January 2018

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your interest in our vacancy. This information pack includes:

·  Further information about the organisation

·  A job description and person specification

·  An application form, guidance notes

·  An equality and diversity monitoring form

Core Belief

Home-Start believes that children need a happy and secure childhood and that parents play the biggest role in giving their children a good start in life and helping them achieve their full potential.

Our Mission

Home-Start offers support, friendship and practical help to parents with young children in local communities throughout the UK. We recruit and train volunteers, who are usually parents themselves, to visit families at home and offer them informal, friendly and confidential support. Here in Oxford we also employ two Family Support Workers who also provide home-visiting support to families, typically with the most complex needs.

Home-Start supports parents as they grow in confidence, as they strengthen their relationships with their children and widen their links within the local community. In this way we aim, in partnership with other agencies, to foster the development of children, the health and welfare of the family, and an environment which prevents family crisis and risk to children.

Home-Start Oxford

We are one of three Home-Start schemes in Oxfordshire and we were established in 1988 to develop Home-Start services in Oxford city and the central part of the county. Last year we worked with 71 families and 157 children. We are an independent local charity with a staff team of seven part-timers, over 30 home-visiting volunteers and a Board of Trustees who hold ultimate responsibility for meeting our charitable objectives and the quality of our work. Home-Start Oxford’s budget this year is approximately £125,000.

Home-Start Oxford is a member of the wider Home-Start UK network. This consists of some 270 Home-Start ‘schemes’ across the UK and where British Armed Forces personnel are to be found in Germany and Cyprus. Home-Start UK is in turn part of the worldwide Home-Start International federation.

Each Home-Start is an independent organisation (and usually a registered charity as well), but is expected to reflect the network’s shared values and ethos, and to meet nationally agreed practice standards. Home-Start UK provides a range of support services. To find out more about Home-Start UK, visit the website at www.home-start.org.uk

The Role of Fundraiser

The role of the Fundraiser is to help deliver our fundraising strategy, and work with the Scheme Manager to secure the annual income of the charity. Responsibility for fundraising is currently held by the Scheme Manager and the Trustee Funding Committee. This new post of fundraiser has been created to expand our fundraising capacity, first to help us meet forthcoming budget requirements, but also to enable expansion of our service. Current income is primarily from trusts, foundations and individuals, with scope for further activity in each area, but our strategy is also based on diversification. We therefore welcome candidates who bring experience from another area of fundraising, and are able to inform the development of our plans.

The post is based at our offices in Blackbird Leys. There is flexibility in the pattern of working hours. Attendance at Funding Committee meetings would be required, and these currently take place every 8 weeks on Mondays.

The role is offered on a contract of 10 hours per week. The attached Job Description and Person Specification will give you a more precise idea of the kind of person we seek to appoint.

The selection process

Please complete the application and diversity monitoring form in full, and send them to Katharine Barber via email on or by post to the address at the top of this letter.

The closing date for applications is 12 Noon, Wednesday 7th February 2018.

Interviews are scheduled for Tuesday 20th February.

After considering all applications, we shall invite those shortlisted to an interview. Unfortunately, we are unable to contact candidates who are not shortlisted. Should you not hear from us within two weeks of the closing date please assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.

Further information

You can find further information about our work and services at www.homestart-oxford.org.uk and background to the organisation nationally at www.home-start.org.uk You are also welcome to contact me for an informal conversation about the role.

We hope that after reading the application pack you will be encouraged to apply. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Katharine Barber

Katharine Barber

Scheme Manager

Charity registration no. 1108612

Home-Start Oxford is a company limited by guarantee [England] registration no. 5375011

Job Title: Fundraiser
Hours of work: 10 hours a week or 40 hours per month flexibly
Location: Home-Start Oxford office /
Responsible to: Home-Start Scheme Manager
Responsible for: Potential community fundraisers and event volunteers
Contract length: Permanent
Salary: Starting salary £21-24,000 FTE pro rata – negotiable, subject to experience
Probation period: 6 months

Background to role

Home-Start Oxford is a voluntary organisation committed to promoting the welfare of families with at least one child under five years of age. We employ family support workers and train home-visiting volunteers who offer regular support, friendship and practical help to families under stress in their own homes, helping to provide their children with the best possible start in life.

Main Purposes of the job

We are seeking a Fundraiser to help secure the annual income of the scheme, working alongside the Scheme Manager. The focus is on applications to trusts, foundations, institutions and businesses, alongside recruitment and support of community fundraisers and individual donors. This is a new and important post for the scheme, and will play an essential role in enabling our future work.

The post-holder will work to fundraising targets, which derive from the agreed funding strategy. This will include a target to raise the equivalent of the salary for the post, within the first six months.

Key areas and main tasks of the job

With the Funding Committee and Scheme Manager, to contribute to the organisation’s funding strategy. To deliver on the agreed targets and strategy, to ensure adequate funding of Home-Start Oxford to include:

·  Grants and Trusts

-  Write and submit applications to Grants and Trusts

-  Research new opportunities for grant applications

-  Write or contribute to reports to funders as appropriate

·  Community Fundraising

-  Develop opportunities for community fundraising

-  Recruit, support and manage community fundraising volunteers

-  Support the delivery of local community fundraising events

·  Corporate Partners

-  Explore new opportunities for corporate fundraising

-  Manage relationships with local businesses to maximise fundraising

·  To contribute to development of the fundraising strategy

·  Donor Care

-  Maintain high standards of donor care and stewardship

-  Maintain well organised fundraising records to support reporting to donors and the Board

-  Devise communication and marketing materials in support of fundraising and relationships with existing supporters, as needed

The Home-Start fundraiser is expected to work within the ethos of Home-Start and have high standards of practice. The need to respect confidentiality is paramount, as is a mature and flexible approach to the work.

The post holder may be required to undertake any other duties that fall within the nature of the role and responsibilities of the post as detailed above.

There is flexibility in the pattern of working hours. Attendance at bi-monthly Funding Committee meetings will be required.

Home-Start Oxford is committed to safe recruitment practice as part of safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults. An enhanced DBS check is mandatory.

Person Specification

Essential / Desirable
Proven experience in raising funds from trusts, foundations, businesses, or through community initiatives. This could be from a paid or voluntary role. / Experience of developing relationships with local businesses/partners
Excellent communication skills; demonstrable experience of writing concise persuasive text for different audiences / Experience recruiting, managing and motivating volunteers, especially fundraisers
Excellent relationship building, networking and interpersonal skills / Digital skills, and experience using social media to support fundraising
Driven, and task-focused, with the ability to work independently to agreed work-plan and targets / Affinity with the aims and ethos of Home-Start
Great organisational skills and understanding of systems to support effective fundraising and reporting / Experience of team working in a charity or non-profit environment.
Numerate, with an understanding of budgeting principles
Computer literate, with good knowledge of Microsoft Office

This document was last updated: January 2018