Bid Writer — The Heritage Alliance
Application Deadline: 22 May 2026
Fixed Term: 0.4 FTE (14 hours per week) for 6 months
Start Date: June 2026
Salary: £33,000 FTE per annum, pro-rata (£6600 total for the contract period)
Leave: 24 days FTE per annum pro-rata, in addition the Heritage Alliance Office closes between Christmas and New Year
Line Manager: Head of Development and Membership
Place of Work: The Heritage Alliance Office, Central London, EC4M
(Flexible working arrangements can be considered)
The Opportunity
Are you an experienced bid writer looking for an intensive, focused role with a leading heritage organisation? We are seeking a skilled professional to join our "Creating Connections" project team for a targeted 6-month assignment.
This role is part of The Heritage Alliance's NLHF-funded resilience project, specifically supporting Strand C: Future-proofing our charity. You will work with a pipeline of funding opportunities already developed by our professional fundraising consultant to secure vital long-term funding for our sector support activities.
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced bid writer to make a significant impact in a short time-frame, working with high-quality prospects and supporting England's heritage sector through sustainable funding solutions.
About The Role
Key Tasks:
Research & Development
- Conduct detailed research on prospective funders to tailor applications effectively
- Develop compelling case studies and evidence base to support funding applications
- Research and incorporate relevant sector data, impact statistics, and beneficiary testimonials
- Stay informed about current funding trends and opportunities in the heritage and charity sectors
- Identify additional funding opportunities that align with our strategic priorities
Strategic Bid Writing
- Develop compelling funding applications to trusts, foundations, and grant-making bodies using an established pipeline of prospects
- Write high-quality proposals for long-term support of the Heritage Funding Directory
- Create applications for new sector-wide support programmes addressing skills needs and emerging challenges identified in our sector capability-building strategy
- Adapt proposals to different funder requirements, priorities, and application formats
- Work closely with the Head of Development to ensure applications align with organisational strateg
Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration
- Work with a professional fundraising consultant to prioritise and progress pipeline opportunities
- Collaborate with the Heritage Alliance senior team to gather project information and organisational data
- Engage with relevant staff members to collect evidence, case studies, and impact data
- Coordinate with the Project Administrator and other team members to ensure consistency in messaging
- Liaise with potential funders as appropriate during the application process
Project Support & Administration
- Maintain accurate records of all funding applications and their progress
- Manage application deadlines and submission processes
- Support the development of a sustainable fundraising strategy for post-project continuation
- Contribute to project reporting and evaluation activities
- Participate in project team meetings and provide updates on fundraising progress
Key Competences:
Experience:
Essential:
- Proven track record of successful bid writing with demonstrable results in securing funding
- Experience writing applications to trusts, foundations, and statutory funders
- Strong background in the charity/not-for-profit sector with understanding of funding landscape
- Experience managing multiple applications simultaneously and meeting tight deadlines
- Knowledge of different application formats and funder requirements
Desirable:
- Experience in the heritage, cultural, or arts sectors
- Previous work with membership organisations or sector support bodies
- Experience with capacity-building or infrastructure funding applications
- Knowledge of NLHF and other major heritage funders
- Experience working with professional fundraising consultants
- Understanding of digital heritage projects and online resource development
Skills, Abilities and Knowledge:
Essential:
- Exceptional written communication skills with ability to adapt tone and style for different audiences, and present detailed information clearly and concisely
- Strong research skills and ability to quickly understand complex organisational contexts
- Excellent project management skills with ability to prioritise and meet multiple deadlines
- High attention to detail and accuracy in application preparation
- Understanding of charity finance, governance, and impact measurement
- Ability to work independently and take initiative in a fast-paced environment
- Strong interpersonal skills for stakeholder engagement and collaboration
Desirable:
- Knowledge of heritage sector challenges, funding landscape, and policy environment
- Understanding of digital transformation and accessibility requirements for online resources
- Experience with monitoring and evaluation frameworks
- Knowledge of social impact measurement and outcome reporting
- Familiarity with Data Protection legislation and compliance requirements
- Understanding of partnership working and collaborative funding approaches
Application Process
To apply, please submit a CV/resume detailing your qualifications and experiences together with a cover letter (to be pasted into the box labelled 'Anything else to mention').
All applications should be submitted through our WorkSmarter vacancy page by 22 May 2026.
Shortlisted candidates will be contacted w/c 25 May to arrange interviews. We will also request that shortlisted candidates provide a portfolio of successful funding applications (anonymised as appropriate) demonstrating your track record and writing style.
The Heritage Alliance is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and abilities.
Thank you for considering a career at The Heritage Alliance. We look forward to receiving your application!
About the Heritage Alliance
Established in 2002, The Heritage Alliance represents the independent heritage movement in England. We have a unique role, promoting and championing the sector in all its diversity:
We influence legislation and policy through our extensive links with Government, Parliament and Sector Networks
We bring the sector together in our advocacy and working groups, events and publications
We help our members grow through both member-only initiatives and broader sector support programmes with partners like the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, Media Trust and Clore Leadership.
Our membership ranges from large bodies such as the National Trust, Historic Houses, Canal & River Trust to specialist charities and community organisations, across the breadth of sector, from museums, conservation, archaeology to science and construction.
Want to challenge the disruptive role of the fossil fuel industry in our politics, society and culture? Culture Unstained is looking for a Campaigner to join our small but impactful team in the UK, at a key moment in the exciting campaign to end fossil fuel sponsorship of culture.
If you’re committed to climate justice and its intersecting struggles including decolonisation and anti-militarisation and inspired by art, culture and creativity with a strong understanding of the politics of the climate crisis and the dynamics of the fossil fuel industry’s ongoing role in driving it - we want to hear from you!
Key Details
- £52,186.09 pro rata, working from home, 3.5 days per week, 18 months fixed-term contract
- Application deadline: end of Sunday 10 May 2026 (midnight, UK time)
- Applicaition process: please visit our website for full application guidance and documents
- Interview dates: w/c 18 May. Interviews are provisionally scheduled to take place on 20 and 21 May.
- Suggested start date (negotiable): w/c 20 July 2026
Employment conditions
Salary: £52,186.09 pro rata (£36,530.26 for 3.5 days).
Location: Working from home, with preference for candidates in the UK.
Hours: 3.5 days per week with occasional evening/weekend work for which time off in lieu will be given. We allow for flexible working but with some core hours.
Duration: 18 month fixed-term role.
Benefits: 10% employer pension contributions; flexible hours; 21 days holiday per year for a 3.5 day per week post (plus bank holidays and Christmas break and your birthday); a caring and learning culture within a non-hierarchical workers cooperative; progressive employment policies including generous paid sick leave, paid carers’ leave and paid family leave. As part of trying to create a more sustainable organisation, we have adopted a shorter working week.
We particularly welcome applications from marginalised groups, especially people of colour and other ethnic minorities, people who identify as LGBTQIA+, Disabled people and those who identify as working class or have done so in the past. If we can offer support with the application process please do get in touch. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align fully with the job description, we’d love you to apply anyway. Please contact us if you require any support or adjustments for you to navigate this application process.
About Culture Unstained
Culture Unstained is a campaigns and investigations organisation which primarily works to end fossil fuel sponsorship of culture, undermining the industry’s ‘social licence to operate’. We believe that targeting cultural sponsorship gets to the core of challenging the disruptive role of the fossil fuel industry in our politics, society and culture.
We work to end the social legitimacy and cultural power the fossil free industry currently gains from its involvement in culture and art – most visibly by sponsoring museums, galleries and other arts organisations – in order to bring about a world where cultural organisations draw an ethical red line and proudly reject funding and other ties to those involved in fuelling the climate crisis.
We adopt an intersectional, rather than single-issue approach, to our campaigns and are committed to climate justice. This means joining the dots between fossil fuel sponsorship, militarisation, frontline struggles, decolonisation and restitution campaigns, and Palestinian liberation.
Over the last decade, we have made cultural spaces into some of the most visible battlegrounds for a showdown between people and polluters. We have spearheaded headline-grabbing campaigns that have mobilised new networks of artists, workers and youth activists, and led to major wins, including the end of Shell and Equinor’s partnerships with the Science Museum and BP’s sponsorship of the Royal Opera House and The British Museum’s major exhibitions. In 2025, as a result of our track record of success and ongoing advocacy work, the Museums Association trade body passed a new Code of Ethics which now expects museums to ‘transition away from’ fossil fuel sponsorship.
As a Workers’ Co-operative, we all participate in decisions relating to overarching strategy and working conditions.
About the role
Culture Unstained is looking for a Campaigner to join our small but impactful team in the UK, at a key moment in the exciting campaign to end fossil fuel sponsorship of culture.
You will be working with our existing team on core campaigns such as the Science Museum and The British Museum, as well as contributing to our wider strategic work, which includes:
- Centring and amplifying the demands of impacted communities, in line with our values of climate justice and decolonisation.
- Cultivating opposition to fossil fuel sponsorship in the theatre and live music sectors, building upon our existing campaign against the Royal Bank of Canada’s sponsorship of The Old Vic theatre and instigating our first mobilisations against the recent fossil fuel sponsorship deal of a major music venue.
- Developing a mandate for sector-wide bodies, governments and multilateral organisations to implement bans on fossil fuel sponsorship and advertising, following the precedent of controls on tobacco promotion.
- Achieving consistent parliamentary scrutiny of fossil fuel industry conduct and cultural sponsorship through wider strategic engagement with parliament and culture sector bodies, alongside international advocacy activities.
- Researching and campaigning on fossil fuel industry influence on education and young people, including STEM education programmes and competitions.
- Creating the conditions for a broader cultural shift by engaging with artists and the wider culture sector through advocacy, relationship-building and convening e.g. providing sector-facing guidance on ethical sponsorship and fundraising.
- Strengthening the national and international ‘Fossil Free Culture’ movement, by resourcing and supporting allies across the wider movement.
Once in post, your role will likely mainly focus on two or three of the above areas depending on your skills, experience, interest and fit with the wider team. We would welcome ideas from you at the interview stage relating to any of our areas of work.
Key responsibilities
In this role you will be responsible for developing and implementing the campaign to end UK fossil fuel sponsorship of culture in collaboration with the rest of the team. Our work is often fast-paced and reactive, and key responsibilities include:
- Incorporating climate justice and solidarity principles into our work and creating opportunities to centre people on the front lines of climate justice and intersecting struggles;
- Contributing to research and investigations work to scrutinise fossil fuel companies’ sponsorship deals and business plans;
- Undertaking strategic media and communications work to ensure that fossil fuel sponsorship remains one of the most controversial debates within the culture sector and more widely, including pitching media stories, writing press releases, building relationships with key journalists in the mainstream and arts media, and producing public communications materials such as briefings, blogs and social media content;
- Direct engagement with decision-makers and regulatory bodies through, for example, written consultations, meetings, parliamentary events;
- Building relationships across the culture sector and with networks of NGOs, campaigners and frontline organisations, and working collaboratively with a range of organisations/contacts at significant campaign moments
- As a member of a Workers’ Co-operative you will also participate in decisions relating to overarching strategy and working conditions, as well as maintaining the effective running of the organisation.
About you
We are interested in your skills and potential for the role and realise that these may not come from formal educational qualifications or specific work experience, so please feel free to draw on any experience which has been gained in any informal, unpaid, self-directed or community-based settings to tell us why you’re right for the role. We understand you might not have direct experience of everything listed but if you feel you could be a good fit for our organisation, please do apply.
- You have a demonstrable commitment to climate justice and/or its intersecting struggles including decolonisation, anti-militarisation and broader social justice campaigns.
- You have experience of working as part of, or in solidarity with, communities on the front lines of social and/or environmental justice struggles, and/or groups which are under-represented in the climate justice movement.
- You’re inspired by art, culture and creativity with a strong understanding of the politics of the climate crisis and the dynamics of the fossil fuel industry’s ongoing role in driving it.
- You can develop and implement campaign strategies and/or action-focused research and investigations to bring about real-world change.
- You have strong written and oral communication skills in English, and can write and edit high quality briefings, punchy blogs, effective press releases and impactful social media posts, as well as undertaking and writing-up new research.
- You have the ability to quickly process information and translate it into new campaign strategies, tactics and materials, and some experience of successfully placing stories in the mainstream media, speaking to journalists or being a spokesperson;
- You enjoy working and taking decisions collaboratively and accountably as part of a small team in what is often a fast-paced environment, and are self-motivated with a high level of initiative and the ability to manage your work independently.
- You might (but not necessarily) also have a background, skills or experience in:
- Strategic communications or public affairs;
- Engaging decision makers in achieving policy change;
- Sectors where the fossil fuel industry is seeking to buy influence and social legitimacy such as the culture sector (live music, theatre, museums etc), science or STEM education.
- Experience of submitting successful funding applications and managing organisational finances.
Culture Unstained is a research, engagement and campaigning organisation which aims to end fossil fuel sponsorship of culture.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Bible Society is on a mission to increase Bible confidence in the Church and change the conversation about the Bible in culture. We are ambitious to see the Bible ‘translated’ into every part of life and society.
We see a huge mission opportunity in England and Wales and increasingly our attention is focused on growing Bible confidence in the Church and inviting the spiritually open to engage with what the Bible has to say in their own lives.
As Director of Domestic Mission you will be responsible for:
- Leading and implementing programmes to mobilise the domestic Church for Bible mission, and to enable spiritually open people to discover and engage with the Bible.
- Embedding a mission culture marked by prayerful humility, relational partnership and inter-confessional collaboration.
If you are content with the state of contemporary Christianity in modern society and the place of the Bible in popular culture, then this is not the role for you. On the other hand, if you are provoked and stirred by the confusion, misunderstanding and lack of knowledge about the Bible in society; if you know the transforming power of Scripture to bring us into an encounter with Jesus by the Holy Spirit and change our lives and relationships; and if you want to harness your excellent leadership, relationship-building and missional vision-casting skills to help mobilise a Bible movement in our generation, then we are excited to be talking to you.
We believe the Bible is God's gift to the world. We want everyone to discover its message for themselves.

