Fundraising, income generation and development are key to the success and longevity of a marine conservation organisation. For Reef-World, the Development Manager will play a crucial leadership role and is responsible for organisational development where it relates to fundraising, as well as income generation planning and execution. As a small but growing UK Charity, Reef-World is in an expanding stage, this marks the first role of its kind within the organisation.

Previously, fundraising efforts were managed by the Directors and a freelance trusts and foundations fundraiser. However, as we continue to grow and seek to diversify our income base, now is the right time to bring dedicated fundraising and income generation expertise into the organisation. Additionally, we envision this role to have a broader perspective on the organisation's overall development where it feeds into fundraising and income generation activities.

We have recently concluded the recruitment process for a new Development Manager at Reef-World, aiming to elevate our income generation and fundraising efforts to another level. 

We received a total of 136 applications for this role, from which we shortlisted 26 applicants and invited 7 to the interview round. We then used a recruitment rubric (here is an example of it) to assess these candidates (and check our biases) according to indicators for the following criteria:

  • Fundraising - proven experience in at least 2 disciplines of fundraising as well as high level strategic experience of leading and being responsible for fundraising and understanding the wider landscape for fundraising

  • Organisational development - proven experience of contributing to the development of other functions and proven experience of identifying opportunities for development

  • Environmental context - proven experience and passion for impact

  • Culture fit

In the end our chosen candidate scored highly in the interview and rubric. What really impressed us was their proven experience in all major fundraising disciplines, knowledge of the wider landscape for fundraising (opportunities and challenges) and their experience working across, and improving, other functions within an organisation for strengthening fundraising capacity and capability. 

General feedback on applications

Being a small team means recruitment takes a huge amount of time and resources for us. Whilst we’d love to give each of you individual feedback, we’re simply not able to. However, recognising that conservation is extremely competitive, we think it’s important to share some of the general observations we saw during this process.

  • Given the importance and weight of responsibility of this new role for the organisation, some candidates did not have senior enough experience, or a broad enough range of experience in different funding opportunities. 

  • The strongest cover letters outlined people’s motivations for conservation work, what lessons or skills they picked up from their experiences and how that would be beneficial for the specific role and associated responsibilities and how they align to the organisation’s culture, mission and vision.

  • They also included specific metrics of fundraising outcomes and successes.

  • Avoid writing a cover letter that is just a narrative of your CV, you are just replicating information already available. Don’t make the reader work to make the connection between your experience and the role, they may only have a few minutes to review your application in the first screening.

  • Ensure that your CV matches other online profiles like LinkedIn as it can be confusing for recruiters to see drastically different experiences laid out. 

  • Every one of us is passionate about the work, set yourself apart by demonstrating your passion through the impact you’ve had, rather than stating it.

  • Many of the applicants has levels of experience that would make fantastic junior fundraising professional (i.e. Officer level at Reef-World) but did not have the required experience in organisational development.

  • Some cover letters had too many typos to overlook - do give your application a thorough read-through after you’ve written it!

General feedback on interviews

  • If you need to take a moment to collect your thoughts to answer a question, or if you’d like to start an answer again, do. A good employer won’t hold nerves against you. It’s better to take the time to center yourself in order to answer clearly. 

  • Make sure you are familiar with the responsibilities and job role advertised including location, contract type, salary etc.

  • Whilst we want to hear what you would get out of the role, do spend more of the time focusing on how you will add value to the organisation or the work.

  • If you don’t have experience in one area of the job, talk about any transferable skills that would add value to that area as you learn it.

  • Ask questions! Not everyone did but it’s really important for you to establish if the role organisation’s culture is a good fit for you too. 

We would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to apply for this role. We know what a challenge the application process can be. We hope these tips serve to help you in your next application. And don’t forget, we are always growing and we encourage you to keep an eye on the careers section of our website and our social media, for future opportunities that may be a great fit for you.