Development Manager: Research & Operations

Development Manager: Research & Operations

Role Summary

The Development Department is responsible for generating over a third of the Wallace Collection's annual income through a variety of income streams including individual donors, trusts and foundations and corporate partners. This income enables the Collection to achieve its principal aims outlined in the Museum's strategy for : Making Culture Matter. The recently announced transformational masterplan will be a major focus for the Development Department in the years ahead and an opportunity to make a step-change in fundraising at the Wallace Collection.

The Development Manager: Research and Operations is a new role that has been made possible thanks to a generous gift from the Kate and Marcus Agius Charitable Foundation. This position will play a critical role in delivering a step-change in fundraising at the Wallace Collection to support the ambitious plans. The successful candidate will ensure that robust fundraising and financial processes are in place across the Development team and partner with each income stream to support income growth. This will enable maximised focus on frontline fundraising across the team.

The post holder will play a vital role in supporting the fundraising efforts of the Collection by delivering high-quality philanthropic research, including donor profiles and briefing documents. They will be instrumental in identifying, qualifying, and researching prospective donors to build a robust and strategic pipeline of support, with a particular emphasis on securing funding for the masterplan capital works.

This role reports to the Head of Development and line manages the Development Assistant.

Role Description

Research and Pipeline Development

• Identify, qualify and research new prospective major donors, including current Benefactors, funders and corporate partners.
• Prepare tailored profiles and briefings for colleagues and stakeholders for meetings/visits assigned donors and prospects.
• Develop and implement improvements to the prospect logging and tracking system through the Dynamics CRM to support effective cultivation of prospects.
• Work with the Director of Development to develop and implement a refreshed due diligence process and undertake research as required for donor engagement reviews.

CRM, Data and Insights

• Champion the use of Microsoft Dynamics across the Development team and lead on updates to the system, workflow and processes to support an insight-led approach to fundraising.
• Partner with each income stream to analyse the team's financials and metrics (e.g. website, campaign statistics), set and track KPI's and make recommendations for improvements to support further income growth.
• Regularly review cross-team processes and make recommendations that can maximise efficiency and ultimately deliver increased income.
• Support the relevant team members including the Development Assistant in creating and managing concise and accurate guest lists and profiles for Development events.
• Keep abreast of industry sector trends and benchmarking to support strategy development.

Comprehensive Fundraising Campaign

• Support the Director of Development and Head of Development with the planning and implementation of the strategy and timeline for the comprehensive fundraising campaign.
• Develop a high value pipeline for individuals and trusts and foundations to support the Masterplan especially the capital works programme.

Finance and Administration

• Support the Director of Development and Head of Development with annual budgeting and tracking of progress through the year; lead on monthly monitoring and reporting on monthly results.
• Oversee and support as needed the Development Assistant in their collecting and processing of department invoices and expenses, and monthly reconciliation financial processes.
• Ensure the highest standards of data capture in financial processes and record- keeping for major donors, benefactor and members in a way that is consistent with GDPR and other relevant legislation and best practice.
• Ensure donor's accreditation requirements are consistently recorded and fulfilled including supporting the Development Assistant in the annual updates to the donor boards.

Line Management

• Lead, motivate and develop the Development Assistant, including: agreeing objectives, learning and development and performance appraisals.

Other

• To support the work of the other members of the team, and to participate in any way that the Director of Development or Head of Development requires to fulfil the key responsibilities for the department.
• To communicate clearly and effectively internally, and to foster transparent and excellent relationships with other departments at the Collection.
• To assist in out-of-office or after-hours activities and events as required.

Person Specification

Essential

• An understanding of the different fundraising income streams.
• Experience of and/or interest in data analytics.
• Experience of and/or interest in philanthropic prospect research.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Excellent attention to detail and strong organisational skills.
• Working knowledge of CRM databases (Microsoft Dynamics is an advantage).
• Ability to manage and prioritise a busy workload and to think proactively.
• Comfortable working with, interpreting and reporting on financial information.
• Demonstrable computer skills (familiarity with MS packages).
• Knowledge of fundraising compliance and best practice including GDPR, Fundraising standards, HMRC guidelines and Gift Aid.
• Friendly, flexible and sensitive attitude; enjoys working as part of a team.
• An understanding and appreciation for the arts.

Desirable

• Experience of working in a similar role, preferably in the arts and heritage sector.
• Experience of working at an organisation undertaking a major fundraising campaign.
• Understanding of laws and regulations related to e-communications (PECR).
• Line management experience.

How to Apply

Please complete the Application Form, and the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form, following the links provided on our website. Please note the equal opportunities form is used for monitoring purposes only and does not form part of the selection process. Both forms should be emailed to by midnight 20/07/2025. Please note late applications or applications via a CV will not be considered.

Interviews for the role will take place on, 29/07/2025. Candidates who have been shortlisted for interview will be contacted after the closing date. Due to the large number of applications we receive, it will not be possible to contact or give feedback to candidates who have not been shortlisted for interview.

Start date: As soon as possible

Appointment to the role is subject to a satisfactory Basic Disclosure check. The Wallace Collection is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.