Legacy & Major Donor Lead
Full Time – 35 Hours per Week
Salary: Up to £37,500 gross per annum depending on skills and experience
Permanent Contract
Location: Beechcroft House, Vicarage Lane, Curdridge, Southampton, Hampshire, SO32 2DP (with hybrid working available)
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is shaping a wilder future for our counties – protecting special places, restoring habitats and inspiring people to act for nature. As part of the UK’s fastest-growing movement for nature’s recovery, we lead with passion, integrity and bold thinking. Join a team where your work has purpose, your ideas matter, and you can help create lasting change for wildlife and people.
We are seeking a Legacy & Major Donor Lead to join our cause.
Created as part of investment in the Trust’s fundraising capacity, this exciting new role will take the lead on our crucial legacy and major donor income streams as we strive to achieve transformative income to support nature’s recovery across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
What you’ll be doing:
Leading on all operational aspects of these income streams and inputting into strategy with the Senior Philanthropy & Partnerships Manager, you will have responsibility for growing the Trust’s legacy, mid-level and major donor fundraising.
With support from colleagues across the department and wider Trust, you’ll provide stewardship to a portfolio of mid and high-value relationships, cultivate and secure new donors, and act as a champion for this crucial area of work across the organisation.
About you:
You will be an experienced fundraiser with outstanding communication skills and strong technical legacy skills and knowledge, as well as in-depth knowledge and track record of success in growing a major donor programme. You’re a proactive, positive and confident fundraiser with the experience and expertise to take the lead across our legacy and major donor income streams.
Wild About Inclusion!
As an inclusive employer we recognise that our workforce needs to better reflect the communities in which we live and work. We encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly those underrepresented within our sector, including people from black, Asian, minority Ethnic backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creating a Movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities.
Disability Confident. We are proudly a Disability Confident Committed employer. The scheme is helping us recruit and retain great people to meet our workforce needs. As a member of the scheme, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview. You can request adjustments including accessible formats of this vacancy by emailing [email protected].
To be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme you must:
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Identify as being disabled which under the Equality Act 2010 means a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial*, long term** adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day to day activities; or a long-term health condition; and;
(*Substantial is more than minor or trivial **Long-term means 12 months or more)
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Set out how you meet all the minimum qualifying criteria set out in the person specification for the post at the application and testing stages. This is a requirement for all candidates, not just those applying under the scheme.
We are happy to discuss the possibilities of hybrid and flexible working
This role will be based at our office in Curdridge, however, we are happy to accommodate a hybrid working routine, and discuss a pattern of work which mutually suits the candidate and the Trust. Traditionally, office hours are Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm with an hour lunch break. We value spending time working in-person to develop strong connections with each other and with our mission, so we although we offer hybrid working, we do not offer full home working within our roles.
We offer a wide range of benefits including a competitive salary, generous annual leave allowance, a contributory pension scheme, life assurance, learning and development support, 24-hour access to our employee assistance programme, discounted staff travel with our corporate partners Wightlink (subject to T&Cs), free parking at our sites and more.
Closing date: 02 July 2026
Interviews: 08 and 15 July 2026
To apply for the role, please click on the 'Apply Now' button at the top of the page. In the ‘supporting information’ section, you’ll need to demonstrate, with detailed examples, how you meet the job requirements using the Job Description and Person Specification below. Please note that we may occasionally close vacancies early when we have received enough applications that meet the required criteria.
Please do not use artificial intelligence tools to assist you to complete the application form. We may not accept applications that have been completed utilising AI tools. If you would usually use tools such as these to assist you in filling in a form, please contact [email protected] to discuss this further and understand other options.
