About Common Wheel

Common Wheel is a well-established mental health charity based in Glasgow. We provide meaningful activity for people with mental illness and dementia. Our participatory weekly workshops take place in care homes across Glasgow, wards at Gartnavel Royal Hospital, two purpose built cycle workshops in Maryhill and Bridgeton, our base at Gartnavel Royal Hospital and at the Climbing Centre in Maryhill. We work with over 400 participants per year providing weekly group activities in music, art, bike building and climbing. We also support volunteer opportunities across the organisation. Our aims are to improve mental wellbeing, reduce isolation, increase skills and challenge stigma. We are a value-based organisation with a person-centred approach. Our values are: positivity, care, equality and partnership.

Background to this post

This is a new post created to strengthen the financial position of the organisation. The project manager is reducing her time to 3 days per week and the fundraiser will work closely with her, the other members of the team including core staff, finance manager and treasurer to develop and deliver a robust funding strategy that achieves our aims of:

• Increasing our success in securing grants in support of our work;
• Maintaining good working relationships with funders;
• Diversifying our income streams through increased individual donations, trusts, regular giving, sponsorship and the associated gift aid
• Maximising our retail potential for generating income at our bike workshops in Bridgeton and Maryhill.

We know that funding landscape is very competitive, but we have a good track record of consistently delivering rising income streams to fund our activity targets, whilst achieving outcomes for our clients, and retaining a committed team. We also now have the opportunity to maximise our social enterprise potential through developing the retail activity in our bike workshops.

The Role

Based at our office at Gartnavel Royal Hospital and with the option for some hybrid working, you will work closely with the project manager and the core staff team to resource our strategic ambitions. Common Wheel has an active and engaged Board of trustees and a committed team of 8 core staff. We have a good track record of attracting funding from various sources and have good working relationships with current and past funders. You will have access to an archive of past bids and reports to inform your work going forward.

You will have access to Upshot, our monitoring, evaluation and learning tool where we keep both quantitative and qualitative data.

This post is more than writing funding applications, it is about proactively seeking opportunities, partnerships and sponsorships that broaden our income sources. It is about telling the story of

Common Wheel to different stakeholders and on different platforms to raise our profile and position us as a leading mental health charity but also to actively promote our contribution to the circular economy and active sustainable travel through our bike building and repairs.

We are looking for someone who is an excellent communicator, who can think strategically has an eye for detail and an excellent track record. You will be organised and methodical but have the creativity and vision to identify opportunities and manage risk. We have ambitions to grow the social enterprise arm of our activities and welcome someone with experience in brand development and retail expansion. This is an exciting time to join the organisation as we move forward with plans to be a more stable, greener, and equitable organisation. You will play a pivotal role in helping us to achieve our goals and make a real difference to people with mental illness and dementia.

Responsibilities

• Achieve a target income through successful funding applications.
• Create and implement a fundraising plan to increase and diversify our income sources
• Keep accurate records of income from all sources.
• Develop a system for encouraging and acknowledging individual donations.
• Liaise with funders and meet all reporting requirements in a timely manner.
• Provide progress reports and assist with budgeting
• Work with the team to refine our retail offer.
• Communicate to external audiences through social media, promoting our work and raising our profile
• Develop our bike brand, streamline services and expand our retail opportunities.

Person Spec

Essential

• Strong track record of securing funds in the third sector
• An understanding of the funding landscape in Scotland
• Excellent written and general communication skills
• Organised and methodical approach to workload
• Ability to use initiative.
• Team player
• Ability to understand and work with financial budgets, cashflow.
• Proficient with excel, word, social media platforms and WordPress
• An understanding of social enterprise
• An understanding of charity governance and ethical fundraising

Desirable

• Interest in mental health
• Interest in environmental sustainability
• Member of a recognised professional fundraising body
• Experience of retail
• Experience in administering trusts.

If you wish to apply please send a CV and covering letter which outlines why you would be a good fit for the role and details your success as a fundraiser to date to job.app@commonwheel.org.uk by 4pm 15th March.

If you would like to have an informal discussion please email the same address and someone will arrange a call.

Interviews Thursday 28 March at Campbell House Gartnavel Royal Hospital