Senior Legacies Manager

The Royal Academy of Music is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate training across a variety of musical disciplines, including instrumental performance, composition, jazz, musical theatre and opera. The Academy has a global reputation and attracts students from over 50 countries.

The Academy’s charitable aim is to provide high-quality musical education and training. It offers scholarships and bursaries to support talented students who might not otherwise be able to afford to attend. Legacies are an integral part of the Academy’s income, accounting for around 30% of fundraised income each year and supporting a range of key priorities, from scholarships and bursaries to artistic projects and capital investments.

The Senior Legacies Manager is a reworked position that will manage relationships with high-value legacy pledges and create and implement a legacy marketing strategy for the Academy. This is an exciting opportunity for a legacy professional who is keen to develop their career and looking for a potential stepping stone to a head of level role.

About the role

• Responsible for legacy income of between £2.5-3 million a year
• Management of the legacy portfolio, ensuring excellent stewardship and communications to current and prospective high value pledgers
• Develop and implement a legacy fundraising and marketing strategy following an initial audit of the legacy programme and income
• Work with external legacy administration consultants, preparing reports for SMT and ensuring compliance
• Work with other fundraising teams to develop supporter journeys which include legacy pathways
• Ongoing internal engagement about legacies and the importance of legacy giving for the Academy
• Opportunity to develop an In-Memory product and structed In-Memory giving for the Academy

About you

• Experience of relationship based legacy fundraising as well as experience of legacy marketing
• Background from legacy fundraising at arts or Higher Education Institution is of specific interest but will consider candidates from the not for profit sector with the mix of relationship and marketing experience
• Candidates may also have a fundraising background from major gifts and legacy giving
• Able to see the potential of driving legacy acquisition and be able to build a proactive legacy marketing programme
• Interest in arts and culture with the ability to understand the passion that the Academy legacy givers have for the Academy