Job Title: Prospect Research Manager

Contract Type: Full time (35 hours per week) although 28 hours may be considered; the role may require occasional evening and weekend work 

Contract Length: Permanent 

Reporting to: Senior Partnership Development Manager, Corporate Partnerships team

Location of work: Remote with ad hoc time in the office for team days, events, campaigns and organisation away days

Salary: £37,500

BACKGROUND

For more than 20 years, Magic Breakfast has been helping children and young people start the day with the nourishment they need to learn, grow, and thrive. But the impact of breakfast goes far beyond food. Every morning, we help pupils arrive at school feeling valued, included, and ready to reach their potential.

Today, 2.1 million children across the UK are at risk of hunger, the equivalent of four pupils in a classroom of 30. Working with schools in disadvantaged communities across England and Scotland, Magic Breakfast is committed to ensuring no child is too hungry to learn. One breakfast at a time, we are helping children and young people build brighter futures.

This is a pivotal moment to join Magic Breakfast. Governments in both England and Scotland have committed to expanding access to free school breakfasts, recognising the vital role they play in children’s wellbeing and attainment. Yet significant gaps remain. Pupils in secondary schools, alongside younger children in nursery and early years settings, are still at risk of starting the day hungry. Hunger does not begin at age five, nor end at age 11, and neither does our mission.

By joining Magic Breakfast, you will become part of a passionate, ambitious organisation driving lasting change for children and young people across the UK.

JOB PURPOSE

The purpose of the Prospect Research Manager is to lead prospect development for major gifts, partnerships and business development, driving growth in our pipeline to help Magic Breakfast reach ambitious targets and unlock new income opportunities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Prospect Development

• Lead prospect profiling, network mapping, qualification, and intelligence gathering to support the Major Giving and Business Development teams.

• Maintain accurate, consistent, and GDPR-compliant research records in Salesforce, ensuring data integrity at all times.

• Share research findings in clear, actionable formats with stakeholders across Major Giving and Business Development.

• Design, refine, and implement cross-team prospect development processes e.g., ‘Dream 10 Strategy’ that strengthen pipelines.

• Monitor external trends, sector developments, and due diligence best practise to continually improve our approach and proactively share insights with colleagues.

• Drive cross-fundraising initiatives to support prospecting, including: Developing an inspiring suite of ‘projects for funding’ for potential partners

• Organising in-house prospecting events to deepen engagement

• Coordinating our ‘new business roadshow’ to foster a prospecting culture across account management teams

Risk Screening and Due Diligence

• Conduct thorough risk screening and due diligence for prospects and, where required, existing partners, in line with Magic Breakfast’s Ethical Fundraising and Due Diligence Policies.

• Maintain robust systems and processes to record and track due diligence activities.

• Ensure compliance with all relevant regulatory requirements and fundraising best practice.

Prospect and Partner Cultivation

• Deploy varied new business tactics- including cold calling, email outreach, stakeholder mapping, event networking, and LinkedIn engagement- to secure prospect meetings.

• Identify and attend networking events to strengthen relationships and uncover new opportunities.

• Collaborate with the Major Giving, Partnerships and Business Development teams to support the cultivation of identified prospects.

• Work with the Major Giving, Partnerships and Business Development teams to grow existing relationships, supporting the creation of tailored pitches and introducing prospecting strategies to shift partner mindsets.

Data and Research Insights

• Lead the development of strategic data insights to secure and grow partnerships across Major Giving, including analysis of past and current partnerships to identify success factors, challenges, and opportunities for growth.

• Produce clear, impactful outputs (e.g., reports, Power BI dashboards) to support fundraising efforts.

• Serve as the key link between I&I and Fundraising, ensuring the latest statistics, stories, and case studies are available to craft compelling, theme-based cases for support.

• Establish processes to measure the impact of work in driving new business across Major Giving, Partnerships, and Business Development, and use these insights to create a continuous feedback loop for learning and improvement.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Skills and abilities

• Strong investigative skills with the ability to gather, assess, and synthesise information from multiple sources.

• Skilled in using data visualisation and reporting tools (e.g., PowerBI) to present insights clearly.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, able to present complex research in a clear, engaging way for diverse audiences.

• Ability to design and implement effective prospect development processes and systems.

• Proactive in identifying new income opportunities and suggesting innovative approaches.

• Experience using a variety of outreach tactics, including cold calling, event networking, and social selling.

• Strong organisational skills, able to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Knowledge and experience

• Prospect research experience with a track record of identifying successful prospects for organisations.

• Experience of conducting due diligence and how this relates to fundraising.

• Knowledge of major gift fundraising techniques including an understanding of donor motivations and the cultivation process.

• Experience of using a fundraising database (ideally Salesforce) to record and analyse prospect/supporter information.

• Understanding of GDPR and data management legislation.

• Familiarity with the UK charity market and fundraising trends, techniques and best practice.

Other

• Passion for Magic Breakfast’s mission of ensuring that no child is too hungry to learn

• Shared commitment to our values and active contributor to our enabled and empowered culture

• Exemplifying through behaviours our values-led culture that encourages curiosity, engagement, positivity and continuous improvement underpinned by a commitment to social impact, ensuring that children and young people are at the heart of everything we do.

• Working collaboratively across the organisation to build good working relationships. 

• Contributing to team meetings and supporting team members where necessary.

• Participating in occasional work-related events at external venues.

• Undertaking any other duties commensurate with the role.

• Adhering to all Magic Breakfast policies and procedures.

Please visit our website for more information 

APPLICATION PROCCESS

Should you wish to discuss the role before applying please email our People and Culture Team.

Shortlisting: 13-15th July

Interview 1: 21st, 22nd, 23rd July

Interview 2 and Informal Panel: 28th, 29th, 30th July

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. This is to ensure that we can manage application levels whilst maintaining a positive candidate experience. Unfortunately, once a vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications.