Job detail for Fundraising and Project Executive - Soccer Aid

• Duration: Fixed Term - until 31 December 2026

• Salary: £33,964 per annum

• Job level: 5

• Hours: 35 hours per week. Other flexible arrangements will be considered. Occasional evening and weekend working will be required around the key campaign delivery periods.

• Disclosure level: Basic.

• Reporting to: Head of Soccer Aid for UNICEF.

• Location: Minimum requirement of 2 days in the office at 1 Westfield Avenue, London E20 1HZ.

At the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK), we work alongside partners and communities to help realise children’s rights and build a better world for every child. We are committed to an inclusive workplace where people feel valued, supported, and able to thrive – connected by shared values, a sense of purpose and a collective commitment to making childhood unstoppable.

Our work is guided by the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which recognise the universality of children’s rights.

ABOUT THE SOCCER AID FOR UNICEF TEAM

The Soccer Aid Team is a project team that brings together key specialisms from across the organisation to deliver Soccer Aid for UNICEF. The multi-functional team sits within the Public and Partnerships Engagement directorate and works closely with teams across the organisation and external stakeholders at ITV, Initial and Soccer Aid Productions* to deliver UNICEF UK’s biggest broadcasted fundraising event.

*UNICEF UK has partnered with Triple S Sports and Entertainment Group to create Soccer Aid Productions Ltd (SAP Ltd) to deliver the commercial elements of the campaign.

ABOUT SOCCER AID FOR UNICEF

Soccer Aid for UNICEF brings together two teams of celebrities and football legends from England and the World XI for the biggest celebrity football match in the calendar, broadcast live on ITV. The event started in 2006 taking place every two years and since 2018 has taken place annually. Since its inception, Soccer Aid for UNICEF has raised more than £137 million for UNICEF UK, helping to protect the right to play for every child.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The scope of the Fundraising and Project Executive role is broad and the postholder will be responsible for delivering several projects which will support in achieving the objectives of the Soccer Aid for UNICEF campaign. The postholder will be lead the development and delivery of youth engagement projects including the child mascot experience and the national Young Creators design competition. They will also support fundraising, partnerships and project initiatives by overseeing key activities such as partner screening, sustainability initiatives, Supporter Care briefing and liaison, training week and match day logistics.

The postholder will also be expected to work in line with UNICEF UK’s safeguarding and youth voice principles, ensuring that activities involving children and young people are safe, inclusive and rights-based. This includes supporting opportunities for children as rights holders to be meaningfully involved in the co-creation of relevant activities, while recognising that safeguarding is central to the successful delivery of the role.

The role requires strong attention to detail and excellent project management skills, with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment. This is a collaborative role working with multiple colleagues and providing support across a variety of team projects and workstreams to unlock fundraising opportunities and deliver excellent partner and supporter experiences, maximising income and impact for children.

WHAT WE WILL EXPECT YOU TO ACHIEVE

• Actively contribute to achieving the Soccer Aid strategic objectives of delivering more income, reach and awareness of UNICEF’s work through multiple campaign activations.

• Lead the development and delivery of youth engagement initiatives, ensuring all activity is safe and compliant including:

• The child mascot experience, working with Safeguarding and Rights Respecting Schools teams. This includes leading the management of the child mascot experience on match day and ensuring a positive, inclusive and safe experience for those involved.

• The national Young Creators design competition, working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to effectively promote, manage and integrate the competition across multiple channels, including the live broadcast of Soccer Aid for UNICEF.

• Support the successful integration of Soccer Aid with teams across UNICEF UK:

• Lead contact for UNICEF UK’s Supporter Care team ensuring regular and timely campaign briefings and updates, enabling the team to efficiently respond to donor enquiries.

• Lead contact for UNICEF UK’s Safeguarding and Youth Engagement team, championing internal initiatives and promoting opportunities for inclusive and safe engagement with the Soccer Aid campaign.

• Engagement with UNICEF UK’s Youth Advisory Board around involvement, support and attendance at Soccer Aid for UNICEF.

• Support Internal Comms initiatives, building staff engagement, support and noise throughout the Soccer Aid campaign.

• Work closely with the Safeguarding Team to complete risk assessments for Soccer Aid activities, ensuring that risks are identified, assessed and appropriately mitigated in line with UNICEF UK’s safeguarding principles. This includes activities taking place during UK visits, as well as those connected to international travel.

• Support and manage key project initiatives, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness:

• Oversee scheduling and management of campaign and team meeting including the collation of agenda items and timely circulation of meeting minutes.

• Financial and administrative support of projects including income and expenditure tracking, processing invoices and data management on SRM database.

• Coordinate sustainability data collection, tracking and reporting across internal teams and partners, supporting and championing Soccer Aid’s environmental commitments.

• Managing staff logistics across training week and match day (accreditation and accommodation)

• Management of team calendars and inboxes

• Support the Head of Soccer Aid in the delivery of strategic and operational priorities as required

• Support and manage key fundraising and partnership initiatives driving engagement and income generating opportunities:

• Lead on coordination and management of signing auction items at players training week

• Support the development of new partnership opportunities working with UNICEF UK’s Risk & Research team and UNICEF’s global teams to undertake relevant due diligence process

• Support the delivery and execution of Training Week stewardship for UNICF UK partnerships teams and their guests (Corporate, Foundations, Philanthropy)

• Collaborating with internal UUK teams (Legal, Compliance, Safeguarding etc.) on delivery of partnership activations

• Provide surge capacity to Soccer Aid marketing team fulfilling web and email optimisation and build as needed

• Demonstrate and model a commitment to our shared values, behaviours and inclusive practices (known as Our Shared Commitment) in all aspects of your work.

BEHAVIOURS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

This section details the skills, behaviours and experience required for the role.  All criteria in the Person Specification are essential.

Collaboration

• Consults others and shares expertise, know-how and ideas with colleagues for best results

• Values diversity, respecting and drawing on colleagues’ different perspectives, skills, experience and knowledge

Communication

• Conveys complex or difficult ideas using a variety of methods to engage an audience and win understanding and support.

• Anticipates and responds to the needs of an audience, adapting content, style, language and use of channel to deliver maximum clarity

• Works collaboratively with all stakeholders, drawing connections and encouraging cross-organisational working

Efficiency and effectiveness

• Manage conflicting priorities to ensure that objectives are achieved and deadlines met

• Anticipates risks and puts plans in place to minimise their impact

• Responds flexibly to unforeseen events such as emergency responses to ensure that effectiveness is not compromised

• Evaluates work, learns from results and adjusts strategies to provide the best results for children

• Suggests simplifications to overly complex ways of working to improve results

Positive relationships

• Nurtures professional relationships with colleagues at all levels and with external contacts and partners to support the achievement of objectives

• Reflects on own thoughts, feelings and actions and is aware of own impact on relationships

Supporter driven and mission aligned

• Is committed to children and their rights and motivated to work towards achieving a world that is fit for every child

• Insight-led and data driven to ensure all fundraising initiatives are developed according to supporter needs and in response to a deep understanding of market trends and insights

Information and data

• Protects our reputation when working with confidential data and information and mitigates risk through considering the legal, regulatory, ethical and privacy issues

• Invests time in acquiring the knowledge and skills to develop effective approaches to managing information.

Relevant experience

• On the job or worked experience in (charity) fundraising campaigns.

• Basic knowledge of project management principles, practices, techniques, and procedures, gained from using it on the day to day work.

• Worked within a project-based environment, gaining practical experience in project planning and implementation

• Some experience in collaborating to organize and host activities at major events or fundraising events

• Experience of working in line with safeguarding principles, including identifying and managing risks to ensure activities involving children and young people are safe, inclusive and appropriately supported.