Job Description

Philanthropy Events Executive

Salary: £28,000 - £30,000 (+ Benefits)

Reports to: Events Manager

Department: Strategy & Philanthropy

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week

Location: Stratford, London. Office-based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office).

*This role will involve occasionally travelling to visit stakeholders, suppliers, event locations outside of 9am-5pm hours (c.6 times per year). We know that flexibility is important, and we pride ourselves on the level of flexibility we offer. As a part of our commitment to work-life balance, you will receive time off in lieu (TOIL) for attending these events.  

Closing date: Sunday 8th November 2026 23:55pm

Recruitment process: Competency-based interview process

Visa sponsorship: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

Our sector leading Philanthropy team have an exciting new opportunity to join us as a Philanthropy Events Executive. You will be joining our Philanthropy Events team, who are responsible for the delivery of engagement and high value fundraising events.  

As a part of the wider CRUK fundraising efforts, the Philanthropy Directorate is one of the largest and most successful fundraising teams in the UK. An ambitious and innovative team of 60 talented philanthropy professionals, our focus is the £400m ‘More Research, Less Cancer’ (MRLC) campaign which has four key priorities: the Francis Crick Institute, Cancer Grand Challenges, Translation & Innovation, and our Future Leaders’ programme. We’ve recently reached the milestone of £200m.  

Our events team brings in almost £2m pounds a year for our cause, through delivering relationship-building events which offer meaningful engagement for high-value audiences, connecting them to Cancer Research UK’s vision, cause and pioneering research.  Our programme delivers identification, cultivation, stewardship and fundraising events including unique money-can’t-buy experiences, science talks, dinners and drinks receptions. Each event is tailored to our high-value audience, which includes philanthropists, trusts, foundations and corporate partners. 

This is a great opportunity to join one of the leading high value programmes in the sector. You’ll get to work on a variety of different events including music, politics and galas. This role is responsible for providing a supporting role in the event delivery and account management of a selection of events. The successful candidate will play a critical role in ensuring the team reach its ambitious fundraising target and deliver an unrivalled guest experience to our supporters.

What will you be doing?

• Support Event Managers with the project management and delivery of large events in our programme by taking ownership of key tasks and providing administrative support.
• Project-manage smaller events, such as business breakfasts and networking events and on-the-day support.
• Responsible for managing event guest lists, liaising with key stakeholders to ensure mailing and response processes are clearly communicated and consistent.
• Responsible for liaising with our editorial and design teams to coordinate and, in some instances, create and design high-quality event invitations and materials.
• Responsible for carrying out venue and event speaker research, developing ways to keep this information centralised and up-to-date.
• Create and manage innovative event income streams through raffles, auctions, fundraising games and ensure that all on-the-night fundraising opportunities are maximised to deliver to targeted contribution levels.
• Manage contact with partners and committee members as required for key events and relationships, to handle queries, updates, requests for support. Ensure these contacts are stewarded to a high standard to drive retention and satisfaction.
• Work in collaboration with the team to deliver comms tasks such as co-ordinating print and digital communication mailings, mail merging, proofreading, coordinating internal sign off and working with fundraisers.
• Responsible for financial administration for the events portfolio, including post-even thankyou strategies and banking, working closely with the procurement team to set up suppliers, raising purchase orders, processing invoices, and maintaining accurate records of event expenditure.
• Work with internal teams to improve and develop administrative event processes across the directorate.

What skills will I need?

• Experience supporting the delivery of complex events or projects in fast-paced environments (we’re open to applicants from a range of backgrounds, such as: philanthropy, events, hospitality, entertainment, client/ account management, sales, etc).
• Strong prioritisation and organisation skills with experience delivering multiple tasks at once while managing own time effectively and delivering to deadlines.
• Good interpersonal skills with clear verbal and written communication and the ability to build relationships and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders at all levels.
• Demonstrable copywriting and proofreading skills.
• Ability to solve problems pragmatically, troubleshoot effectively, adapt quickly, and maintain composure in dynamic situations.

Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.

Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination  

Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism   

Human: Act to have a positive impact on people  

Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively

We’re looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.

If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you.

What will I gain?

We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.

You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page.

Additional Information

For more information about working with us please visit our website or contact us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk.  

For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.

We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen. Please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.