Assistant Head of Fundraising (Public Fundraising)

Job Title: Assistant Head of Fundraising (Public Fundraising)

Location: London/Hybrid

Salary: £57,574.79 per annum

Weekly Hours: 35

Reference: YMC1212513

An exciting moment to join us

YMCA England & Wales is entering one of the most exciting chapters in its history, launching our ambition to create 10,000 new homes for young people. Working alongside local YMCAs, we will support the development of new accommodation across the federation, helping young people move towards independence.

This role sits at the heart of that ambition, leading the growth of the 10,000 Homes Fund - the fundraising campaign that will help power YMCA's vision to create 10,000 new homes for young people.

YMCA England & Wales is looking for an experienced and data-driven fundraiser to lead our public fundraising portfolio at an exciting point in our journey, unlocking support from cold and warm audiences, establishing our 10,000 Homes Fund, set to kickstart the development of new homes.

Over the last three years, we have invested in a growth strategy that is delivering real results. Our flagship regular giving product, RoomSponsor, has become a significant income stream, with funds directly supporting vulnerable young people living in YMCA accommodation across England and Wales. As we enter our next phase, our focus is shifting from establishing programmes to optimising and scaling them, driving supporter acquisition, increasing lifetime value, strengthening retention, and developing new ways for supporters to engage with our cause.

Alongside our housing ambitions, YMCA is committed to enabling more life-changing youth work. This role will lead the design, investment case and launch of a new regular giving proposition that will help unlock sustainable funding for youth services across England and Wales.

This is a rare opportunity to inherit successful fundraising products while designing the next generation of supporter propositions that will fuel YMCA's future growth.

The Role

Reporting to the Head of Fundraising, you will take ownership of YMCA's public fundraising programme, leading established products while helping to design and launch the fundraising propositions that will underpin future growth.

You will oversee the continued development of RoomSponsor, ensuring we maximise its potential as our flagship £12-per-month regular giving programme. You'll also play a key role in growing the 10,000 Homes Fund, our long-term campaign to help create more safe supported and affordable homes for young people, taking an established proposition that is still in its early stages and helping shape its future direction and supporter journey.

Alongside this, you will have the opportunity to develop and evolve our legacy fundraising approach, creating a programme that inspires supporters to leave a lasting impact for future generations.

Perhaps most excitingly, you will lead the development of a new regular giving proposition focused on YMCA youth work, helping define how supporters can connect with and invest in life-changing youth services across England and Wales.

Unlike many national fundraising roles, you'll work closely with local YMCAs across England and Wales, helping shape fundraising that directly supports young people in communities nationwide.

Why this role is different

As Assistant Head of Fundraising (Public Fundraising), you will lead and inspire a team of talented fundraisers, deputising for the Head of Fundraising and taking ownership of our most ambitious programmes:

• Lead one of the YMCA movement's largest fundraising growth programmes.
• Scale an established regular giving product with proven success.
• Shape the future of the 10,000 Homes Fund from an early stage.
• Build a new youth work regular giving proposition from the ground up.
• Help define a long-term legacy fundraising programme.
• Work directly with local YMCAs delivering impact in communities across England and Wales.

This is a hands-on leadership role: you will set direction, manage budgets, develop your team, while also being prepared to step into delivery when it matters most. You will balance strategic oversight with practical execution, ensuring programmes are both ambitious and deliverable.

About you

You are an experienced public fundraising professional with a strong track record in individual giving or direct marketing. You are data-driven and comfortable working with financial models.

You are excited by the challenge of taking a powerful idea, turning it into a compelling supporter proposition and scaling it into a sustainable income stream.

You are an effective and confident leader, able to build, motivate and develop high-performing teams. You create clarity, set high standards, and support others to do their best work, stepping in when needed and leading from the front. Above all, you are a strong communicator and influencer.

You are energised by a challenge, comfortable with complexity and working in a federated environment, where success depends on strong relationships and shared ownership. You are skilled at working with partners, whether agencies, internal stakeholders or local YMCAs, and know how to align people around a common goal.

You combine strategic thinking with operational delivery. You are passionate about using insight and performance to shape your decisions, and confident working with (and occasionally building) financial models to plan, test and scale activity. You bring both creativity and discipline, generating new ideas while ensuring they are grounded, deliverable and effective.

Why join us now

YMCA is the oldest and largest youth charity in the world, serving communities across England and Wales every day.

The fundraising team is geared up for success, the foundations are in place, and our growth strategy is delivering results. What comes next is the exciting part: scaling what works, launching what doesn't yet exist, and helping supporters play a central role in transforming the lives of young people across England and Wales.

YMCA England & Wales is committed to equality and valuing diversity. We welcome applications from all backgrounds.

Please apply today, or for further information, please contact

Our recruitment process is anonymised and candidates' names are hidden. Safer recruitment is important to us and the successful applicant will be asked to provide two references. They will also be required to complete a safeguarding self-declaration, safeguarding training and undertake a DBS check.