Philanthropy Officer
Full-time
Hybrid (at least 3 days per week on-site in Bloomsbury, London)
Permanent
About the role
This is an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic early-career fundraiser to develop their skills in philanthropy while helping to support one of the most significant cultural redevelopment projects of our generation.
The British Museum is embarking on its Masterplan, an ambitious transformation of the Museum for the 21st century. Alongside this, our Development team raises vital philanthropic support for exhibitions, education and other projects that enable the Museum and its collection to make an impact.
As Philanthropy Officer, you will join a supportive and growing team of fundraisers and play an important part in developing relationships with existing and prospective donors. You will manage your own portfolio of major gift prospects, while also working alongside senior fundraisers on some of the Museum’s key philanthropic relationships.
Most importantly, you will be joining a collaborative team at an exciting point in the Museum’s future, with the opportunity to understand how philanthropy can enable ambitious cultural projects and help secure the Museum and its collection for future generations.
About you
You will bring:
• Experience in a fundraising role, ideally within major gifts or individual giving, or strong experience in a client management role.
• Strong writing and editing skills, with the ability to develop clear and persuasive fundraising communications.
• Excellent organisational skills and close attention to detail.
• Confidence in communicating with different audiences and building positive professional relationships.
• The ability to use your initiative, manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality work to deadlines.
• A collaborative approach and enthusiasm for working as part of a team.
• The ability to communicate an organisation’s vision and ambitions in a compelling way.
• Good IT skills, including experience using standard Microsoft Office applications.
Knowledge of the arts, museums or heritage sector, experience of working in a large and complex organisation, and familiarity with fundraising databases such as Raiser’s Edge would be advantageous. A passion for museums and the role they play in public life would also be welcome
Key areas of responsibility
This is a varied, collaborative and public-facing fundraising role, giving you experience across the full donor journey, from identifying and cultivating prospective supporters through to securing gifts and delivering thoughtful stewardship.
You will:
• Build and manage donor relationships: taking responsibility for a portfolio of major gift prospects, raising funds for Museum priorities in line with annual income targets and developing tailored cultivation and stewardship plans.
• Support and manage significant philanthropic relationships: working as a secondary relationship manager alongside senior colleagues and gaining exposure to high-level fundraising, as well as proactively managing your own pool of donors.
• Meet and engage donors and prospects: independently and alongside colleagues, including presenting fundraising proposals and helping to create an exceptional donor experience.
• Develop compelling fundraising materials: researching and writing persuasive proposals, reports and correspondence for projects across the Museum.
• Help bring fundraising events to life: supporting their planning and delivery and using them as opportunities to strengthen relationships with supporters.
• Work across the Museum: building relationships with curators, conservators, communications and marketing colleagues, and others to develop compelling cases for philanthropic support.
• Manage relationships with care and attention to detail: ensuring donor information, gifts and reporting requirements are accurately recorded and managed in line with data protection and Museum policies.
Through your work on proposals and donor reporting, you will gain insight into how major capital projects, exhibitions, educational initiatives and other Museum priorities are developed and funded.
The Masterplan
The British Museum is undertaking its biggest transformation since its founding nearly 300 years ago. This physical and intellectual transformation includes large scale building and gallery transformation, new ways of connecting with audiences and different ways of working. As we look towards this exciting future, we remain guided by the words of our founder Hans Sloane - who dreamed of a museum connecting all arts and sciences, which would be accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Benefits
At the British Museum, we believe our people are at the heart of everything we do and have designed a benefits package that goes beyond the ordinary. Our full list of benefits can be found via the application link, but we’ve outlined some highlights below:
• Free exhibition entry for you and guests, exclusive private views, ICOM and reciprocal museum access.
• Civil Service Pension Scheme defined benefit with 28.97% employer contribution.
• 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays and 2.5 privilege days (and +5 days after 10 years).
• Peer support and allyship with five diversity networks for community.
• Learning and development through courses, mentoring and Athena as well as support for professional qualifications.
• Employee Assistance Programme available 24/7 for counselling, wellbeing support and more.
• Interest‑free loans including season ticket, rental deposit and bicycle loans.
Our Values
Our values drive everything we do, from how we handle our objects to how we work in our team to fostering a culture where everyone feels heard and empowered:
• Care Deeply
• Embrace the Unknown
• Spark Curiosity
• Value Many Voices
These are a core part of how we recruit. Throughout the application, interview and selection process, we look for examples of how candidates demonstrate these behaviours in their own work and experiences. We encourage you to familiarise yourself with our values and reflect them in your application.
Additional details
If you have any additional needs that we should be aware of to support you with your application, please provide details.
Right to Work: The British Museum holds a Skilled Worker sponsor licence. Applicants are responsible for determining whether the advertised salary and role meet current UKVI sponsorship requirements and for ensuring they have, or can obtain, the appropriate right to work in the UK. The Museum cannot provide immigration advice, and eligibility should be checked before submitting an application.
The Museum also adheres to the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) for pre-employment screening of Civil Servants.
Application Instructions
Application deadline: 23:59 on Tuesday, 27 October
