VACANCY INFORMATION PACK

PHILANTHROPY MANAGER

(12 MONTHS MATERNTIY COVER)

Closing Date

11pm on Sunday 31 st May

Provisional Interview Date: 10th & 11th 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

PHILANTHROPY MANAGER – 12 MONTHS FIXED TERM CONTRACT

Department: Fundraising and Partnerships	Hours: 35 hours per week
Location: London, Manchester or York	Salary: £41,000 per annum
Reports to: Head of Philanthropy	Contract: Fixed term, 12 months
Date: May 2026	Hybrid Working: Available

ABOUT THE ROLE:

The Science Museum Group (SMG) is here to inspire futures. As the world’s leading group of science museums, we share our unparalleled collection spanning science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine with over five million visitors each year.

Building lasting relationships with individual donors and philanthropists is essential to our continuing and dynamic programme of new galleries, exhibitions and world class learning programmes through which we are able inspire future generations of scienti sts and the problem - solvers of tomorrow.

You will play a key role in supporting the growth of o ur major donor programme, focusing on strategic engagement with individuals that have the capacity to make 5 and 6 figure donations. Working as part of the Philanthropy team, you will raise money through major donations to support our core and capital work across all our Science Museum Group sites.

WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING:

Major Donors

• Managing and growing a portfolio of high -level prospects to secure income for Science Museum Group exhibitions, core and capital projects .

• Implementing stewardship plans to maintain and build excellent relationships with existing Science Museum Group donors.

• Meeting with prospects and donors on a regular basis .

• Attending Science Museum Group events, such as exhibition openings and cultivation events, to steward donors and prospective supporters.

• Working with existing Science Museum Group supporters, senior volunteers and other senior stakeholders to initiate connections to their networks .

Ensuring that fundraising activity reflects the Science Museum Group’s ethical and due diligence policy . Championing the interests and needs of Science Museum Group with major donors within the Fundraising team and the wider organisation .

Philanthropy Team

Collaborating with all Philanthropy team members to develop and continuously update individual cultivation and stewardship plans for top donors and prospects .

• Contributing to the mid -year review and annual planning process, Fundraising and Partnerships team meetings and agendas .

• Represent ing the Philanthropy Team and the Science Museum Group internally and externally at the highest level demonstrating excellent communication skills and customer service .

• Successfully working towards annually financial income targets and KPIs.

Strategic Planning and Direction

• Working collaboratively with colleagues across the department and Science Museum Group to collectively deliver our mission, vision and aims .

• Follow our systems and administrative procedures and protocols, including database usage and reporting .

• 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.

WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TEAM:

You will have:

• Demonstrable e xperience in building long - term relationships or partnerships whilst maintaining an existing donor portfolio .

• Strong account management with the ability to develop relationships to their full potential.

• Knowledge of legacy fundraising and experience of building relationships with legacy pledgees .

• Great interpersonal skills to cultivate new partnerships and expand your internal and external networks.

• The confidence to work with senior stakeholders to communicate and work effectively with people at all levels .

• The confidence and ability to influence in preparation for an “ask” or to encourage donations through meetings, written proposals and presentations.

• Strong writing skills with experience of preparing fundraising proposals and reports.

• Good communication skills to engage a range of audiences in your key messages .

• Good d atabase management skills to track and optimise donor relationships.

• Strong organisational skills with an ability to set priorities, manage expectations, and meet deadlines.

• The ability to handle sensitive and confidential information tactfully and in line with the data protection regulations .

• Good IT skills, especially in Microsoft Word, Excel , PowerPoint and SharePoint .

• A values -driven approach and passion for contributing to an open and inclusive organisation.

It would be good (but not essential) if you have:

• Have knowledge of major donor fundraising at 5 and 6 figure level.

• The ability to think creatively about donor stewardship .

• Experience of working with CRM system/database. SMG uses Tessitura.

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 oth er 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 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.

This role can be based at either the Science Museum in London , the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester or the National Railway Museum in York . Travel to other SMG locations will be required as part of this position.

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

1. Please tell us about a donation you’ve secured or a relationship you have built which you are most proud of in your career. Within this, we would like you to outline the steps you took, the outcome and how you might 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:

• 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’d love to hear from you. If you have any questions about the role specifically, please contact our Talent Acquisition Team via email.

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 our People Support Team via email or by calling 01904 685 750.

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.