Business Development and Fundraising Officer

Business Development and Fundraising Officer

Job Description

Venture Arts is a visual arts organisation that develops the creative talents and career opportunities of learning disabled people.

Based in Manchester, the organisation has been in existence for over twenty years. We work alongside over 100 learning disabled people per year offering a range of visual arts projects and cultural work initiatives for people of all ages. Our vision is for learning disabled people to be fully valued and recognised as important contributors to our visual culture.

This is an exciting time in our development and, as a result, we are seeking an experienced Business Development and Fundraising Officer to enable the organisation to consolidate and expand its work through a more diversified funding portfolio. Reporting to the Manager and board, you will take responsibility for raising funds from trusts, grants, institutional funders and private donors. Consequently, we need a person with a proven track record in researching, collating, preparing and submitting multiple grant/funding application forms along with strong monitoring and evaluation skills. You must possess a high level of written English with well-developed communication skills. You will be prospecting, building and maintaining relationships with funders and funding bodies.

Reporting to Venture Arts Manager and Board of Trustees

Key Responsibilities

· Identify and research new trusts, foundations and institutional funding opportunities

· Develop compelling cases for support, writing tailored applications for submission to trusts and other funding bodies.

· Submit timely reports to trusts and other donors to meet their monitoring and evaluation requirements.

· Build and maintain long-term relationships with new and existing funding/grant making organisations.

· Work closely with the Venture Arts team and board to help develop and implement the fundraising strategy.

· Maintain an up to date knowledge of the funding climate and sources of available funding.

· To network and meet with partners, funders and organisations to ensure Venture Arts is well connected in funding circles.

· Attend and organise relevant meetings, conferences and events as required

· To maintain regular communication with funders to facilitate the development of long-term relationships.

· To attend appropriate conferences, workshops and other events beneficial to generating funding through trusts, foundations and institutions.

· Ensure that all partnerships with trusts and statutory funders reach their maximum potential and the charity delivers on all of its commitments to the funders.

Fundraising & Monitoring

· To develop and expand our existing database of donors, trusts, foundations, institutional funders and other funding bodies.

· To develop a deep understanding of Venture Art’s work and work closely with Manager, Finance and Studio manager to identify areas where funding is required.

· To develop a rolling work stream of funding opportunities to target.

· To write bespoke applications to meet the funding needs of Venture Arts

· To work closely internally and with partners to ensure that projects deliver the outcomes and outputs for which funding was granted.

· Monitor and track income against targets for trust and statutory income, including forecasting and analysis, and produce regular progress reports for the Senior Management Team and Trustees

· To work closely with the Venture Arts Team to submit regular and accurate monitoring and evaluation reports to funders as per their requirements.

· To develop excellent relationships with existing and new funders.

· To maintain accurate records and update the donor database (Donor Strategy) accordingly.

· To actively participate in the development and implementation of the organisation’s fundraising strategy.

Person Specification – Essential Criteria

· Proven experience and a recent track record of success in raising fundsfrom trusts, foundations and institutions for at least 3 years.

· To have proven success in applying for funding to a range of organisationsincluding large institutional funders such as Arts Council England, Comic Relief, Big Lottery, Children in Need etc,

· A good knowledge and understanding of the voluntary sector funding environment and available income streams.

· Ability to build effective relationships, engage with and influence a wide range of people internally and externally.

· Ability to use social media to raise awareness of Venture Arts’ case for support and develop a private giving scheme thereon.

· Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to clearly convey concepts and inspire others to contribute.

· Excellent writing and proof reading skills.

· Financially literate with the ability to produce and understand budgets.

· Well organised with a high level of attention to detail with excellent project management skills

· Excellent time management skills with the ability to prioritise own workload, deal with conflicting demands and work under pressure to meet tight deadlines.

· Strong analytical, problem solving skills and methodical research skills with the ability to think creatively and strategically.

· A high standard of general education.

· Excellent IT skills including MS Word, Excel, Outlook and Powerpoint.

· A willingness to work flexibly and proactively and respond to the emerging needs of the charity and our supporters.

· The ability to work effectively as part of a team.

· A creative, enthusiastic and motivated ‘can-do’ approach.

· Sustain good working relationships at a distance as well as in person.

· An empathy with the aims, objectives and activities of Venture Arts

· Commitment to Equal Opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice.

Remuneration Package:

Fixed term one year contract with possible extension beyond this subject to funding.

Salary £27,000 per annum (pro rata).

Hours: 30 hours per week based in Manchester.

Remote working will also be considered for experienced candidates.

Holidays: 4.2 weeks per year plus two weeks over the winter break.

How to apply

Via email: or you can call us on: 0161 232 1223

We will not accept CV’s; all applications must be made through our application form.

Closing date for applications Thursday 2nd June at 5.00pm

Interviews to be held in the week beginning 6th June

Venture Arts is committed to Equal Opportunities and positively welcomes applications from all sectors of the community.

Funded by Cabinet Office’s Local Sustainability Fund and delivered by Big Lottery Fund

Job description and Person Spec Business Development Officer April 2016