The British Museum
Philanthropy Manager
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Philanthropy Manager: Grants
Full-time
Hybrid working available with office days based in Bloomsbury, London
Permanent contract
£43,317 per annum
Application deadline: 23:59 on Sunday, 6 September 2026
About the Role
We're looking for an experienced Philanthropy Manager to join our growing Philanthropy team at an exciting and pivotal moment. This is an opportunity for an established fundraiser to manage a portfolio of significant trusts, foundations, and statutory funders, securing major support for projects that span every aspect of the Museum's work, from exhibitions and acquisitions to learning programmes, capital projects, and research initiatives.
As Philanthropy Manager: Grants, you will independently manage and steward a portfolio of predominantly high five and six-figure trust and foundation relationships, delivering against an annual individual fundraising target of approximately £500,000. Alongside managing your own portfolio, you'll support senior fundraisers with complex, high-value donor relationships, helping to prepare funding proposals, reports, correspondence, and donor meetings.
This role offers exceptional variety and visibility across the Museum. You'll collaborate with colleagues from curatorial teams, exhibitions, finance, learning, directorate, and many other departments, gaining insight into the breadth of the Museum's work while helping to secure funding that brings it to life.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
If you're an experienced trusts and foundations fundraiser looking for your next challenge within the cultural sector, we'd love to hear from you!
About You
We're looking for a confident and proactive fundraiser who can quickly build credibility with colleagues and donors alike. Strong candidates will have:
- Experience working in a fundraising role with responsibility for securing significant philanthropic income, including contributing to securing five and six-figure gifts.
- Experience of managing fundraising relationships and delivering successful applications, ideally within trusts, foundations, and/or statutory fundraising.
- Strong relationship management and stewardship skills with experience of working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders.
- Excellent written communication skills, with the ability to distil complex information into compelling funding cases.
- Experience managing your own portfolio with strong project management and reporting skills.
Benefits
At the British Museum, we believe our people are at the heart of everything we do and have designed a benefits package that goes beyond the ordinary. Our full list of benefits can be found here, but we’ve outlined some highlights below:
- Free exhibition entry for you and guests, exclusive private views, ICOM and reciprocal museum access.
- Civil Service Pension Scheme defined benefit with 28.97% employer contribution.
- 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays and 2.5 privilege days (and +5 days after 10 years).
- Social and wellbeing perks including Staff parties, social clubs, CSSC sports and leisure, and support from the Civil Service Retirement Fellowship.
- Employee Assistance Programme available 24/7 for counselling, wellbeing support, and more.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Additional Details
If you have any additional needs that we should be aware of to support you with your application, please provide details to bmrecruit@britishmuseum.org.
Right to Work: The British Museum holds a Skilled Worker sponsor licence. Applicants are responsible for determining whether the advertised salary and role meet current UKVI sponsorship requirements and for ensuring they have, or can obtain, the appropriate right to work in the UK. The Museum cannot provide immigration advice, and eligibility should be checked before submitting an application.
Internal Applicants: We welcome internal applicants regardless of background, department, or length of service but encourage you to let your manager know before applying. If you are on a permanent contract and want the fixed-term contract to be treated as a secondment, you will need to obtain your manager’s support before submitting an application.
The Museum also adheres to the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) for pre-employment screening of Civil Servants.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location