Development manager jobs in Holborn, greater london

Membership Growth & Engagement Manager (Direct Debit Membership)

Job details:

• London (Hybrid / Field-based across Greater London)
• Fundraising & Membership Growth
• Fixed-term: 12 months with opportunity to renew, dependant on performance. 
• Salary: £40,000

Who we are:

We want to create a world filled with wildlife, and we do this through pioneering community engagement and Rewilding Our Future. For us, rewilding is about rewilding people as well as rewilding nature, reconnecting communities to the natural world and restoring functional ecosystems through habitat restoration and species reintroductions.

From our work to reintroduce beavers to London for the first time in 400 years, to restoring river catchments with water voles, we focus on interventions that create real ecological change on the ground. We support landscape-scale recovery too, from bringing back iconic species such as white storks and working on wider habitat restoration across East Anglia. 

The need

To grow Citizen Zoo sustainably, we need to grow our secure unrestricted income. Our monthly, direct debit membership currently brings in around £10k per year, and we’re aiming to grow this towards £60K per year within the first 12 months (or 1,000 equivalent members), through improved digital acquisition, better retention, and a strong on-the-ground recruitment presence across London.

Who you are

You are an adaptable, entrepreneurial fundraiser/marketer who loves turning public interest into long-term support. You are equally comfortable improving a digital join journey and writing supporter comms, and getting out in the field, setting up a stand at events, speaking to the public and signing people up to monthly direct debits. You thrive working independently, you’re confident working to targets, and you use data to learn fast and improve performance. You’re motivated by building something that compounds: a membership base that grows every month and funds rewilding for years to come.

The Team & The Role

We’re a not-for-profit social enterprise with a team who mostly work from home in London. You’ll work as part of this remote team from home, our shared desk spaces in central London, and out on the ground at events, partner venues and project sites across the city and beyond. You’ll work closely with delivery and communications colleagues to turn audiences (visitors, volunteers, event attendees, online supporters) into loyal members, and ensure members receive a positive, joined-up experience that retains them long term.

What you’ll do

You will own and deliver a data-led membership growth plan that increases acquisition, improves retention, and grows member value (including upgrades from £3 → £5/month over time). You’ll sharpen Citizen Zoo’s membership proposition so it clearly connects supporters to our impact, and you’ll turn that into campaigns and activity that consistently convert interest into monthly direct debits.

Digitally, you’ll create and optimise the online join journey (landing pages, forms and messaging) and run recruitment activity across email and social. You’ll work with agency partners to plan and launch Meta and/or Google campaigns, shape and iterate creative, manage a monthly marketing budget, and improve cost-per-join and conversion rates through ongoing performance monitoring.

For retention, you’ll build joined-up supporter journeys from welcome/onboarding through impact updates, renewal/retention thorough engagement and exclusive membership offerings, upgrade prompts and lapsed reactivation. You’ll use segmentation and insight to keep communications relevant, strengthen the member experience, and reduce churn.

On the ground, you’ll lead in-person recruitment across Greater London at events, fairs, community days and partner sites, setting up an effective stand, engaging the public, and signing people up to direct debit. You’ll keep improving the recruitment “kit” (scripts, FAQs, signage, QR codes and follow-up journeys) and coordinate volunteer/colleague support when needed.

Ideal candidates will also focus on lifetime value (LTV) of supporting members and as such be able to work towards an appropriate cost-per-acquisition target (CPA). 

Minimum requirements

• Full UK driving licence (hard requirement), candidates will not be considered without one (please ensure you list this on your CV). 
• Demonstrable experience growing income or supporters through membership, regular giving, direct marketing, subscriptions, fundraising, or performance marketing.
• Experience delivering campaigns across digital channels (email/social), and using data/insight to improve results.
• Confidence in communicating with the public, including proactively starting conversations and handling objections.
• Strong organisational skills and ability to manage multiple workstreams independently.
• Willingness to travel across Greater London and work occasional evenings/weekends (time off in lieu provided).

Preferred requirements

• Experience managing a membership scheme (acquisition + retention) with clear performance targets.
• Experience using a CRM or ticketing/membership platform (e.g., Hubspot, Salesforce, Spektrix, Tessitura or similar).
• Experience running or supporting face-to-face fundraising/membership recruitment at events.
• Experience managing external suppliers (design/print/digital) and working with paid social agencies.
• Understanding of GDPR-consistent supporter communications and supporter care best practice.

Success measures (first year)

In your first 12 months, success will look like building a repeatable membership growth engine that consistently brings in new direct debits through a combination of digital campaigns and in-person recruitment, while improving retention so income compounds over time. 

You will be expected to help grow membership income from around £10k/year towards £60K/year, supported by clear monthly targets, a functioning reporting dashboard, and evidence-based optimisation of messaging, channels, and supporter journeys. You’ll also put in place a retention programme that reduces churn and increases lifetime value, so membership becomes a reliable, scalable source of unrestricted funding for Citizen Zoo’s rewilding work.

Working Hours

At Citizen Zoo we have standard working hours from 09:00–17:30, but team members can start earlier or later if agreed with your line manager. This role will require occasional evening and weekend work, particularly around events and recruitment opportunities, and this is given back as time off in lieu.

Location

Must be able to travel regularly across all of London, and across other parts of Greater London, to deliver events and recruitment activity.

Benefits

In return for your enthusiasm and expertise, we’ll reward you with a competitive salary and an enviable range of benefits including 24 days holiday a year (with the option to buy more days) that rises by one day per year of service after your initial 5 years at Citizen Zoo, as well as pension and life assurance.

Perks

Subsidised gym membership, social events and parties, and a day off for your birthday. We’re proud to offer progressive and flexible working practices designed to give you the work-life balance you need.

Application Timelines & Deadline

• Please submit your application by 23:59 on 15th Feb
• Review week: From 16th to 22nd Feb
• Invitation to Interview: by Friday 27th Feb
• Interviews: Friday 6th March