Development Manager

Start date: Immediate Start

Full-time: 5 days a week

Salary : £36,000 - £42,000 (DOE)

Pushkin House is entering an exciting new chapter. Following three successful years of transformation, culminating in the renovation of our ground floor and the opening of our permanent bilingual bookshop, we have welcomed new audiences into the House and strengthened our position as an independent cultural centre for critical thought, artistic exchange and public debate. We are now looking to build on this momentum by strengthening our fundraising capacity, broadening our philanthropic support and securing the long-term sustainability of the organisation.

We are seeking an experienced and ambitious Development Manager to lead Pushkin House’s development and fundraising functions, reporting to the Executive Director and working closely with the Interim Head of Development. The role will oversee a diverse fundraising portfolio spanning trusts and foundations, major individual donors, and our Friends and Patrons schemes. The postholder will identify new income opportunities, cultivate and steward supporters, and build the relationships and partnerships needed to support Pushkin House’s artistic programme, operations and future development.

The Development Manager will work closely with the Executive Director to strengthen philanthropic relationships, develop compelling funding proposals and ensure effective stewardship and reporting. The role will also manage membership development and supporter engagement, working collaboratively across the organisation to connect fundraising with Pushkin House’s programme, audiences and wider ambitions. A key priority will be to build a strong and sustainable funding pipeline, and develop fundraising approaches that reflect both the organisation’s distinctive cultural mission and its long-term financial needs.

We are looking for someone with a track record in fundraising and relationship management, ideally within the arts and cultural sector, and a sound understanding of UK and international trusts, foundations and private philanthropy. The successful candidate will combine strategic thinking with excellent delivery, bringing creativity and initiative to a varied and target-driven role. They will be highly organised, confident in communicating with a wide range of stakeholders, and able to work both independently and collaboratively, with tact, diplomacy and a genuine commitment to Pushkin House’s work.

As Pushkin House looks to the future, the Development Manager will play a central role in translating the energy of our recent transformation into lasting organisational resilience, enabling us to sustain our programme, deepen our relationships with supporters and continue to create space for challenging ideas, cultural exchange and meaningful public engagement.

Responsibilities will include:

Fundraising Strategy and Income Generation

• Manage fundraising across income streams, including trusts and foundations, major donors, individual giving, and the Friends and Patrons programmes.
• Research and identify prospective funders, philanthropic individuals, corporate partners and other sources of support, developing a strong and regularly reviewed fundraising pipeline.
• Develop persuasive cases for support, funding applications, major gift proposals and partnership pitches, ensuring that each reflects Pushkin House’s mission, programme and funding priorities.
• Support the development of major gift proposals, including prospect research, due diligence, budget preparation and tailored approaches to prospective donors.

Major Donors, Patrons and Supporter Engagement

• Develop and manage relationships with donors, Patrons, Friends, prospective supporters and other philanthropic contacts, creating tailored cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, renewal and upgrade strategies.
• Manage the Patrons and Friends programmes, with a focus on supporter acquisition, retention, increased giving and meaningful engagement with Pushkin House’s work.
• Implement donor stewardship plans, ensuring timely acknowledgements, personalised communications, funding reports and appropriate recognition of support.

Trusts, Foundations and Institutional Funding

• Manage institutional fundraising, including prospect research, application planning, proposal development, submission and ongoing relationship management with trusts and foundations.
• Identify funding opportunities for core costs, artistic programming, capital projects and organisational development, ensuring that applications are strategically aligned with funder priorities and Pushkin House’s needs.
• Coordinate the preparation of budgets, supporting documents, monitoring information and funding reports, working with relevant colleagues to ensure accurate, timely and compelling submissions.
• Manage relationships with existing institutional funders, ensuring effective stewardship, compliance with funding agreements and timely reporting on the use and impact of grants.

Development Operations, Data and Reporting

• Effectively manage Pushkin House’s fundraising database, ensuring that donor records, gifts, communications, pledges, funding applications and stewardship activity are recorded accurately and consistently.
• Maintain and review the fundraising pipeline, income forecasts, donor portfolios and performance reports to support informed decision-making and strategic planning.
• Oversee donation administration, including acknowledgements, invoices, renewals, Gift Aid processes and other relevant financial and supporter records, working with the Finance Manager and colleagues as appropriate.
• Ensure that fundraising activity and donor information are managed in accordance with relevant legal, regulatory and data protection requirements.
• Coordinate fundraising budgets and expenditure, ensuring that activity is properly costed, monitored and aligned with agreed objectives.

Events and Cross-Organisational Collaboration

• Develop and deliver donor cultivation and stewardship events, both in person and online, in collaboration with the wider team.
• Oversee event planning and logistics, including guest lists, invitations, RSVPs, itineraries, catering, transport, hosting and follow-up communications.
• Contribute to the preparation of fundraising presentations, reports, budgets and other materials for senior leadership, trustees and external stakeholders.
• Undertake other duties appropriate to the role and necessary for the effective delivery of the Development team’s objectives.

Required Skills and Experience

Essential

• Experience in fundraising and development, with a demonstrable track record of securing income and delivering successful fundraising initiatives.
• Experience of implementing fundraising strategies across multiple income streams, ideally including trusts and foundations, major donors, individual giving, membership or Patrons programmes.
• Knowledge of the UK fundraising landscape, including trusts and foundations, individual philanthropy and relevant public funding opportunities.
• Experience of cultivating, soliciting and stewarding donors
• Experience of preparing persuasive funding applications, cases for support, budgets and reports.
• Excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build productive relationships with donors, funders, corporate partners and colleagues.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce clear, compelling proposals, reports and presentations for a range of audiences.
• Strong organisational and project management skills, with the ability to prioritise competing demands, manage multiple deadlines and deliver against agreed objectives.
• Experience of working with budgets, monitoring income and expenditure, and contributing to financial planning.
• Excellent IT and database management skills, with experience of maintaining accurate donor records and using a CRM system to manage relationships and fundraising activity.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a small team, demonstrating initiative, sound judgement and a practical, solutions-focused approach.
• A high level of discretion, tact and professionalism when handling confidential information and sensitive donor relationships.
• Experience of organising donor cultivation and stewardship events, both in person and online.
• An entrepreneurial and flexible approach, with a positive attitude to change and the ability to identify and develop new fundraising opportunities.
• A genuine interest in Pushkin House’s work, cultural programme and mission.

Desirable

• Experience of fundraising within an arts, heritage or cultural charity.
• Experience of managing or developing a Friends, Patrons, membership or regular giving programme.
• Experience of securing major gifts and developing bespoke proposals for significant philanthropic contributions.
• Experience of Beacon CRM or a similar fundraising database.

To apply for this position, please send a CV and covering letter of no more than two sides of A4 to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Development Manager.’

We want you to complete your application in a way that is comfortable for you. We will accept video and audio files that answer the person specification and role description. Please ensure your video or audio file is no longer than 5 minutes. You can send this to [email protected] by the closing date.