Trusts & Foundations Manager

The Development team at Somerset House raises over £3m per annum and works across four key income streams – brand partnerships, corporate partnerships, trusts & foundations and individual giving. The Trusts & Foundations Manager reports to and works closely with the Head of Development to develop and deliver Somerset House’s trusts and foundations fundraising strategy.

Somerset House does not receive any core public funding, therefore income from trusts, foundations and grant makers is especially important. We have ambitious plans to increase philanthropic giving and this postholder will be central to realising those ambitions.

Somerset House is an inspiring cause to support, and there is a real opportunity to create rewarding associations with grant makers across activity including public programming, exhibitions, capital, artist studios and our work developing pathways for young people into the creative industries.

Working in close collaboration with the Head of Development, the Trusts & Foundations Manager will have a systematic approach to cultivation, stewardship and engagement in support of Somerset House. They will look after a portfolio of existing funders, as well as cultivating a pipeline of prospects with a view to converting these into new funders.

What we are looking for:

Fundraising

• Lead on Somerset House’s initiatives to cultivate philanthropic support from trusts, foundations and grant-making bodies in order to reach annual fundraising targets
• Grow and manage a personal portfolio of constituents, using systematic processes and solicitation plans for identification, cultivation and stewardship
• Liaise with key contacts internally in order to produce well-crafted and persuasive written proposals across a range of activity
• Research, draft and submit applications to trusts and foundations at the five and six-figure level, with a focus on multi-year support
• Work with the Head of Development to craft applications at the seven-figure level
• Work with finance to develop project budgets across key fundraising initiatives

Cultivation, Stewardship and Reporting

• Work strategically with the Director and Head of Development to cultivate and steward key trusts and foundations relationships and mobilise the Board of Trustees to make inroads with funders who do not accept unsolicited applications. Prepare briefings and cultivation plans to support this work.
• Provide outstanding donor care, developing and maintaining positive relationships with key trusts and foundations contacts
• Work with the Senior Stewardship Manager and Development Coordinator to deliver strategic and impactful communications and reports which build affinity and encourage onward support

Operations & Data

• Negotiate and issue funding agreements and with the Development Coordinator, ensure all crediting and reporting is fulfilled as per donor requirements
• Work closely with internal teams to ensure funded projects have clear evaluation frameworks and with the Development Coordinator, ensure information is fed through into proposals and reports
• Provide regular reports, updates and analysis on the trusts and foundations portfolio, including financial reporting and pipeline analysis
• Work with the finance team to ensure all trusts and foundations income is appropriately categorised and monitored
• Work collaboratively with the Development Manager (Individuals) to manage the workflow of the Development Coordinator, including delegating the drafting of smaller trust applications
• Ensure that all activities are compliant with the Fundraising Code of Practice and GDPR as well as Somerset House’s own Gift Acceptance Policy
• Record all relationships, activity, pledges and donations promptly and accurately on the CRM
• Working with the Development Coordinator, research prospects in accordance with due diligence processes and produce detailed reports to support cultivation, engagement and risk management

General

• Work with colleagues to ensure that Somerset House’s fundraising message and charitable purpose are widely understood and embedded across Somerset House
• Develop strong internal relationships to support fundraising and relationship management
• Act as a positive ambassador for the work of Somerset House, including at events at Somerset House and externally
• Undertake any other duties as may reasonably be required in the post

Skills, knowledge & expertise required for the role:

Experience:

Essential

• Demonstrable track record of trusts and foundations fundraising, working to fundraising targets and securing gifts at the four and five-figure level
• Experience of managing grant funding relationships
• Excellent numeracy skills and proven ability to develop budgets, monitor management accounts and understand funder finance reports
• Experience of delivering financial, KPI and commentary reporting to funders
• Experience of working across an organisation to develop cross-team proposals
• Excellent working knowledge of fundraising best practice, including GDPR and the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Practice

Desirable

• Experience of securing gifts at the six and seven figure level
• Experience of working on capital funding applications
• Experience of fundraising in the arts or creative sectors
• Knowledge of international funding sources

Skills:

Essential

• Exceptional written skills with the ability to craft compelling fundraising asks
• Ability to communicate clearly and persuasively, tailoring delivery to suit different audiences
• Ability to work independently and manage a busy and varied workload
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Tact and discretion
• Strong networking skills and ability to build relationships at a variety of different levels
• Willingness to work collaboratively to strengthen and implement Somerset House’s Development strategy and to shape compelling funding proposals

Desirable

• Confident CRM system user, ideally Raiser’s Edge NXT or Tessitura

Benefits to working at Somerset House

Mental Health & Wellbeing

- Access to our external Employee Assistance Programme (CiC) for free 24/7 confidential advice and support, including up to 6 free counselling sessions per year where needed

- Mental health support and guidance from our in-house trained Mental Health First Aiders 

- Hybrid working based on having 3 days in the office per week (pro rata if part-time)*
- Contribution towards eye tests and glasses
-Trust life insurance scheme
- We offer winter flu vaccination vouchers

* dependent on the needs of the role

- Contribution towards eye tests and glasses

-Trust life insurance scheme

- We offer winter flu vaccination vouchers

* dependent on the needs of the role

Holiday

- Enhanced annual leave – 25 days plus bank holidays (pro rata)

- Birthday leave - additional day leave 

- Celebration day  - to celebrate anything of your choice

Other Leave

- Sick leave – 20 days full pay, followed by 20 days half pay (pro rata & following 3 months service)

- Emergency dependent care – option to use 25% of paid sick leave for emergency care of a dependent (pro rata & following 3 months of service)

- Enhanced maternity pay

Benefits

- 8% employer pension contributions, no employee contribution required*

- Option for salary sacrifice

- Season ticket loan

- Cycle to Work scheme

Discounts, offers and free stuff
-The list is endless and includes tickets to Somerset House events and entrance to other London Heritage sites

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-Discounts in Somerset House cafes and restaurants

-Discounts with various high street retailers and restaurants

-Discounts to local leisure centres

*following 3 months of employment

About Somerset House Trust

Somerset House hosts the UK’s largest and most exciting creative community right in the heart of London, and are always looking for new talent to join our team. We welcome 3 million annual visitors to share our unique combination of cultural events, the creative industries and history. This mix informs and powers our programme and organisational culture, making us a singular, compelling and inclusive place to visit and work.

Somerset House is actively anti-racist and you can read about our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging

Somerset House is actively anti-racist and you can read about our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging

here. We are working hard to ensure our people, our onsite community and our sector reflect, represent and include all of society.

Our Commitment to Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging:

Somerset House is open to all, and we value everyone's unique skills. Somerset House Trust is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to championing equality, diversity, and inclusion in our workplace.  We are committed to equal opportunity and encourage applications from all qualified individuals. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic background. 

Where candidates are equally qualified, we will seek to prioritise diversity to help us increase representation across the creative economy and the Trust.

We anonymise all job applications to help avoid

We're committed to creating an inclusive recruitment process. Please let us know if there's anything we can do to help you perform at your best. We're open to adjusting our process to accommodate your needs please email people.team@somersethouse.org.uk.

The Trust reserves the right to close a job before its application deadline.

Please only apply if you have the right to work in the UK; the Trust cannot currently offer sponsorships.


In your application, we want to hear from you in your own voice about your skills, experience, and how you align with the job expectations and desire to work at Somerset House Trust. All applications are reviewed by members of our team.

discriminationin the initial screening stage of our recruitment process. This reinforces our commitment to focusing on the skills and qualifications of all applications from the start.

We're committed to creating an inclusive recruitment process. Please let us know if there's anything we can do to help you perform at your best. We're open to adjusting our process to accommodate your needs please email people.team@somersethouse.org.uk.

The Trust reserves the right to close a job before its application deadline.

Please only apply if you have the right to work in the UK; the Trust cannot currently offer sponsorships.

And finally.... the use of AI in your application

In your application, we want to hear from you in your own voice about your skills, experience, and how you align with the job expectations and desire to work at Somerset House Trust. All applications are reviewed by members of our team.

While we recognise that AI tools can be helpful for tasks such as research, structuring, or formatting, applications that rely heavily on AI‑generated content can sometimes lack the depth, authenticity, and the individuality we are looking for, and may not be progressed. We therefore encourage you to use any tools thoughtfully and to ensure your application clearly reflects your personal experience, perspective, and voice.

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Our Hiring Process

Don't worry if you don't see any roles you want to apply for now. Register your interest to allow us to contact you when a suitable role meeting your criteria comes along. Unfortunately, the Trust cannot sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

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