Supporter Fundraising and Engagement Officer – Edinburgh At Mercy Corps

Location: Edinburgh
Position Status: Full-time, permanent
Reporting to: Senior Fundraising Manager
Salary: circa 29K London – circa 24K Edinburg – depending on experience + benefits
Closing Date: apply with CV and Cover Letter before December 5th

Candidates must have the right to work in the UK at the time of appointment.

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organisation powered by the belief that a better world is possible.
In conflict, in disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.
Now, and for the future.

Mercy Corps Europe (MCE) has grown rapidly in terms of volume of activity and complexity. With offices in Edinburgh, London, The Hague and Geneva, we now attract over £90m in income, and employ around 100 domestic and expatriate field team members. The breadth and impact of our programmes makes Mercy Corps a unique and truly rewarding place to work. Our teams are proud of what we achieve in the field and we are always looking for talented individuals who share our passion and commitment.

The Position

The Fundraising team plays a key role in Mercy Corps, generating income and raising our profile. MCE’s Fundraising team has ambitious goals to increase private fundraising across the UK and continental Europe to support our agency goals around humanitarian aid, development and peacebuilding.

The Supporter Fundraising & Engagement team brings in around £1 million to help support Mercy Corps’ work around the world. We do this through a whole variety of communications with our donors and finding new people who would like to support us. From managing online donation pages, to writing compelling press ad copy to organising postage for our mass mailings, it all happens in the SFE team.

We have ambitious plans to create a fantastic and donor-focused experience for Mercy Corps’ supporters. We want to treat our donors as the individuals they are with their own reasons for supporting us. We need to plan for the future while at the same time taking on the tasks of the day. As a key member of the Fundraising team, the Supporter Fundraising and Engagement Officer will have specific responsibility for the delivery of regular appeals both on and offline and our programme of supporter stewardship.

We are looking for an ambitious individual with fundraising experience, who is interested in a career in fundraising. This is an opportunity to be involved in fundraising work that is fast-paced, and to be part of a diverse, dedicated team of people who are genuinely motivated by making a difference. You will be someone with a positive, can-do approach, who has initiative and enjoys the pressure of working to tight deadlines.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Core Appeal Management

Set up and manage schedules to ensure offline retention and acquisition activities are on time and to budget
Effectively devise and manage all aspects of appeal creation including creative, data and print
Source and write content using existing resources
Be the first point of contact for external agencies and internal teams for appeals
Maintain results sheets and produce campaign reviews, advising on learnings to take forward for future campaign management

Cross-Campaign Tasks

Manage invoice log and maintain guard and competitor monitoring files
Maintain all emergency appeal collateral and lead on offline appeals if/when an emergency fundraising go decision is made

Stewardship

Implement supporter journeys for both new donors and Regular Givers
Plan and manage bi-annual supporter newsletter mailings
Support Fundraising Operations Assistant in further stewardship pieces and donor thanking content

Team Support

Support Senior Digital Fundraising Officer in running online appeals and ensure online fundraising pages are up-to-date.
Work with Community team specifically in the creation of collateral for events and talks

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Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Knowledge and Experience

Minimum of one year’s experience in a fundraising department, ideally within direct marketing
Experience working to deadlines in a busy process orientated environment
Proven ability to work diligently, managing tight and competing deadlines and priorities
A self-starter and able to take responsibility for own work and undertake tasks with minimal supervision
Skilled in anticipating and logically solving problems that may arise using own initiative
Excellent written communications skills, with experience writing and editing communications for fundraising audiences under deadlines
Highly numerate and confident in interpreting results
Ability to manage competing priorities and successfully work with different teams to achieve shared goals and meet shared standards

Success Factors

High levels of motivation, professionalism and resilience
A strong team worker who is able to build and maintain effective internal and external relationships.
Confident, ‘can-do’, flexible approach
Proactive and solutions-based attitude
Can stay calm and work diligently under deadline pressure
An exposure to and interest in international development issues is important, along with an empathy for Mercy Corps’ mission

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Edinburgh and may require some minimal travel.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all Mercy Corps locations.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.