Marketing & Fundraising Director

The Organisation

Aoife's Clown Doctors is a registered Irish charity that funds professional Clown Doctors to visit children in hospitals across Ireland. The Clown Doctors are highly trained performers who work in healthcare settings, bringing laughter and comfort to children during some of their most challenging moments. Their visits not only brighten the day for children but also provide welcome relief and reassurance to parents, families and hospital staff.

A typical “Clown Round” consists of a two-hour visit to children’s wards. The Clown Doctors work in pairs across Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin and Temple Street, Galway University Hospital, Portiuncula University Hospital,  and Mayo University Hospital. The frequency of visits vary across each location and range from twice per week to fortnightly.

Role Overview

Aoife's Clown Doctors is seeking a volunteer to lead the development and delivery of its Marketing and Fundraising Strategy. This is an exciting opportunity to make a meaningful impact by helping the charity grow its profile, strengthen corporate partnerships and secure sustainable funding to expand its services.

As a small charity, Aoife's Clown Doctors is looking for someone who can develop a straightforward, achievable strategy that reflects the organisation's size and ambitions. The successful candidate will play a key role in helping the charity secure the funding needed to bring the Clown Doctors' unique support to even more children and families across Ireland.

Key Responsibilities :

• Develop a clear and practical Marketing and Fundraising Strategy for the charity.
• Present the strategy to the Board of Directors for approval.
• Lead the implementation of the approved strategy and monitor its progress.
• Support the charity with occasional projects such as grant applications, attending charity events and representing the organisation at external meetings when required (for example a call with our contact at Children’s Health Ireland).

General duties of a Charity Trustee :

• Comply with the Charity’s governing document
• Ensuring charity is complying with its charitable purpose for the public benefit
• Acting in the best interest of the charity
•  Act with Reasonable Care and Skill
•  Manage the assets of your charity

 Time Commitment

• Approximately 2–3 hours per week during the initial planning and strategy development phase.
• Once the strategy is established, the role is expected to require around 1–2 hours per week on average, although this may vary depending on current projects and priorities.

 The Board

This is a voluntary Board Director position with a small, dedicated charity making a significant impact.

• The Board Directors meet online bi-monthly.
• Directors also communicate regularly by email and WhatsApp to discuss decisions, share updates and coordinate actions between meetings.
• Board members are responsible for the governance and strategic direction of the charity and are not involved in delivering the Clown Doctors' hospital visits ("Clown Rounds").
• The charity regularly shares updates on social media, providing Board members with the opportunity to see the positive impact the Clown Doctors have on children, families and healthcare staff.
•  As demand for Clown Doctors services continues to grow, the Board is focused on developing a strong fundraising strategy to expand the number of Clown Rounds that can be delivered.