VACANCY INFORMATION PACK
PATRONS MANAGER
Closing Date:
11pm on Wednesday 27 th May
Provisional Interview Date (First Stage)
Friday 5 th June 2026
Contents:
About the role
What you bring
How to apply
Support we offer
OUR MISSION AND VALUES:
At the Science Museum Group, we make it our mission to Inspire Futures. Our talented and dedicated colleagues are guided by five values that encapsulate simply what we’re all about:
– we think big , pushing the limits of what’s possible;
– we challenge ourselves to reveal wonder ;
– we use our passion, expertise and creativity to share authentic stories;
– we aim to ignite curiosity in our audiences and our colleagues; and
– we take pride in being open for all
PATRONS MANAGER
| Location: Science Museum, London | Contract Type: Permanent |
| Salary: £40,000 | Department: Fundraising and Partnerships |
| Hours: 35 | Reports to: Senior Patrons Manager |
| Hybrid working: Available | Date: May 2026 |
ABOUT THE ROLE:
At the Science Museum Group (SMG), the Fundraising and Partnerships team works across six sites, fundraising for an array of exciting projects and activities at our museums.
Committed to supporting our mission, the Fundraising and Partnerships team plays a key role in delivering the Group's ambitions. From a range of professional backgrounds, the department prides itself on its culture of collaboration and success in research, planning, and building relationships with museum supporters and funders. We work with supporters who are just as passionate about inspiring the next generation of scientists and innovators as we are. With so many ambitious plans coming up to fundraise for , it is an exciting time to be part of the Science Museum Group.
We have made huge progress growing our community of passionate Science Museum Patrons. Their support is an important source of unrestricted income for the museum, generating around £300,000 annually, contributing to everything from our galleries and exhibi tions to our outreach and education programmes.
In this role, you will lead on the strategic development, planning, and delivery of the Patrons Programme and champion the interests of our Patrons. You will be responsible for ensuring the best possible experience for our committed Patrons through the dev elopment of an annual programme of exciting special events, and engaging communications that help bring these important supporters closer to our museum, our people, and our work. In addition, you will work with the Senior Patrons Manager on the strategic planning for and delivery of the acquisition of new Patrons to ensure the continued growth and future success of the Patrons Programme.
WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING:
Patrons Programme
• Lead the development, planning, and delivery of all aspects of the Patrons Programme.
• Raise unrestricted funds from individuals with a gift capacity of £1,000+ to £10,000+ through the Patrons Programme.
• Deliver on agreed individual and team performance targets, to ensure annual income targets are met.
• Steward the existing community of Patrons, to ensure the best possible experience and retention.
• Identify and make approaches to recruit new Patrons, working with the Senior Patrons Manager to plan and implement an agreed Patrons recruitment activity plan.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the Fundraising and Partnerships Team to share prospects and support departmental income targets.
• Lead the development, planning, and delivery of an engaging events programme for Patrons, in collaboration with the Fundraising and Partnerships Operations Events team.
• Manage relationships with your own portfolio of Patrons, stewarding them for patronage uplift and engaging them in legacy conversations where possible.
• Lead delivery of high quality communications for Patrons, including newsletters and event invitations.
• Liaise with Fundraising Operations and Finance on processing donations, including Gift Aid and HMRC queries.
• Maintain the CRM database (Tessitura), ensuring correspondence and documentation are accurately recorded.
Strategic Planning & Direction
• Contribute to Philanthropy team planning, budgeting, and performance measurement.
• Work with the Senior Patrons Manager to plan and implement ongoing fundraising strategy, with a focus on Science Museum Patrons.
• Identify Patrons with potential to increase giving and develop cultivation plans.
• Work with supporters, Trustees , and senior stakeholders to access new networks.
• Develop and update individual stewardship and cultivation plans.
• Represent the Philanthropy Team and Science Museum Group internally and externally at senior level.
• Continuously demonstrate inclusive behaviours, valuing everyone’s contribution, and promoting a culture of openness
• As a colleague at SMG, you will learn about our Health and Safety Policies , procedures and risk assessments , allowing you to take care of your own personal safety and that of others.
You may be required to participate in SMG’s incident response and business continuity arrangements, helping us ensure the organisation’s preparedness and resilience.
Other
• Champion the interests and needs of Patrons within the organisation.
• Undertake other tasks required to fulfil the duties of the role.
• Demonstrate inclusive behaviours and promote a culture of openness.
WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TEAM:
You will have:
• A values -driven approach and passion for contributing to an open and inclusive organisation.
• Experience supporting or engaging with a patron, donor or membership programme(s)
• The ability to advocate for and positively represent programmes to a wide range of audiences
• Strong relationship -building and account management skills
• Excellent interpersonal and communication abilities, both written and verbal
• Experience managing donor, client or stakeholder information using database or CRM systems
• Confidence working towards ambitious goals and delivering high -quality outcomes.
• Customer and people - focussed approach with strong organisational and prioritisation skills.
• Ability to build effective working relationships with colleagues, senior stakeholders and external partners.
• Proficient IT skills, including Microsoft Office, with the ability to work independently, collaboratively and handle confidential information with sensitivity.
Helpful but not essential:
• Knowledge of or exposure to fundraising or individual donors.
• Interest in the Science Museum Group’s mission and ethos.
• A passion for arts and cultur e organisations and education initiatives .
SOME THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW :
Science Museum Group is legally required to ensure that all prospective employees have the right to work in the UK before their employment starts. If you do not have this but believe you are eligible for sponsorship or able to work with us through any other route, please contact us to check before starting an application.
• SMG will request either a basic or enhanced criminal record check for the successful candidate, depending on the requirements of the role. W e will consider every applicant on a case -by-case basis.
SMG recognises the social model of disability which states that people are disabled by barriers in society, not their impairment or difference. We want you to have the best possible chance at interview, please let us know if there's anything we can do to m ake things more accessible for you.
• SMG will support any eligible applications to ‘Access to Work’, a government scheme which helps disabled employees meet additional access related costs at work.
Hybrid working is available in this role in line with the current hybrid working policy at SMG. You will be required to work a minimum of 40% of your working hours on - site, with the specific working arrangement to be agreed with the line manager of this ro le.
Include information about shift patterns etc here.
HOW TO APPLY!
Interested? We welcome your application. You can apply for this position via our Careers site. Please upload an up -to-date version of your anonymised CV** and answer the following question in the Supporting Statement section of the application form.
YOUR SUPPORTING STATEMENT
- Please describe a professional relationship (e.g. with a colleague, stakeholder or donor) which you are particularly proud of. Please outline the steps you took, the outcome and how you would look to grow this relationship further.
**A CV ( curriculum vitae ; otherwise known as Resume) will be required. If you need further guidance about creating and a CV, please visit: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/careers - advice/cv - sections
HOW WE CAN SUPPORT YOU:
• We’d love to hear from you. If you have any questions about the role specifically , please contact the Talent Acquisition team at recruitment@sciencemuseum.ac.uk
If you need assistance to complete your application or attend an interview, for example due to a disability, or would like to talk to us about what we can do to support you through this process, please contact us by email or by calling 01904 685 750 (Monday -Friday, 9 -5) .
• Find out more about what it’s like to work at Science Museum Group, answers to frequently asked questions and how to find our offices (including when attending interviews) here .
We are working hard to understand our organisation better and to foster a culture that recognises and values different backgrounds, mindsets, skills, experience, knowledge and expertise. By having greater diversity, we believe that we will be a stronger an d better organisation and ultimately will be able to inspire more futures. We therefore welcome applications from those who bring difference.