Head of Foundation Partnerships (Maternity cover)

LSE is committed to building a diverse, equitable and truly inclusive university

This is a fixed term appointment for 12 months

Salary from £63,370 to £73,163 pa, with potential to progress to £80,927 pa, inclusive of London allowance

Are you an experienced trusts and foundations fundraiser passionate about building transformative partnerships and ready to make an immediate impact? We are seeking a strategic and adaptable individual to lead LSE’s Foundation Partnerships team for a one-year maternity cover, supporting one of the UK’s most ambitious philanthropic campaigns.

For 130 years, LSE has pioneered research that improves lives, reduces poverty, and expands the frontiers of human knowledge. We count 21 Nobel prize winners among our alumni and staff and over 40 world leaders, past and present, across 27 countries. Named University of the Year 2025 by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide and again ranked the UK’s top university in 2026, LSE is now delivering its largest-ever philanthropic campaign – Shape the World, aiming to raise £750 million. 

As Head of Foundation Partnerships, you will play a pivotal role in engaging a global roster of foundations, securing high-value grants that fund world-leading research, education, and strategic initiatives. You’ll work closely with senior academics and leadership across LSE to align foundation support with key priorities. While experience managing teams is welcome, we are equally keen to hear from candidates with strong relationship-building and fundraising expertise who can step into a leadership role for this fixed-term period.

What you will bring to the role

We know you’ll bring a breadth of experience to our team; here are some of the skills we would expect you to share with us:

• Proven ability to build and manage relationships with trusts and foundations.
• Experience developing compelling proposals and securing significant grants.
• Strong organisational and communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with senior stakeholders.

What you can expect from us

• The opportunity to lead a high-profile area of fundraising at a world-leading university during its largest-ever campaign.
• Competitive salary, occupational pension scheme, generous annual leave, hybrid working, and flexible hours.
• Excellent training and development opportunities.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join LSE

Ready to make an impact? Apply now and help us shape the future of social science. Please see the how to apply document, job description and the person specification.

To apply for this post, please go to www.jobs.lse.ac.uk. If you have any technical queries with applying on the online system, please use the “contact us” links at the bottom of the LSE Jobs page. Should you have any queries about the role, please email s.j.tall@lse.ac.uk, Director of Development.  

The closing date for receipt of applications is Monday 19 January 2026 (23.59 UK time).  Regrettably, we are unable to accept any late applications.

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