Director of Development

Director of Development

The Foundling Museum

London, UK

Competitive salary and benefits

With a 300-year story and mission to improve the lives of disadvantaged children through the arts, the Foundling Museum is a truly special place.

Through our unique collections, temporary exhibitions, artist commissions, and learning and engagement programmes, we work to transform the life chances of vulnerable and marginalised young people through the arts, and to inspire people to make the world a better place.  Our pioneering work in this field attracted the attention of HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, who became our Patron in early 2019. 

The Museum explores the history of the Foundling Hospital, the UK’s first children’s charity and first public art gallery. Our displays tell the story of the children who grew up at the Hospital from 1740s to 1950s and how, from the very beginning, the charity was supported by the leading artists of the day.  The collections span the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries and feature work by artists including William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough, George Frideric Handel, Charles Dickens, Jacqueline Wilson, Tracey Emin and Michael Craig-Martin, enabling visitors to make creative links between the past and the present.

We work with contemporary artists to affect lasting social change, and the mix of our research-led exhibitions that explore aspects of social and art history, as well as shows and commissions dealing with current social issues, help us to highlight and address the role that the arts can play in shaping society and the lives of young people.

We are developing ambitious plans to increase our local, national and international presence, role and impact, and are seeking a new Director of Development to help us realise these ambitions.  Working closely with the Director, Director of Finance, Trustees and colleagues across the Museum, the post holder will develop and deliver a robust fundraising strategy and programme that will grow with the Museum and help us increase our reach.

You will bring a demonstrable fundraising track record, ideally gained in the cultural sector, and have experience of working with senior volunteers to identify and develop philanthropic opportunities and relationships.  A sophisticated communicator and influencer, you will be self-motivated, resilient and creative, and bring a strategic approach to fundraising for the Museum.  Your track record and ability to operate at this senior level will help you to gain the trust of, and inspire, those around you.

To learn more about this exceptional opportunity to make a significant impact in one the UK’s best small museums that is making a big improvements in the lives of disadvantaged communities, please contact our recruitment partners at Richmond Associates.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS IS 10:00 ON MONDAY, 20 JANUARY 2020