Work with Us 

Work with us to make a meaningful difference to your community and to families across Ireland. We believe education has the power to transform lives, strengthen communities, and create lasting social change. 
For more than 40 years, we have worked to break the cycle of generational poverty by opening pathways to education, leadership, and real career opportunities for those furthest behind. 

At An Cosán, our people are united by the values of connection, compassion, and courage. It is a place where dedicated professionals can do rewarding work and help build a more equitable future for all. 
Join us and work to make a tangible positive impact on everyone in your community. 

About Us 
Headquartered in Tallaght, Co. Dublin, An Cosán (Irish for “The Path”) is an award-winning community education charity. With a team of more than 120 staff and an annual budget of approximately €4.2 million, we deliver a wide and growing range of services both locally and nationally. Our work includes adult education, early years care and education, family support and counselling services. 

Employee Benefits 
• Hybrid Working – work from home two days per week 
• Flexible Work – work around your life commitments with late/early and long break options 
• Holiday Entitlement – 24 days increasing to 27 after three years of service 
• An Cosán closes its services for Christmas 
• Additional leave opportunities 
• Bike to Work Scheme 
• Parking available 
• Support for Further Education Bursary (CPD) 

The Role The Fundraising Development Lead plays a key role in securing vital funding for An Cosán. Working with the senior management team, the postholder will review, refine and implement the current fundraising strategy and help shape the 2027–2030 strategy. 

They will build strong relationships with existing and prospective funders and prepare compelling proposals and applications that demonstrate An Cosan’s impact resulting in new funding streams. 

The role also oversees impact tracking, compliance and reporting, ensuring transparent communication with funders. The postholder will foster strong internal collaboration and help embed a culture of innovative fundraising across the charity. Reporting to the CEO, you will work across the organisation with support from the Deputy CEO, Finance Manager, Policy & Communications Manager, programme leaders and other colleagues. 

Key Responsibilities Summary
• Review and refine An Cosán’s fundraising strategy in collaboration with senior management working towards a new fundraising strategy for 2027-2030. 
• Build on existing long-term relationships & secure new sources of income. 
• Establish a portfolio for programmes with strong personal narratives. 
• Lead on grant writing and proposals, managing the pipeline and deadlines. 
• Oversee funding impact tracking, compliance and reporting. 
• Collaborate effectively with internal stakeholders. 
• Embed excellence in fundraising within the organisation. 

About You 
• Motivated to work for your community. 
• Excellent writing and presentation skills. 
• Proactive, organised and detail oriented. 
• Strong relationship building and communication skills. 
• Ability to manage multiple priorities effectively. 
• Work collaboratively. 

Specific Requirements 
• 3+ years’ experience in fundraising. 
• Third level qualification in communications, fundraising, humanities, business or related field. 
• Previous work experience in the Not-for-Profit Sector. 
• Proven experience in successfully securing fundraising and grants.
• Experience in grant and proposal writing. 
• Experience in managing a pipeline of donor opportunities. 
• Competency in working with CRM and IT systems. 
• Experience with tracking, compliance and impact reporting. 
• Experience working with finance, budgets and expenditure reporting. 

Key Responsibilities 
1. Funding Strategy and Pipeline Development 
• Review and refine An Cosán’s current fundraising strategy. Collaborate and lead on developing An Cosán’s 2027-2030 fundraising strategy with the management team.
• Diversify and increase funding, with particular emphasis on unrestricted and core funding, generating support for our building extension, strategic partnerships and new income streams. 
• Research, identify and assess opportunities across public, philanthropic, corporate and other relevant funding sources. 
• Build and maintain a high-quality pipeline of prospective funders, partners and opportunities, with clear prioritisation and follow-up actions. 
• Work with the CEO and relevant senior managers to align organisational priorities, programme plans and capital or growth ambitions with funding opportunities. 

2. Proposal Development and Fundraising Delivery 
• Lead the preparation, coordination, writing and submission of high-quality grant applications, proposals, pitches, presentations and donor packs. 
• Gather, analyse and synthesise inputs from programme, finance and communications colleagues to ensure proposals are accurate, compelling and timely. 
• Translate programme priorities, outcomes and evidence into strong cases for support tailored to different funders and audiences. 
• Support the development of compelling income-generation materials for corporate engagement, philanthropy, trusts, foundations and statutory funding opportunities. 
• Support An Cosán’s established fundraising events assisting colleagues responsible for these events. 

3. Funder Stewardship, Compliance and Reporting 
• Establish and maintain robust systems for tracking all funder relationships, deadlines, reporting obligations, grant conditions, submissions and follow-up actions. 
• Act as the central coordination point for narrative funder reports and returns, ensuring high standards of quality and timely submission. 
• Work closely with the Finance team to ensure funding budgets, expenditure reports and financial returns are accurate and compliant with funder requirements. 
• Monitor grant performance and funding conditions, escalating risks, delays or compliance issues promptly and constructively. 
• Support the development and maintenance of policies, templates, calendars and internal processes that strengthen organisation-wide grant management and funding compliance. 

4. Relationship Management and Collaboration 
• Build and maintain strong, professional relationships with existing and prospective funders, supporters, corporate partners and relevant networks. 
• Support stewardship activity including updates, acknowledgements, impact reporting, donor communications and relationship follow-up. 
• Collaborating closely with programme leads to understand emerging needs, capturing evidence of impact and ensuring funding activity reflects operational realities. 
• Work with the Communications team to source and adapt stories, data and impact materials for use in proposals, reports and governance communications. 
• Work with Corporate Services to ensure that funding systems, CRM records, deadlines and related administrative processes are maintained effectively. 

5. Monitoring, Analysis and Organisational Improvement 
• Track and report on fundraising activity, pipeline performance, conversion rates, deadlines, funder engagement and income progress against target. 
• Produce clear management information and updates for the CEO and relevant senior colleagues, identifying opportunities, risks and recommended actions.
• Monitor trends, policy developments and funding changes in the not-for-profit sector to inform strategic decision-making. 
• Contribute to the development of a strong organisational culture of planning, accountability and readiness in relation to fundraising and funder reporting. 
• Undertake any other duties as may reasonably be assigned by the CEO or line manager, consistent with the nature of the role.