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Regional Fundraising Manager
England Rugby
The Rugby Football Union is the national governing body for grassroots and elite rugby in England. Its purpose is to encourage rugby, and its values, to flourish across England.
Job Posted- 24 Apr 2026
Status- Contract - Fixed Term
- Full Time
Location- England
Closing date- 3 May 2026
The Role:
The RFU has recently launched Plan 2030: ‘More Than A Game’, which is our strategy to grow rugby across England for the next five years.
Our strategy contains four big goals that support and connect to one another - Play, Perform, Follow and Fund. In ‘Play’ we’re aiming to have an additional 50,000 registered players and have more people playing rugby for longer.
One of the ways we are planning to unlock this growth is through a transformation in how the RFU delivers community rugby by creating seven Regional Growth Partnership Boards tasked with driving participation, building partnerships, and unlocking funding opportunities within their region.
The RFU has launched a new plan focused on the growth of Community Rugby in England. The goal is simple: introduce more people to rugby, and help them keep playing for longer.
To support this, the RFU is creating seven new Regional Growth Partnership Boards. Each board will focus on promoting and growing rugby in its area. Their main responsibilities are to:
- Create new opportunities for people to play rugby in more places
- Build strong regional relationships that help the sport
- Manage RFU funding for local growth projects
- Bring in additional external income to support more opportunities
Each region will have a Regional Fundraising Manager who will lead fundraising and revenue‑generating activity to support these growth plans.
What the role will do:
- Lead fundraising across multiple income streams (e.g., public sector grants, trusts, foundations, philanthropy, events, and ESG/commercial funding)
- Work closely with the Regional Partnerships Manager and Regional Board to support the development and delivery of the regional growth plan
- Identify local opportunities and challenges and turn them into successful funding proposals
Impact / Outcomes:
- Brings in new external income that directly enables new rugby activity and programmes
- Ensures the region can fund innovative projects that increase participation
- Builds long‑term funding relationships that strengthen community rugby
The Team:
Each region will have a small team made up of a Regional Partnerships Manager and a Fundraising Manager, supported by central staff including a Head of Regional Partnerships, a National Fundraising Manager, and Data and Insights Manager.
This team will work closely with a Regional Board made up of independent members, RFU representatives, and people from the community game. Together, they will create and deliver a plan to help more people in the region experience Rugby Union. This is a new team, so you will have the chance to help shape how it works and contribute to building something from the ground up.
Although this role is home‑based, you will spend some time travelling around the region to secure funding opportunities.
Some key responsibilities include:
- Work closely with the Regional Partnerships Manager and Regional Board to help develop and deliver the Regional Rugby Promotion & Growth Plan.
- Create and deliver the region’s external funding strategy, securing income from public, private, and charitable sources.
- Lead all fundraising activity, including writing funding applications, running events, and developing early‑stage prospects.
- Bring new, creative ideas to identify and pursue additional fundraising opportunities.
- Track, manage, and report all funding information, from identifying prospects through to receiving and spending funds.
- Build strong relationships and collaborate with colleagues across regions and departments to share learning and best practice.
- Acting as an ambassador for, and promoting the best interests of the RFU, including the promotion of our culture and core values – This Rose Means Everyone: Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other.
- Undertaking other duties as may be required from time to time as are consistent with the responsibilities of the post and the needs of the organisation.
Qualifications, Skills & Experience:
The skills and attributes outlined in this description are not exhaustive and we welcome candidates who can bring different relevant experiences to the role.
Essential:
- Proven experience running successful fundraising programmes across public and private sectors.
- Track record of meeting income targets and KPIs.
- Experience planning and delivering fundraising events.
- Good understanding of how charities work.
- Strong knowledge of best‑practice fundraising at local and regional levels.
- Experience producing accurate financial reports for fundraising activity.
- Experience delivering projects with a range of internal and external partners.
- Confident working with stakeholders at all levels.
- Strong communication and relationship‑building skills, both written and verbal.
- Excellent organisation and time‑management skills, with the ability to handle multiple projects at once.
- Able to work independently and take initiative.
- Strong attention to detail.
- Creative problem‑solver with a positive, proactive attitude.
- Confident using Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
- A passion for the positive impact sport can have in communities.
- Full UK driving licence.
- Committed to embodying the ethos our culture by using our three core values – Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other – to guide your day-to-day decisions, actions and interactions.
- Committed to actively contributing and building an inclusive culture in your role and day to day behaviours.
Desirable:
- An understanding of community sport/rugby landscape in England would be an advantage, but is not essential.
- Proficiency with Smartsheet.
- Degree level education or higher desirable, but not essential.
- An effective team member, with sufficient flexibility and willingness to take on roles outside their normal functional responsibility when required.
Additional Information:
- We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential. If there is anything we could do to support you through your application or to provide the best environment for your interviews, including assistance or adjustment, please reach out to recruitment.
- During your application, we will ask questions about your identity. This information is considered highly confidential and will not be seen by hiring managers. You can find out more about why we ask these questions here.
How to Apply
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