Supporter Donations Assistant

Starting Salary - £31,613 (including London Weighting)

Location: Office Based - London SE1

Please note that, due to the nature of this role, it cannot be offered on a home-working or hybrid basis

Job Profile

Are you interested in an opportunity in the charity sector? Would you like to develop an understanding of internal processes and liaise with multiple teams in the organisation? Are you someone who likes to work with money, data and people? 

The post holder will contribute to ensuring the Supporter Donations Team (SDT) manages and administers supporter donation activity on behalf of CAFOD, providing a high level of supporter care while delivering within agreed service levels and Key Performance Indicators. SDT has the overall responsibility for managing and thanking all supporter donations to CAFOD made through a variety of channels and schemes. SDT works within the Finance and infrastructure group, liaises across all teams in CAFOD, and external service providers to ensure donations are processed within agreed service levels and quality standards. Due to the nature of SDT’s role, SDT has particularly close ties to CAFOD Fundraising activities and actively engages in our fundraising programmes and schemes. 

Accountability 

The post holder reports to the Supporter Donations Manager and will work alongside a team of Supporter Donation Assistants, collectively delivering the team’s key aims and responsibilities. 

Key Responsibilities 

Supporter Care: 

• Handle telephone, email and postal enquiries from supporters; identifying and resolving queries in a prompt, warm and sensitive way. 

• Provide phone cover to the Supporter Care team as required. 

• Provide Reception training to the Supporter Care team as required. 

Donations: 

• Accurately code donations received, ensuring agreed departmental procedures are followed. 

• Process, set up and administer instructions and payments through a variety of donations channels and schemes such as Online, Direct Debit, standing orders, BACs, Payroll giving schemes and online giving platforms. 

• Input and maintain data on CAFOD’s supporter database, ensuring high degrees of accuracy on our donor records.  

• File and archive financial data, while adhering to strict audit controls. 

Gift Aid: 

• Understand Gift Aid and its application within CAFOD. 

• Assist with all aspects of tax-effective giving, in accordance with agreed procedures and priorities, including preparation of regular tax claims for submission to HMRC. 

Thanking: 

• Produce and dispatch letters to thank and acknowledge donations received. 

• Write bespoke letters of thanks to supporters to respond to exceptional donations and provide a personal touch. 

• Contribute to ongoing enhancement and improvement of supporter thanking 

Post/banking: 

• Assist with all incoming and outgoing postal duties held by SDT to maximise effectiveness of processes and delivery of key service levels. 

• Preparation of daily banking, cash handling and initial reconciliation of all monies received daily. 

Safeguarding  

All CAFOD staff share responsibility to promote and maintain a strong safeguarding culture, including identifying the key actions they should take given their role and responsibilities. 

Person Specification

Understanding our context  

• Understanding Catholic identity - Show an understanding of and work with the Catholic community to further CAFOD's mission. 

• Understanding CAFOD - Demonstrate how both CAFOD’s and Catholic values influence all our work internally and externally. 

• Understanding international development – Have an understanding of the nature and causes of world poverty and how it affects different individuals, groups and communities 

Working together  

• Managing ourselves – Happy to take on additional responsibility to help the team or others under pressure. 

• Working with others – Build collaborative relationships across CAFOD and with external partners, donors and suppliers. 

• Communicating - Ensure others fully understand what has been discussed and agreed. Make timely contributions to decisions. 

• Looking outwards – Build cooperative, professional relationships with partners, supporters, donors, suppliers and the communities we serve 

 Making change happen  

• Managing resources - Offer ideas to improve information systems and processes to reduce costs and improve efficiency. 

• Achieving results - Look for better processes and ways of working to achieve results. 

• Managing our performance - Agreeing realistic deadlines and measurable objectives for myself, others and the team.   

• Taking the lead - Take a lead in identifying solutions and making change happen 

Job Specific Competencies 

• Displays a methodical approach to administrative tasks to meet processing deadlines, whilst maintaining an excellent standard of attention to detail and accuracy. 

• Ability to communicate professionally with supporters, from individual givers to religious communities. 

• Displays excellent written and verbal communication skills. 

• Ability to build strong collaborative relationships with colleagues.  

Desirable Criteria  

• Experience with a CRM software/ database 

Safeguarding for Children and Vulnerable Adults  

CAFOD recognises the personal dignity and rights of children and vulnerable adults, towards whom it has a special responsibility and a duty of care and respect.  CAFOD, and all its staff and volunteers, undertake to do all in our power to create a safe environment for children, young people and vulnerable adults and to prevent their physical, sexual or emotional abuse.  CAFOD is committed to acting at all times in the best interests of children and vulnerable adults, seeing these interests as paramount.  Any candidate offered a job with CAFOD will be expected to adhere to CAFOD’s Safeguarding policy and sign CAFOD’s Code of Behaviour as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents.  

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references, and appropriate screening checks can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. CAFOD also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures. 

Please click here for a full list of CAFOD’s Staff Benefits 

Come and join us and help make a real difference in the lives of the world’s poorest communities. 

CAFOD is an equal opportunities employer. Recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.