Fundraising & Communications Director

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Saffron Hall is a ground-breaking model of world-class arts provision in a state school. A 740 seat highly flexible concert hall, boasting one of the finest acoustics in the country, it was the result of a 10 million pound gift, the largest ever to a state school. With education and community engagement at its heart, Saffron Hall attracts some of the finest classical musicians from around the world plus jazz, folk and world music performers and, more recently, national and international dance companies. We work closely with our Resident Orchestra Britten Sinfonia and present concerts and school and community work with artists such as Nicola Benedetti, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Maxim Vengerov, Sir András Schiff, Courtney Pine, Edward Gardner, The Sixteen and The English Concert. In addition to an extensive schools programme, Saffron Hall is proud to partner Anglia Ruskin University on ‘Together in Sound’, a music therapy project for people living with dementia and their carers. Over 30,000 tickets are sold each year generating a box office income of nearly half a million pounds and we have worked with over 24,000 young people.

The hall opened in 2013 and as Saffron Hall approaches its fifth birthday we seek to consolidate and build on the unprecedented success of this ambitious project and to capitalise on the rapid growth of events, school and community projects, audiences and supporter engagement.

In a short space of time Saffron Hall has made significant progress with its membership scheme, which was launched in November 2015 and already has 400 members. Currently mid-level gifts are raised from individuals and to a lesser extent Trust and Foundations, local authority and Arts Council funding. From a standing start, fundraising has nearly doubled year on year and after three years is over half a million pounds. Now Saffron Hall seeks to increase its income through major gifts from individuals, trusts and foundations as well as build a corporate funding stream. Saffron Hall has built a loyal audience with frequently sold out performances and a large number of frequent attenders. Saffron Hall seeks to further establish the brand and effectively communicate all areas of its work to the widest possible audience of stakeholders.

FUNDRAISING & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR 

Full-time, 35 hours per week
£48,000 – £55,000 per annum

THE ROLE

• Location: Saffron Walden, Essex
• Reports to: Chief Executive
• Direct Reports: Individual Giving Manager; Marketing Manager
• Purpose: The Fundraising and Communications Director is a member of the Senior Management Team, and is responsible for securing funds to support Saffron Hall’s activities across concerts, schools and community programmes and responsible for coherent communication strategies across both fundraising and marketing

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Collaborate with the CEO and the Board to agree on a new fundraising strategy to grow income across all income streams.
• Collaborate with the CEO and Board to agree  a communication and marketing  strategy that strengthens and communicates the Saffron Hall brand
• Support the CEO’s cultivation and solicitation of major donors
• Develop own portfolio of new and existing potential donors from who you will cultivate and solicit gifts.
• Guide and support the fundraising team to increase income and engagement with Saffron Hall.
• Work with the marketing  manager to ensure cohesive communication across all saffron hall print and output.
• Work with Finance Director and CEO to set budgets across development and marketing.
• Produce appropriate reports for the Board to demonstrate progress.
• Develop a pipeline of Trust and Foundation bids ensuring monitoring reports and grant payment conditions are met and delivered on time. 
• Work with the CEO to develop Saffron Halls relationship with the Arts Council and make appropriate and timely grant applications.
• Work with Saffron Hall team members as appropriate to develop relationships with local authorities and make funding bids as appropriate.
• Ensure excellent event management, and deliver first rate donor stewardship, ensuring excellent relations with donors are maintained at all times
• Be proactive in developing new fundraising income streams, working with colleagues to advance initiatives and pilot new schemes that may attract new sources of funding
• Manage the development team, ensuring every team member is contributing effectively to the organisation and to departmental objectives
• Create and manage departmental income and expenditure budgets, providing timely reports to the Finance Director and Chief Executive, and preparing quarterly Board reports
• Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of best fundraising practice, ensuring all fundraising activity complies with the Institute of Fundraising Code of Conduct, and provide leadership in terms of maximising gift aid claims, tax-efficient giving, and VAT
• Attending concerts and events in support of Saffron Hall and its fundraising objectives, which usually take place outside of normal working hours
• Contribute to organisational and fundraising effectiveness through positive and proactive team-working
• Have a flexible approach to working hours, in line with organisation policies and ‘Time Off In Lieu’ policies
• Undertake any other duties that may reasonably be requested by the Chief Executive

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualifications and Education Requirements

• Candidates should be educated to Degree Level
• Institute of Fundraising’s Certificate in Fundraising (Desirable)

Relevant Experience

• Significant experience of successful fundraising and income generation
• A proven ability and track record of securing gifts of five figures and more from individuals
• Experience of writing major funding bids from both trust/foundation and public funding sources
• People-management and donor-management experience
• Some marketing and communication experience

Personal Skill Level

• Financial literacy: the ability to write clear financial reports and income forecasts, and to contribute to excellent financial planning through setting, in consultation with colleagues, achievable and robust income targets
• The ability to write a target-driven strategic fundraising plan
• Competence in fundraising software (Saffron Hall uses Spektrix)
• Competence in Microsoft Office, especially Word, Outlook and Excel
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to build and sustain excellent and positive relationships with a wide-range of organisational stakeholders, including donors at all levels
• Exceptional attention to detail, combined with first-class organisation and time management skills

Disposition

• Work positively and proactively within a small, busy and successful team
• Be a natural leader, with a strategic mindset and a flair for innovation, whilst also committed to being a team player
• Active and passionate interest in the arts (a strong interest in music would be an advantage, but of central importance is that the post holder is an enthusiast and advocate for culture of all types)
• Demonstrate the drive and determination to succeed, allied with creative and strategic thinking about how to engage with and attract new donors
• Demonstrate a high level of personal initiative and self-motivation, inspiring colleagues, Trustees, and donors through excellent leadership and people-skills
• Willingness to be a key member of the organisation – hands-on, determined to achieve the best, as well as providing excellent (fundraising) leadership
• Sense of humour, persistence, reliability and resilience