Heritage and volunteering officer jobs

Head of Communications & Public Affairs

The Head of Communications & Public Affairs is a pivotal role at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) promoting our world-leading work in science, conservation, horticulture, and education.

Working as an active member of the Senior Leadership Team, this role will lead the organisation’s approach to strategic communications, seeking opportunities to engage external audiences, disseminate key messages, and raise RBGE’s profile on a national and international stage through press and media engagement.

With oversight of the communications and publishing functions, this role will also provide key support to the Regius Keeper and the Executive Team in shaping engagement and communication strategies with political stakeholders across the Scottish and UK governments.

This is an exciting opportunity to make a real impact in the next phase of RBGE’s corporate strategy, strengthening key policy relationships and promoting RBGE’s expertise to deliver real impact in the fight against the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.

Closing date:                            09:00am (BST) on Monday 20 July 2026        
First interview date:               30 July 2026
Second interview date: 5 August 2026

Recruitment information: 

Further details on the job description, person specification, and how to apply can be found in the candidate pack for the role on our website here: Head of Communications and Public Affairs Candidate Pack

Job role:

In this exciting and varied role, within our growing Mass Engagement department we are seeking a strategic, driven, and compassionate Individual Giving Manager to join our dynamic fundraising team.

This pivotal role will lead the development and delivery of innovative individual giving strategies that deepen donor engagement, grow sustainable income, and support families with children in hospital across the UK.

Key responsibilities:

Strategy & Leadership

• Collaborate with the Head of Mass Engagement to design and implement a robust individual giving strategy aligned with the Charity’s 5-year Impact Strategy.
• Identify and capitalise on growth opportunities across digital channels, regular giving, and mid-level donor programmes.
• Lead the Individual Giving Team (Currently 1x Individual Giving Fundraiser)

Donor Engagement & Stewardship

• Build and nurture meaningful relationships with individual donors, ensuring high levels of satisfaction and long-term support.
• Develop tailored stewardship and cultivation plans, enhancing donor connection to the Charity’s impact.
• Lead on the creation of compelling donor journeys and engagement campaigns that inspire giving and loyalty.

Campaign Management

• Plan, execute, and evaluate multi-channel fundraising campaigns and appeals, working closely with internal teams and external partners.
• Use insights and data to refine campaign strategies, improve performance, and maximise return on investment.

Data & Insights

• Leverage CRM systems and fundraising databases to monitor donor behaviour, track income, and generate actionable insights.
• Produce regular reports to inform decision-making and demonstrate impact.

Collaboration & Integration

• Work cross-functionally with colleagues in communications, digital, and Family Services to ensure cohesive messaging and donor experience.
• Champion individual giving and digital fundraising across the organisation, promoting best practices and innovation.

Skills & Experience:

Essential

• Proven experience delivering successful individual giving campaigns using multi-channel direct marketing.
• Strong track record of supporter acquisition, retention and income growth, achieving or exceeding financial targets.
• Experience managing campaign budgets and income performance.
• Knowledge of digital fundraising tools, channels and audience engagement techniques.
• Skilled in using audience insight and segmentation to improve campaign results.
• Strong understanding of donor stewardship and supporter relationship management.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to create compelling donor-focused content.
• Analytical approach, using CRM data and performance reporting to optimise campaigns.
• Collaborative team player who works effectively across functions to achieve shared goals.

Desirable

• Experience managing agencies and suppliers, alongside strong analytical skills to interpret data, test and optimise campaign performance
• Experience developing new income streams within Individual Giving
• Line management and team development experience
• Up-to-date knowledge of fundraising trends, especially in digital and donor engagement
• Creative thinker with a proactive approach to problem-solving and innovation.
• Highly organised with strong project management skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities.

About the role

We are now seeking an experienced and compassionate People and Wellbeing Manager to join us on an interim basis and help lead us through an exciting period of organisational development.

This is a newly established role created as part of our growth journey. Historically, HR responsibilities have sat within our Operations function, but as the organisation has expanded, we recognise the need for dedicated HR leadership to strengthen our people practices, wellbeing offer, and organisational culture.

This is a hands-on role that will lead our HR, wellbeing, recruitment, learning and development, and people culture activity.

You will act as a trusted and impartial point of contact for staff, freelancers, and sessional workers while helping us embed sustainable HR systems, processes, and ways of working that will support the organisation into its next phase.

About The Music Works

The Music Works is a Gloucestershire charity that transforms young lives through music. We’re specialists in working with young people in challenging circumstances to help them reach their full potential in music, in learning and in life. We work with over 3,000 young people a year in schools and our four community studios in Gloucester, and the Forest of Dean. Our approach is youth-led, with young people involved at every stage of planning and delivery.