Director of Fundraising

The Shaw Education Trust, Stoke-On-Trent, ST7 4DL

42 days remaining to apply

• Job start date

  17 September 2026

• Closing date

  29 October 2026 at 11:59pm

• Date listed

  17 September 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Other leadership role
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full time equivalent salary: G13, SCP 55-59, £63,238 - £68,084

Director of Fundraising job summary

Shaw Education Trust is excited to introduce a brand-new Director of Fundraising role, offering an exceptional opportunity for an experienced fundraising leader to build and shape our fundraising function from the ground up.

This is not an opportunity to step into an established fundraising department, you will be the person who creates it. You will develop the strategy, establish the infrastructure, build the relationships and create the capability needed to make fundraising a significant and sustainable source of income for the Trust.

Working at senior level across the Trust, you will identify opportunities across philanthropy, major giving, trusts and foundations, grants and corporate partnerships, creating a strong pipeline of investment to support our strategic priorities and enhance opportunities for our pupils. You will work closely with our Executive Leadership Team, Trustees, academies and external partners to turn our educational impact and community reach into compelling opportunities for investment.

We are looking for an established fundraising professional with significant senior-level experience and a proven track record of securing substantial income. You will bring extensive knowledge across major gifts, philanthropy, trusts and foundations, grants and corporate partnerships, alongside the ability to develop compelling cases for support and build trusted relationships with high-value donors, funders and business leaders.

Just as importantly, you will have the entrepreneurial mindset and strategic leadership skills to build a function from scratch and be experienced and comfortable creating structure, establishing systems and processes, setting ambitious targets, developing pipelines and putting in place the governance and performance frameworks needed for long-term success.

This is a rare opportunity to create the fundraising function, shape its future and leave a lasting legacy across Shaw Education Trust. As the function develops, there will be significant scope to grow its capability, reach and impact making this an exciting time to join the Trust and be at the beginning of something with real potential.

At Shaw Education Trust, we believe every role has the power to transform a life. Whether you’re supporting behind the scenes, inspiring in the classroom, or leading with vision, you will be part of something truly meaningful.

Our values—opportunity, integrity, community, and equity—guide everything we do. Our vision is “Opening doors to the world through the power of learning.” We bring this to life through our mission: working together to inspire communities where every school is valued, every voice matters, and every learner thrives.

We are a dynamic and growing family of primary, secondary, and special schools, proudly serving communities from Birmingham to Bury.

Our people are our greatest asset, and we are deeply committed to their development through high-quality training, apprenticeships, talent development programmes, and research opportunities, we empower our staff to thrive as skilled, confident professionals. We champion wellbeing, value every voice, and foster a culture where you feel supported, motivated, and inspired to make a real difference.

You will join a collaborative network of schools where shared expertise and a strong professional community drive success. Every academy within our Trust has an equal voice, and every colleague plays a vital role in shaping tailored learning experiences that raise aspirations and build brighter futures.

If you have the passion, dedication, and drive to help shape lives and create futures filled with promise, we would love you to join our team.

Together, let’s make the remarkable happen.

We believe every child has the potential to be extraordinary.

Shaw Education Trust offer the following employee benefits with your Teaching or Support Staff employment:

• An excellent Local Government Pension Scheme (Support Staff) / Teachers Pension (Teaching Staff)
• Support Staff only based on working full time, all year - Generous holiday entitlement from your first day of employment (37 days holiday rising to 39 days after 5 years’ service including Bank Holidays) 
• Access to Medicash Health & Wellbeing Plan: Enjoy health services designed to support your well-being.
• Free DiscountForTeachers Scheme for all staff (Support and Teaching), Exclusive discounts to save money with a wide selection of discounts and exclusive offers from hundreds of the biggest brands. 
• Free Eye Tests
• Cycle to work scheme
• Access to our Institute of Education and fantastic opportunities to help you grow, contribute and flourish in your role and in the Trust. 

We know our people are the key to our success and so we’re committed to ensuring the employment experience at Shaw Education Trust is a rewarding one. 

Closing Date 9.00am Friday 25th September 2026

Interview Date TBC – When suitable applicants are identified

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Commitment to safeguarding

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:
Protecting children from maltreatment
Preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
Shaw Education Trust recognises that in order to keep pupils safe, leaders must create where pupils and staff are able to speak freely and share any concerns they have.

Applying for the job

This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

About The Shaw Education Trust

• Type: Multi-academy trust
• Website: The Shaw Education Trust website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/the-shaw-education-trust

We are in the business of people; we focus on harnessing the power of people to affect positive change for our children and young adults.

We enable children, leaders, teachers and support teams, to create their individual best futures. We are bespoke: one size fits one.

Our approach derives from a mission that education should be an exciting space, buzzing with vibrancy, dynamism and unlimited potential.

Innovation and entrepreneurialism fuel our passion, enabling creativity and mandating agility. We love a pirate!

Our talented people are everything; we focus heavily on workforce development, talent acceleration, and healthy wellbeing. By offering high quality training, apprenticeships, and research opportunities we ensure all our colleagues are well motivated, committed, highly valued, and incredibly driven, skilled professionals.

We are proud of our work family: they create magic for our young people!

Our learning community is enhanced by the mix of academies (primary, secondary and specialist) within our Trust; all with an equal voice. This allows us to create a team of collaborative folk with a wide range of valuable experience and knowledge.

We value and enjoy the privilege of working with our children and young adults; they are precious cargo. We are proud to be ‘exactly like nothing else.’

Our Core Values are:
To Be Pupil And People Centred
To Act With Integrity
To be Innovative
To Be Best In Class
To Be Accountable

Head office location

Get a job alert when similar jobs are listed

Find more school jobs in Stoke On Trent