Art executive jobs in Manchester

Are you passionate about bringing art to everyone? Do you believe in the power of digital to engage people with the arts? We’re looking for an enthusiastic Philanthropy Manager to join our friendly and dedicated team.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries, particularly individuals who experience physical, mental or social barriers to accessing the arts.

About Art UK

Art UK is an art education charity and the online home for every public collection of art in the United Kingdom. It is making the UK’s national collection of art accessible to everyone online – for enjoyment, learning and research. Art UK brings together art from almost 3,500 British institutions in one of the UK's largest ever arts partnerships and showcases this art to a global audience of 5.5m users per annum. Approaching 60% of this audience is overseas.

Art UK provides significant support to museums and galleries in the UK, by providing them with a shared digital platform to showcase their art collections, reach new audiences, and generate income. Most of these collections would not be able to show their art online without Art UK. The Art UK platform is rich in story content, learning resources for teachers and students, and public engagement opportunities. A shared e-commerce infrastructure helps collections generate much needed commercial income. 

About You

As the Philanthropy Manager, you will be a confident and persuasive communicator, comfortable engaging with supporters and stakeholders at all levels. You will have a solid knowledge of philanthropic giving and a deep appreciation of the value of high-quality donor stewardship. Highly organised and detail-focused, you will enjoy working with data and be skilled at producing compelling content both on and offline. You will bring initiative, creativity and the ability to work independently, while also being a collaborative team player.

The Philanthropy Manager is a new donor-facing role, which will focus on expanding and strengthening a major donor portfolio to increase five and six figure income from individual donors and family trusts for Art UK. You will lead on managing and growing Art UK’s philanthropic giving programme, which includes the Patrons and supporter events programme and our major donor activity. Working within an ambitious team, you will have the support of a freelance Prospect Researcher to identify new prospects, and the Development Manager and CRM Officer to develop donor journeys and relationship management systems. You will report to the Head of Development, work closely with the CEO and Chair of the Philanthropy Board, and collaborate with colleagues across the organisation.

You will actively promote equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging in all aspects of your work, reflecting your commitment to our organisational values and contributing to a positive workplace culture.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a robust prospect pipeline through identification, research, cultivation and relationship-building to secure five-figure gifts and long-term support
• Manage a portfolio of mid-level individual donors, converting one-off supporters into deeper donor relationships
• Manage and grow Art UK’s mid-level regular giving programme, strengthening donor relationships through face-to face meetings, events and personalised communication
• Develop donor development strategies, using CRM to analysis and identify higher gift prospects from existing donor pool and maximise giving potential
• Lead on major gifts for annual Big Give campaigns, identifying and securing keystone pledge donors, and leveraging networks to reach giving targets
• Create and implement, effectively and in a timely manner, development plans for each donor to retain and upgrade donors and document all activities in CRM Beacon
• Prepare and personalise correspondence and fundraising materials, including donor stewardship and reports, funding proposals and acknowledgement letters as appropriate
• Work closely with the Marketing team and other colleagues to showcase Art UK’s work and enhance donor engagement
• Organise and deliver events for major donors and prospects (with support from the Development team), including attending events where appropriate
• Support management of the American Friends of Art UK (launching 2026), including donor stewarding and events programming
• Support senior leadership and board members in the preparation and delivery of high-quality donor pitches to secure new philanthropic gifts
• Monitor progress against targets and maintain accurate reporting, including updates to Art UK’s Board of Trustees and the Philanthropy Board
• Ensure pledges and donations are processed efficiently and that donors are thanked promptly and personally
• Work closely with all members of the Development team to ensure prospecting and cultivation activity is aligned and complementary
• Ensure all philanthropic fundraising activity is conducted in line with legal, regulatory and ethical best practice e.g. GDPR and the Chartered Institute of Fundraising Code of Practice

Necessary Skills

• Essential: Experience managing a pipeline of philanthropic supporter prospects, including researching and devising bespoke cultivation plans
• Essential: Proven experience as a major donor fundraiser with a track record of securing five-figure gifts.
• Essential: Proven experience creating, implementing and evaluating philanthropic fundraising strategies
• Essential: Strong strategic thinking skills, with the ability to identify and shape innovative partnership opportunities
• Essential: Outstanding relationship-building and networking skills, including digital engagement
• Essential: In-depth understanding of the philanthropic fundraising environment
• Essential: First-class written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to engage with a wide range of stakeholders
• Essential: Experience analysing and using supporter data to inform campaigns
• Essential: Strong copywriting, proofing and editing skills
• Essential: Experience using CRM databases with a high level of accuracy
• Essential: Thorough knowledge of fundraising best practice and legislation
• Essential: Self-motivated, reliable and exceptionally organized
• Desirable: Experience planning and managing fundraising events
• Desirable: Experience in donor acquisition through online giving platforms, direct marketing by email and social media campaigns
• Desirable: Active interest in the visual arts and awareness of UK art collections
• Desirable: Experience working with a diverse range of audiences
• Desirable: Experience working on projects with a broad range of partners
• Desirable: Experience of US fundraising and philanthropic giving

Contract terms

• Full-time
• Permanent contract
• Salary £38,000 per annum
• Three-month probationary period
• One-month termination clause
• Work from home, within 2-hour travel time to central London (once monthly travel to London for evening events and meetings required)

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave plus regional Bank Holidays
• Paid Christmas closure period (Christmas Day to New Year’s Day)
• Flexible working hours
• Workplace pension scheme
• Training and development opportunities
• Mental health and wellbeing support
• Above statutory paid sick leave
• Enhanced paid parental leave
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Monthly wellbeing hour
• Trained Mental Health First Aider’s
• Regular staff socials, both virtual and in-person
• Eye tests paid for up to £35, glasses subsidised up to £30