Fundraiser

National Galleries of Scotland; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

National Galleries of Scotland is seeking a confident Grants and Partnerships Officer to secure philanthropic income from trusts, foundations, and corporate partners. You will manage a defined portfolio and develop high-quality funding applications and sponsorship proposals that support our strategic priorities.

You’ll work across departments to turn complex ideas and financial information into fundable projects, ensuring submissions are well planned, insight-led, and aligned with funder

Qualifications

• Experience securing 5- and 6-figure funding from grant-giving organisations and/or corporate partners.
• Proven ability to develop high-quality grant applications and sponsorship proposals with input from multiple stakeholders.
• You’ll understand relationship-based fundraising and work with external funders and internal colleagues.
• Strong knowledge of budgeting and articulating impact in proposals.
• Ability to manage pipelines, funding opportunities and governance requirements.

Responsibilities

• Secure funding from trusts, foundations, and corporate partners.
• Manage a defined portfolio of opportunities and develop compelling funding applications and sponsorship proposals.
• Collaborate across departments to develop fundable projects and partnership propositions.
• Ensure submissions are well planned, insight-led and aligned with funder objectives.

Skills

Fundraising

Grant applications

Stakeholder management

Written communication

Budget analysis

Project management

Relationship building

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Spektrix

Job description

We have an exciting opportunity for a confident and collaborative fundraiser who knows how to build strong relationships and turn good ideas into compelling funding and partnership opportunities.

As our Grants and Partnerships Officer, you’ll help secure philanthropic income from trusts and foundations, corporate partners and sponsors. You’ll manage a defined portfolio of opportunities, developing high-quality funding applications and sponsorship proposals that support our strategic priorities.

We are looking for someone who brings experience of securing 5- and 6-figure funding, building relationships with funders or corporate partners, and working across a large and complex organisation. With this experience and excellent writing skills, you will be able to turn complex ideas, projects and financial information into clear and persuasive proposals.

You’ll be organised, collaborative and comfortable managing multiple opportunities, deadlines and funding cycles. Confident in managing structured processes and governance requirements, you’ll work across departments to develop fundable projects and partnership propositions, ensuring submissions are well planned, insight-led and aligned with funder or partner objectives.

Most importantly, you’ll enjoy building relationships, spotting opportunities and collaborating with colleagues to make great things happen, directly contributing to the sustainability and ambitions of the National Galleries of Scotland as part of a busy Development team.

Who we are looking for

To succeed in this role, you’ll need the following range of knowledge, skills, and experience:

• Experience of securing 5- and 6- figure funding from grant-giving organisations and/or corporate partners, funders or sponsors, ideally within a large or complex organisation.
• Proven experience of developing high-quality grant applications and/or corporate sponsorship proposals that require coordinated input from multiple internal stakeholders.
• You’ll understand relationship-based fundraising and be confident working with external funders, corporate partners and senior internal colleagues.
• Good knowledge of project design and co-creation principles, including setting outcomes and articulating impact and theory of change within funding proposals.
• Understanding of sponsorship principles, including how corporate partners assess value, brand alignment and audience reach, and how sponsorship outcomes and benefits can be defined and measured.
• Awareness of the importance of due diligence, ethical assessment and reputational risk considerations in relation to funding or sponsorship opportunities.
• Strong organisational and project management skills, with the ability to work on multiple funding, partnership or sponsorship opportunities concurrently.
• Excellent written communication skills, with the ability to translate complex organisational activity into clear, persuasive funding and partnership proposals and reports.
• Confidence working within established processes and systems to manage pipelines, reporting and performance.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively across teams and departments in a matrixed or institution-wide setting.
• High attention to detail, professionalism and discretion when handling sensitive information and relationships.
• Solid understanding of budgets, with the ability to analyse financial information and incorporate it into proposals and funding strategies.

It would also be great if you have:

• Experience fundraising in the arts, culture, heritage or education sectors.
• Familiarity with capital, programme or multi-year project funding.
• Experience using Spektrix or a comparable CRM system.
• Enthusiasm for the mission and work of the National Galleries of Scotland.

The closing date for applications is 12 noon on Thursday, 01 October 2026.