Development Manager

Start Date: 1st May 2019 or as early as possible

Location: London (Angel/Old Street)

Role type: Part-time (3 days per week) fixed-term for 12 months

Salary: £30,000-33,000 per annum (pro-rata; based on experience)

Additional benefits: Salary increase if the contract is renewed after 12 months

Flexible working arrangements can be agreed, inc. working from home on agreed days

Pop Up is a non-profit social enterprise. We deliver imaginative, immersive and participatory children’s literature programmes which enable children, empower teachers and engage families to read more widely, write and teach more creatively, and develop visual storytelling skills, mostly in deprived schools and communities, and in diverse educational contexts at all levels from nursery to undergraduate. Diversity is at the heart of our work; we value and champion cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity in literature because all young readers deserve to see their identities and communities reflected in the books they read.

OUR WORK

We deliver our work through two strands: Pop Up Festival, our national schools literature programme for primary, secondary and SEN schools; and talent development projects focused primarily on supporting aspiring and emerging writers and illustrators from under-represented groups to create literature, develop audiences and access publishing industry opportunities. Our work in schools is currently upscaling into new regions nationally; we are expanding our talent development activities into more colleges and universities; and we are developing strong international collaborations to connect young people across Europe and beyond. We are a team of four full-time and two part-time staff and have ACE National Portfolio Organisation status (2015-2022). Find out more about our work on our website.

We have an impressive track record of securing a total of £2,400,000 in grant funding since 2011, including from ACE, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Rothschild Foundation, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Calouste Gulbenkian, Heritage Lottery Fund; decisions regarding a further £370,000 are expected within the next two months. Our grant bid success rate over the last three years was 85%. Other funding sources include sponsorship (including from Linklaters global law firm, Bloomberg, The Guardian), and earned income especially from schools (ca. 30% of our annual turnover). We have a wonderful story to tell funders, partners and educators, which we have developed and honed over the past eight years. We also have a growing body of data (both qualitative and quantitative) to show the impact that our work has around the UK and beyond.

THE ROLE

We are seeking an experienced and entrepreneurial Development Manager with exceptional grant writing skills to continue our fundraising success. You would be joining Pop Up at a hugely exciting time and would play a leading role in organisational growth as part of an organisation-wide fundraising strategy.

The Development Manager - working as part of an energetic, ambitious team - is responsible for:

• Independently writing small grant applications (£5,000-£50,000) and providing content for larger grant applications were necessary; as well as implementing a small sponsorship scheme (£500-£5,000); all to support schools in challenged communities across the UK take part in Pop Up Festival, and working to targets to be established once in post;

• Leading grant and sponsor relationships, including monitoring delivery against agreed targets and outcomes;

• Researching new opportunities to unlock funders Pop Up have not previously accessed.

• During the term of this contract we will also deliver one or more fundraising events to kick-start a philanthropic individual giving campaign; while you won’t be responsible to produce this, you might be requested to support the strategy as necessary.

In the longer term, we envisage renewing the contract (based on performance and related targets, with the potential to increase work days up to full-time), which will lead to an increase in your responsibilities and independence, offering genuine scope for growth and progression.

SUPPORT & MANAGEMENT

The Executive Director, Company Manager, and Development Manager will form a ‘Development team’ within the organisation to implement and monitor our wider business development strategy; the ED and CM will, therefore, be actively involved in and supportive of the development of grant application content and of relationships with small sponsors. The Director will take a particular interest in the development of grant application content. Support will also be available from Pop Up’s Board (specifically members with ‘development’ and ‘fundraising’ steers).

We will jointly map out concrete, realistic targets for grant fundraising and small sponsorships that are achievable within a 3-day week as soon as the Development Manager starts in their new role.

You will be line-managed by the Company Manager, who is also responsible for organisation-wide HR and will be your point of contact for all general HR, company and financial matters including projections and cash flows, as well as opportunities for progression.

Regular meetings will include:

• Fortnightly one-to-ones with the Company Manager to review progress

• Fortnightly meetings of the Development team to plan and monitor targets and milestones

• Regular meetings with the Festival team to harmonise development of new schools’ partnerships and associated funding approaches

• Regular Pop Up team meetings where colleagues share activities, progress, and challenges

ABOUT YOU

You will be experienced in working in a development/fundraising role - in the arts or charitable sector -, with a proven track record of independently writing smaller and contributing to larger successful grant applications. You will also be highly organised and resilient, able to juggle multiple priorities when necessary and handle occasional setbacks. The role requires you to be an excellent communicator, presenter, and team worker, equally capable of working independently with a high level of self-motivation and drive.

You must have enthusiasm for Pop Up’s mission as well as for creative and social innovation, and the ambition to actively increase organisational sustainability so that we can continue to achieve the highest possible quality experiences for our beneficiaries, funders, and partners. This role has genuine scope for initiative and vision as it is our goal to sustain it beyond the end of this fixed-term contract based on the new income the Development Manager is raising.

We are looking for candidates with the following essential skills/experience;

1. Excellent, formal and expressive writing standards with the utmost attention to detail

2. Experience of independent grant application writing (up to £50,000), inc. soliciting, coordinating, quality assuring content provided by others (internally and externally)

3. Strong research skills and an ability to digest complex information for others, inc. into simple briefs, instructions, and schedules

4. Confident management of multiple and diverse stakeholders relationships, inc. with funders and/or sponsors

5. Experience administering or managing a fundraising or membership scheme/campaign

6. Knowledge of and passion for the education and/or arts sectors

And with a minimum of two of the following desirable skills:

1. Business and financial planning

2. Experience of writing stakeholder reports

3. Some understanding of corporate social responsibility agendas and initiatives

4. Events organisation for fundraising, promotional and/or hospitality purposes

 

APPLICATION PROCESS

Deadline: Monday 1st April

Please ensure to read the full job description attached with his listing.

To apply please email Company Manager Franziska Liebig the following documents in PDF format, clearly labeled with your full name:

• a CV - no more than three A4 pages and including only relevant experience

• a cover letter of one A4 page introducing yourself and relevant skills and expertise, highlighting your fundraising record. Feel free to speak to the ambitious opportunities available through this role, and why you believe you are the person to seize them.

Interviews: We will hold interviews on Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th April in London and will be in touch with shortlisted candidates by Thursday 4th April.

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY STATEMENT

Diversity is at the heart of our model in terms of the places we choose, the artists with whom we work, the audiences we strive to reach, and our organisational culture. We value cultural and linguistic diversity because it enhances the richness and variety of our artistic output and enables us to connect with multicultural audiences. At the same level of aptitude and suitability for an open position, candidates with a BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) background or who are disabled will be preferred.