a wide range of matters and act upon it.

Resource management

Makes the best of internal/external resources and coordinates well with external partners to best meet the needs of the Society

Builds contingency into projects taking into account possible outside factors

Sets and monitors performance against quality and results orientated targets.

Focuses on both short and long-term goals

Critical thinking

Determines and clarifies the exact requirements of any situation

Checks information for accuracy and raises concerns if information is inaccurate

Extracts the key points succinctly, clearly and accurately

Puts forward suggestions for improvement concerning current processes or systems

Tries different ways of doing things to get the best results

Adaptability

Overcomes obstacles and is not deterred by setbacks; checks assumptions and first principles and works out alternative approaches

Reacts proactively to new challenges and works in a flexible manner to produce solutions

Provides feedback and participates in discussions surrounding new ideas approaches or projects

Managing people and relationships

Can delegates effectively if needed setting clear expectations and authority

May line manage or supervise others

Monitors results and feedback to own team on a regular basis constructively

Recognises others' contributions and acknowledges their strengths and limitations

Helps others to identify ways to improve their performance and encourages learning from others in the team

Prioritises supervisory responsibilities and carries them out in line with organisational policies

Understands and can identify client/stakeholder/staff needs and looks for opportunities to improve their experiences