The London Library
Development Manager: Trusts and Foundations
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Development Manager: Trusts & Foundations
Salary: c. £44,000 per annum (pro-rata), plus benefits
Hours: 28 hours per week (0.8 FTE), Monday to Thursday. Applications to work full-time, 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday, will also be considered.
Status: A permanent, part-time post subject to the Library’s general employment policies
Location: 14 St James’s Square, London SW1Y 4LG (with some remote working possible)
Reports to: Director of Development
Ref: LL/26/08
Closing date: 09 October 2026 @ 12:00pm
Interviews: 15 October 2026
About The London Library
For 185 years, The London Library has stood as one of the UK's greatest literary institutions, inspiring creativity, and ideas. Our esteemed members, past and present, include literary giants like Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin, Virginia Woolf, and contemporary authors such as Kazuo Ishiguro and Sarah Waters. Our collection boasts around one million volumes, a vast eLibrary, and an invaluable postal loans service, making it a sanctuary for those who cherish the written word.
We are championed by our President, Helena Bonham Carter CBE, and operate as a registered charity. We have over 7,500 members and charitable turnover of circa £5m per year.
About the Role
The London Library is an independently funded membership organisation. It has successfully achieved its goals to eliminate an operating deficit in recent years, which has included developing and growing its membership, the outreach and access programmes and the care of its collections and archive.
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Under an ambitious Executive Team and a strong board of Trustees, led by Chair Simon Godwin, the Library is in the middle of a £7 million capital campaign to transform some of its spaces and allow for a growth in membership and partnerships, underpinning its charitable purpose.
Revenue fundraising is essential, and the team raises income through a patrons programme, grants from trusts and foundations, philanthropic gifts, legacies and a biennial appeal to members.
The Library has developed a major giving strategy, which is attracting regular philanthropic gifts towards programming, collection projects, other revenue costs and the capital campaign.
You will be supported by an active and supportive team and work alongside the Director of Development. A new CRM system, adopted in early 2024, enables enhanced prospect and donation management.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage two important strands of the Library’s Development operation: Trusts and Foundations, and Legacies
- Oversee the Trusts and Foundations strategy and solicitation to maximise grants and income from grant giving bodies, including statutory funders
- With the support of a Senior Development Officer, manage the Library’s Legacy programme, develop and implement strategies to promote legacy giving, steward legacy pledgers and grow the number of legacy pledgers
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About You
- Previous trust fundraising experience or transferrable strong persuasive writing skills
- Track record in relationship building externally (clients/donors) and internally (programme delivery staff) including customer or donor care experience
- Track record in meeting income targets in a fundraising setting, or other transferrable setting
- Experience of CRM systems
- Ability to plan, prioritise and carry out work effectively to meet deadlines
- Motivated, collaborative and able to work independently in a part-time role
Why Join Us?
The London Library offers a friendly, hardworking, and inclusive workplace where we strive to support the diverse needs of our team. We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to equality and diversity. Specific adjustments and access needs can be discussed to make this role suitable for you.
If you want to use your skills to help drive the success of The London Library, we would love to hear from you!
Please note:
All applicants will be considered on the basis of their merits and abilities for the post.
We can only consider candidates with the current right to work in the UK.
We reserve the right to shorten or extend the closing date of any position where a high or low volume of suitable applications are received. Therefore, if you are interested in this role, an early application would be encouraged.
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