The Donkey Sanctuary is an international animal welfare organisation, offering care and protection to donkeys worldwide. Our vision is a world where every donkey has a good quality of life, and our mission is to improve the lives of donkeys every day. We will achieve this by transforming the lives of donkeys in need worldwide by fostering greater understanding, collaboration and support, and by promoting lasting, mutually life-enhancing relationships. 

These are exciting times for the Charity, and we now have an excellent opportunity for a proactive and customer-focused professional to join our busy Legacy Administration Team. As Legacy Officer, you will manage a proportional share of legacy cases, predominantly comprising residuary, life interest, discretionary and specific legacies, including a small proportion of those which are contentious and identifying and resolving complex case issues. Depending on experience and any complexities and associated risk to the Charity, you will have autonomy to make decisions daily; including financial decisions associated with estate assets which include properties and investments (which are typically hundreds of thousands and on occasion millions of pounds), enhancing The Donkey Sanctuary’s reputation as a good recipient of legacies by building good relationships with professionals, Lay Executors, as well as friends and family involved in each administration. You will be supervised on more complex cases and high value legacies, to progress personal development.

About you:

• A relevant qualification recognised by the Legacy profession; ILM Certificate in Charity Legacy Administration (CiCLA) or equivalent (STEP or ILEX) and/or significant previous experience of working in legacy administration at an equivalent level and a substantial knowledge of legacy or probate administration.
• Ideally proficient in the use of FirstClass 4 and commensurate knowledge of MS Office including Excel.
• Up to date knowledge of charity law (as it applies to charity legacies), taxes applicable to estates and probate/trust law and processes and data protection relating to charity administration.
• Excellent relationship building skills and be a team player who is self-motivated.
• A self-starter able to work largely without supervision and able to help more junior colleagues where needed.
• Ability to prioritise own workload, deal with conflicting demands and meet tight deadlines.
• Ability to identify any arising complexities or issues on cases affecting risk where referral to the Legacy Manager is required in order to agree next steps.
• An understanding of Charity Commission regulation and auditing requirements.
• Highly organised, with strong analytical, prioritising, decision making and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to communicate effectively about complex issues to a diverse range of stakeholders internally at the Charity and externally, including Lay Executors, professional executors, solicitors and co-beneficiaries.

About the role:

Your principal duties and responsibilities will include –

• Responsible for managing a caseload of mainly residuary legacy cases where The Donkey Sanctuary is a named beneficiary ensuring as far as reasonably possible that maximum value is achieved in line with the obligations to ensure the gift reaches the Charity as intended by the Legator.
• Comprehensively, professionally and sensitively corresponding with Executors, professional advisers, co-beneficiary charities and other external and internal stakeholders to work to resolve legacy cases in line with policy and governance infrastructure.
• Provide an excellent experience; communicating sensitively and with empathy when in contact with Lay Executors, bereaved family members and next of kin, providing support to the Legacy Relationships Manager when engaging with potential legators.
• Protect The Donkey Sanctuary’s interests by ensuring we receive all documentation required to fulfil auditing requirements; completing detailed checks and reconciliation of Estate Accounts/Will Trust Accounts ensuring that all estate assets are accounted for, that all fees reflect work undertaken, that the correct tax rates, reliefs and allowances have been applied and that our Charity has received the full value of the legacy due.. Obtain answers to queries and revised Estate Accounts.
• With the agreement of the Legacy Manager, obtain legal advice on complex and contested cases; scrutinise and evaluate evidence together with the appointed Solicitor and act on the legal advice received to then make a recommendation to the Legacy Manager as to the best next step or resolution to achieve the best possible result whilst minimising any financial and reputational risk. Consult with co-beneficiaries and agree settlement terms.

What we offer in return:

Based in Sidmouth, Devon – an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – this is a full-time, permanent contract starting as soon as possible, working 35 hours per week, 08.30-16.30, Monday-Friday.

The working pattern for this role will be hybrid working, which combine onsite and home working under our guiding principles for such roles, with onsite attendance currently anticipated to be 2-3 days per week. The working pattern will be agreed between the line manager and post-holder.

Please refer to the FAQs section regarding travelling to work on our Candidate Journey page:

https://jobs.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/jobs/candidate-journey/

Benefits:  

Competitive pension.

Life Assurance.

31 Days holiday (including Bank holidays), rising to 34 with each full year of service.

Wellbeing Team.

Recorded Pilates and Yoga classes.

Long Service Awards.

Healthshield Plan –

• Reimbursement of some medical expenses up to the specified limits per membership.
• Offers, discounts and cashback on shopping, travel and entertainment from participating outlets.
• Access to a 24/7 GP and counselling service.

Free parking.

Subsidised restaurant and shop.

Closing date for completed applications: Sunday 21 December 2025.

Please note:

• Interviews will take place on site at our Sidmouth centre on the 15^th & 16^th January 2026.
• We reserve the right to close this vacancy before the advertised date and therefore encourage early applications.

The Donkey Sanctuary is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable people (children and adults), and expects all staff and volunteers to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to safer recruitment processes, including an application for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check where required for the post.

The Donkey Sanctuary also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme and, for relevant posts, may request information from applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment.

Please note: The Guaranteed interview scheme is only applicable to candidates who consider themselves to have a disability applying for roles based within the United Kingdom.

NOTE TO APPLICANTS: We look forward to receiving your application, but we do ask you to complete this in your own words, and not to employ an Artificial Intelligence (AI) writing tool or assistant. Applications that are considered not to be an applicant’s own work may not be shortlisted for interview.