Title: Fundraising & Communications Lead 

Employer: Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC)

Reports to: Managing Solicitor

Salary: Commensurate with experience

Working Hours: 3 days per week: 9.30am to 5.30pm 

Duration: Two-year contract with six-month probation period

Location: Mercy Law Resource Centre, 25 Cork Street, Dublin 8 

Background information

Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC) is an independent law centre, CLG and registered charity.  MLRC uses the law to help those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. It does this through:

• Free legal advice via phone triage, referrals and clinics held in hostels and drop-in centres;
• Free legal representation;
• Policy work advocating in relation to laws, policies and attitudes that impact our clients;
• Legal support and training to organisations and professionals working in housing and homelessness. 

For more detail on MLRC’s work, please see our website www.mercylaw.ie.

Role of the Fundraising & Communications Lead 

The Fundraising & Communications Lead is an integral part of the MLRC team, reporting to the Managing Solicitor. They are responsible for developing and implementing our communications and fundraising strategies to support our mission and the objectives outlined in our Strategic Plan.  They will work to manage existing fundraising channels, develop new income streams and increase public awareness and engagement. The role will suit a creative, passionate, strategic thinker with experience of the non-profit sector, excellent communication skills and the ability to build successful lasting relationships. 

The specific responsibilities of the Fundraising & Communications Lead include the following:

Fundraising

• Work with the Managing Solicitor to prepare and implement a Fundraising Plan;
• Manage day-to-day fundraising activities including identifying and pursuing opportunities in the corporate, philanthropic and State sectors;
• Bring a creative approach to identifying, developing and delivering funding opportunities; 
• Cultivate relationships and network with new and existing charity and pro bono partners;
• Ensure coherence between the operation of the Fundraising and Communications Plans;
• Prepare the highest quality grant and funding applications and manage application processes; 
• Lead on grant reporting to ensure reports are timely, high quality and comply with all requirements;
• Ensure that all fundraising is properly managed and controlled and complies with legal requirements including GDPR and other legislation relevant to charities, and relevant fundraising guidelines;
• Develop and maintain structures to track fundraising activities, including timelines in relation to grant applications, project delivery and grant reporting, evaluation of fundraising activities, and recording of donor contracts and engagements;
• Coordinate and support our volunteer programmes;
• Support the Administrator in maintaining financial records concerning fundraising in line with the Financial Policy and in tracking grant spending in line with the Charities SORP.

Communications

• Work with the Managing Solicitor to prepare and implement a Communications Plan to support the delivery of the strategic objectives of MLRC;
• Work with the MLRC team on planning, design and distribution of promotional literature including our Annual Report, quarterly e-zine, policy reports and educational materials;
• Identify, develop and secure opportunities to increase awareness of our work;
• Manage the MLRC website and social media presence (Facebook, LinkedIn and so forth); 
• Coordinate promotional events, such as report launches, and provide support for training and educational events;
• Support on press matters such as drafting press releases and managing media enquiries; 
• Develop appropriate measurement, tracking and reporting frameworks to gather relevant statistics and monitor the effectiveness of activities and implementation of the Communications Plan.
• Other tasks as directed by the Managing Solicitor where required to support the running of MLRC.

Requirements

Essential Requirements

• Experience in charity fundraising;
• Experience in communications, including social media and website management;
• Demonstrated excellence in communication with the power to persuade, motivate and inspire while delivering clear, concise messages;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a capacity to be compassionate and respectful to our clients;
• Strong administrative and organisational skills and attention to detail;
• Enthusiasm and commitment to the mission of MLRC.

Desirable Requirements

• Relevant digital media/communications qualification; 
• Experience in human rights/social justice work and/or in the community and voluntary sector; 
• Knowledge of charity law, GDPR, and relevant guidelines and codes of practice;
• Familiarity with grant accounting under the Charities SORP;
• Experience in relevant IT functions, eg, CRM systems.

Terms and Conditions

The position of Fundraising & Communications Lead will be offered as a 2 year contract with a six-month probationary period. The salary offered is commensurate with experience. This is a part-time 3 day a week position based at Mercy Law Resource Centre, 25 Cork Street, Dublin 8, with an option for one day of remote working. There is an element of flexibility in terms of how the working week is scheduled.