Work With Us

Fundraising Officer

Position: £14,000

Status : Part time

Reports to : Head of Fundraising and Communications

Based : Remote

Hours : 20.5/week

About Orchard OCD

Orchard OCD is a UK-based charity dedicated to advancing research and treatment for obsessive- compulsive disorder (OCD), focusing on innovative solutions to improve the lives of those affected by the condition.

The organization collaborates with researchers, people with live experience, and clinicians to support the development of novel OCD therapies, bridging the gap between scientific breakthroughs and patient care.

Orchard OCD advocates for increased awareness and funding for OCD research, emphasizing the urgent need for better treatment options for this often-debilitating mental health disorder. With a mission rooted in hope and scientific progress, Orchard OCD empowers patients and families by offering education, support, and access to cutting-edge developments in OCD care.

About this position

This exciting opportunity will allow you to raise and shape the profile of an innovative patient support charity. As the Fundraising Officer, you will be responsible for building upon years of successful fundraising. You will lead on applications to trusts and foundations, establishing new relationships with corporate partners, building our individual donor fundraising, managing the stewardship of existing partnerships and maintain our fundraising database. This role is vital to support the ground-breaking work of Orchard OCD

You will also assist the Head of Head of Fundraising and Communications with the running of our social media channels, along with ongoing social media analytics, e-news mail outs and the writing on our website.

This varied position will be ideal for someone who is looking to build upon fundraising experience and take their skills to the next level.

Responsibilities of the role

The Fundraising Officer will work in the following areas:

Fundraising

Work with the Head of Fundraising and Communications on fundraising projects in four main categories

Trusts and foundations

Research and identify potential trusts and foundations
Write and submit proposals to relevant trusts and foundations.
Maintain relationships with grant-making bodies and assist the rest of the team with
reports to existing funders.
Maintain an up-to-date calendar for application deadlines.

Fundraising Events

Develop new ideas for events.
Organise and run fundraising events.
Work on new digital fundraising campaigns.

Individual donations

Build our donor base of individual donors.
Develop online and offline fundraising.

Corporate fundraising

Research and identify potential corporate partners.
Develop existing and pitch for new corporate relationships to maximise staff fundraising, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), gifts in kind and other forms of donated services.
Work with companies to receive pro-bono support for the charity.

Individual Giving & Managing the fundraising and patient database

Update records of past fundraising campaigns, donors and patient contact information.
Use the database to generate new funding from historic supporters.
Maintain stewardship of new individual givers and continue stewardship with regular givers.

Communications

Be the social media expert, monitoring and developing a presence on Facebook, Instagram and other sites as required. Use AI to support this work. Work with the Head of Fundraising and Communications to produce blogs, and e-newsletters to promote our work.
Work closely with other team members in dissemination and promotion of their projects.
Work with the trustees and patients to collect patient, carer and family stories for use in Orchard OCD’s dissemination.

Benefits

4% pension contribution.
25 days holiday per year, plus 8 bank holiday days.
On the job training and external training provided.
Exposure to all aspects of charity work through varied role.
Frequent opportunities to meet with people with lived experience and other beneficiaries, to experience first-hand the impact of Orchard OCD.

Person Specification – qualifications/ knowledge/experience

Essential

Interpersonal skills – communicates clearly & works well as a part of a varied team. Experience in fundraising.
Excellent IT literacy.
Excellent social media skills.
Basic understanding of social media analytics and good practice.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to handle multiple tasks and prioritise workload.

Desirable

Understanding/experience of working in the non-profit or rare disease world.
Copywriting skills.
Basic understanding of medical research terms & processes.
Basic understanding of design platforms e.g. Adobe Photoshop.
Basic understanding of WordPress CMS.
Basic understanding of CRM platforms

Orchard OCD will support individuals who are able to show strong essential skills and passion to develop the desirable skills.