Head of Philanthropy
10 days ago
London
Chisenhale Gallery is seeking a Head of Philanthropy to join our team at a moment of real change and ambition. Since the appointment of our new Director in 2025, we have been evolving at pace: audiences have grown by 35%, individual giving has risen by 64%, and trust and foundation income has increased by 78%, reflecting a new strategy and a programme that is bold, innovative, and delivering real impact. This is a new post, created to drive forward a renewed approach to philanthropy that is underpinning this strategy. In this senior leadership role, you will work closely with the Director to build, expand, and embed a growing culture of philanthropy. You will oversee all areas of fundraising, co-designing and delivering the corporate and individual giving strategy, with responsibility for securing donors and nurturing existing supporters, embedding meaningful engagement across the gallery’s programmes and initiatives. With only 15% of income coming from statutory funders, you will play a critical role in enabling the gallery to commission and present work by influential young voices shaping new discourse in contemporary art. As head of the development department, you will provide exceptional strategic and operational leadership, managing the fundraising team, including line management of staff and contracting specialist freelancers as required. You will ensure effective delivery across all fundraising areas, with robust systems, processes, and reporting in place to support both day-to-day operations and long-term strategic goals. We are looking for an ambitious and strategic fundraiser with a proven track record of securing donations, outstanding relationship-building skills, demonstrable management experience, and a passion for contemporary art. You will join a key institution at a transformative moment, and shape a high-performing philanthropic programme while contributing meaningfully to a gallery that has long been authoritative, influential, and at the forefront of UK and international contemporary art. Overview The Head of Philanthropy is a senior leadership role and head of department, acting as a key partner to the Director in devising and delivering Chisenhale’s fundraising strategy. The role provides leadership of the development team and oversight of all fundraising activity, while maintaining a central focus securing income through individual and corporate philanthropy. In close partnership with the Director, the Head of Philanthropy oversees all fundraising activity, co-developing and delivering the individual giving and corporate income strategy. The post-holder will apply strategic, entrepreneurial thinking to grow income, broaden the supporter base, and strengthen the organisation’s philanthropic culture. They are directly responsible for identifying, cultivating, and securing donations, while nurturing relationships with existing supporters to ensure a thriving philanthropic programme. This includes fostering engagement and a strong sense of community among supporters through a heavily event-led programme that brings donors together and reinforces their connection to the organisation. In leading the development department, the Head of Philanthropy holds line management responsibility for development staff and identifies and contracts specialist freelancers as required, ensuring effective delivery across all fundraising areas. They maintain full oversight of fundraising operations, implementing robust systems, processes, and reporting, and managing the Development Coordinator to delegate administrative, database, and financial tracking responsibilities while ensuring accuracy and accountability. They also ensure that all fundraising activity aligns with organisational priorities, monitors performance and impact, and drives innovation and continuous improvement within the team. The Head of Philanthropy works closely with the Director to support and maximise the impact of fundraising committees, including the Chisenhale Council and other donor networks. The post-holder fosters a collaborative and engaged culture, ensuring these groups are effectively managed and contribute meaningfully to fundraising outcomes. This is a senior role suited to an ambitious, strategic fundraiser with deep roots in the UK contemporary art world, proven experience securing donations, a strong, established network of individual supporters, and outstanding relationship-building skills, committed to fostering a culture of individual philanthropy that sustains innovative artistic practice. Key tasks and responsibilities Individual giving • Responsible for designing and implementing a high achieving individual giving strategy in close collaboration with the Director, contributing creative and strategic ideas that will grow support across all tiers, as well as through one-off and major gifts., • Responsible for bringing creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial ideas to shape an event-based donor engagement strategy, supporting the Director in developing and expanding donor activities that are meaningful, artist-centred, and memorable., • Responsible for identifying, cultivating, and securing donations from new individuals, taking a proactive approach to engaging prospective supporters through meetings, attending events, and drafting tailored communications to secure private support., • Responsible for bringing an established personal network within the UK and international contemporary art world and philanthropic community, proactively leveraging meaningful relationships to identify, cultivate, and secure significant new sources of private support., • Supports the Director in maintaining and further deepening relationships with existing donors, bringing outstanding relationship-building skills to steward support and ensuring an engaging, dynamic, and inclusive donor culture within the organisation., • Responsible for developing and delivering a communications strategy, creating meaningful and engaging content that aligns with the organisation’s brand and strengthens relationships with donors, under the supervision of the Director., • Responsible for the execution of the annual donor events calendar, ensuring optimal timing of engagement opportunities are aligned with key artworld events, consistently delivering high-quality events that strengthen donor support., • Responsible for ensuring that marketing and communications materials produced by the Development Coordinator reflect and advance the communications strategy, shaping and reviewing all materials prior to presentation to the Director., • Acts as an ambassador for Chisenhale Gallery, amplifying our artists’ ideas and the organisation’s strategic vision through meaningful interactions with donors and sector stakeholders, building relationships that secure support and long-term engagement., • Responsible for identifying, cultivating and securing in-kind sponsorship from brands and partners to support a varied, engaging annual programme of donor events, ensuring contributions enhance the quality and overall impact of engagement activities., • Manages the Development Coordinator in the operational delivery of supporters’ events, ensuring targets are met and that all events provide high quality artist-centred experiences that strengthen donor relationships and engagement., • Responsible for developing a corporate philanthropy strategy in close collaboration with the Director, identifying and pursuing opportunities with brands whose values, ethics and positioning are aligned with Chisenhale Gallery's artistic policy and strategy., • Responsible for proactively cultivating and securing new corporate partners, ensuring relationships are meaningful and that partnerships support strategic fundraising objectives., • Responsible for identifying and securing significant in-kind donations from corporate partners, including hospitality, production services, materials, print, and other contributions that directly reduce operational costs and enhance the quality of exhibitions and events., • Develops compelling, tailored partnership proposals that articulate Chisenhale's cultural authority and audience reach, communicating the value of association with an institution at the forefront of international contemporary art to prospective corporate supporters., • Responsible for cultivating and stewarding relationships with corporate partners across the duration of agreements, ensuring that sponsors receive meaningful engagement with the gallery's programme and artists, and that partnerships are renewed and deepened over time., • Oversees the Development Coordinator performing due diligence checks, assessing reputational risk and alignment with the gallery's values and Ethical Fundraising Policy, and presenting recommendations to the Director for approval prior to formal agreements., • Responsible for the day-to-day management of the fundraising department, leading the delivery of the organisation’s fundraising strategy in close dialogue with the Director, ensuring alignment with wider organisational priorities and long-term sustainability., • Accountable for the performance of all fundraising channels, setting direction across income streams and delivering against targets agreed with the Director., • Contributes to strategic business planning by providing fundraising insight and data-led analysis to support institutional decision-making, in close dialogue with the Director., • Leads cross-departmental meetings with Curatorial, Leadership, and Operations teams to embed a culture of fundraising across the organisation, strengthening collaboration, shared ownership, and strategic integration of fundraising in programme development., • Takes a proactive, cross-departmental approach working with Curatorial and Leadership to amplify artists’ ideas, ensuring donor activities are accurate and up to date with plans., • Leads development meetings, creating clear internal progress reports against targets, fostering an effective data-driven culture through consistent monitoring and reporting., • Oversees the schedule and progress of all applications and partnership conversations, coordinating contributions from internal teams and specialist freelancers, ensuring deadlines are tracked and activities logged in fundraising systems., • Provides oversight and input on grant application content, supporting the development of high-quality submissions and contributing to copywriting as needed, ensuring applications meet organisational standards and maximise funding potential., • Manages fundraising budgets, ensuring accurate forecasting, strategic planning, and responsible allocation and monitoring of resources, under the supervision of the Director., • Supports the Director in the day-to-day management of fundraising committee groups, including Chisenhale Council, and other advisory or donor networks, by convening regular meetings, and fostering active participation to advance philanthropic goals., • Responsible for line-managing the Development Coordinator, delegating day-to-day administration, database management and reporting, and supporting the effective delivery and continuous improvement of departmental systems and processes., • Responsible for the recruitment, management, and assessment of freelancers onboarded to support with specialist project-by-project grant writing and fundraising activities., • Responsible for overseeing the Development Coordinator’s management of quantitative and qualitative data, ensuring that information is accurately captured, maintained, and logged in fundraising systems to support reporting and strategic decision-making., • Responsible for reviewing and ensuring that all reports produced by the Development Coordinator are accurate, fully recorded in systems, and provide clear evaluation, supporting positive long-term relationships with the organisation’s financial stakeholders., • Responsible for managing Chisenhale Editions, developing ideas for new donated works, building and maintaining relationships with artists to secure donations, and overseeing the production and promotion of editions in line with artistic and fundraising priorities., • Responsible for leading the marketing, promotion, and sales strategies for Chisenhale Editions, ensuring alignment with sales targets and the broader fundraising strategy set by the Director, and monitoring performance to optimise outcomes., • Oversees the Development Coordinator’s day-to-day management of Chisenhale Editions, ensuring best practice across artist liaison, artwork production, database management, and the storage and shipment of works., • Regularly deputises for the Director at key donor events, gallery openings, and sector gatherings, representing Chisenhale as a senior ambassador and actively strengthening donor and wider sector relationships across the wider art world., • Maintains a strong understanding of current trends, priorities, and funding landscapes in arts philanthropy and the wider Community and Voluntary Sector., • Actively participates in staff team activities, cross-departmental meetings, professional development and training sessions, contributing to a collaborative, well-informed, and supportive working environment that encourages knowledge-sharing and shared goals., • Demonstrates a commitment to Chisenhale Gallery's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy, and takes a proactive approach towards participating in activities designed to eliminate structural bias within the organisation’s work., • Adheres to Chisenhale Gallery's codes of conduct and consistently follows all policies and procedures to support a professional and inclusive environment., • Regular evening and occasional weekend work will be required as part of the Head of Philanthropy role, with Time Off in Lieu agreed in consultation with the Director., • Undertakes other duties as reasonably required and deemed appropriate by the Director to support the strategic objectives of the organisation. Person specification Essential • A proven senior fundraiser with a strong track record of securing gifts from individual donors, including at major gift level, within the contemporary art world., • An established and active personal network within the UK art world and philanthropic community, with the seniority and confidence to operate at the highest levels., • Extensive knowledge of the UK contemporary art sector, encompassing collectors, patrons, galleries, institutions, and the wider cultural and market ecosystem., • Highly confident, personable, and persuasive, with exceptional interpersonal skills and a natural talent for building trust, fostering lasting relationships, and inspiring support., • A strategic, entrepreneurial, and proactive approach to individual giving, with a proven track record of cultivating and growing income from private donors and supporters., • Excellent written and verbal English communication skills, with the ability to represent Chisenhale Gallery's mission and history persuasively to a wide range of stakeholders., • Proven experience in managing, mentoring, and developing junior staff, fostering their professional growth, confidence, and effectiveness within a team., • Strong financial literacy with demonstrable experience in accurately managing, monitoring, and reporting on fundraising budgets and forecasts., • Experience in a head of department or senior leadership role within a cultural institution., • Familiarity with CRM databases and data-driven fundraising approaches., • Experience of working with or presenting to Boards or senior advisory groups., • Experience of trusts and foundations fundraising and public sector grant applications.
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