Programme Manager, Gifts & Bequests

Art Fund; London; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

Art Fund is seeking a Programme Manager for its Gifts and Bequests programme. This role involves managing relationships and complex cases, advising donors, and ensuring successful acquisitions for UK museums. Ideal candidates should have strong relationship management skills and an understanding of the UK's cultural institutions.

Benefits

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Free National Art Pass for you and a friend

Free entry to exhibitions

Life Assurance covering up to three times your salary

Season Ticket Loan

Pension scheme with employer contributions

Qualifications

• Excellent track record of managing complex relationships.
• Demonstrable research skills.
• Solid understanding of UK museums and galleries.

Responsibilities

• Manage relationships with donors, solicitors, and executors.
• Manage a portfolio of cases from singular works of art to large complex bequests.
• Undertake research on works of art of museum interest.

Skills

Relationship management

Research skills

Knowledge of UK museums and galleries

Job description

Contract length: 12 month FTC, full time

Other details: Salary - £36,400

Who are we?

Art Fund is the UK’s national fundraising charity for art. We give grants to help museums, galleries, historic houses and public arts organisations to acquire objects for their collections, to share them with as many people as possible, and to support research and training for museum professionals. We are supported by our growing membership of 135,000 through the National Art Pass, as well as the generosity of many individuals, trusts and foundations.

The role

We are looking for a Programme Manager, Gifts and Bequests to play a key role in the delivery of Art Fund's Gifts and Bequests programme.

Since it was founded in 1903, Art Fund has supported individuals to give works of art to museums and galleries, either in their lifetime or in their Will. Today, we facilitate the gifting of hundreds of works of art each year to public collections across the country. By gifting through Art Fund, donors benefit from our expert knowledge of UK collections, support with the administration of the gift as well as the security of Art Fund's terms and conditions.

This is an exciting and varied role where you will work directly with donors and museums to make these acquisitions happen, helping to grow and diversify UK collections.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Managing relationships with donors, solicitors and executors, providing clear advice and regular updates.

• Managing a portfolio of cases, from singular works of art to large complex bequests.

• Undertaking research on works of art to ascertain whether they might be of museum interest, and to advise donors on suitable homes.

• Support with additional casework for other Art Fund programmes where required.

The successful candidate will share Art Fund's belief in widening access to great art. You will have an excellent track record of managing complex relationships, as well as demonstrable research skills and a solid understanding of UK museums and galleries.

Key Employee Benefits

Generous Annual leave– 25 days annual leave and bank holidays, with additional non-contractual office closure dates at Christmas.

Free National Art Pass (NAP)- for yourself and another person of your choice.

Free Entry to Exhibitions

Life Assurance- cover for up to three times your basic salary.

Season Ticket Loan

Pensions- Eligible employees are enrolled into the scheme with the exception of those who have contracts of three months or less. Art Fund contributes 8% of the basic annual salary during the first six months of employment or until probation is successfully completed, whichever is the later. At that point the contribution is increased to 10%.

This post is London-based. We have a hybrid working model of minimum 2 days per week (for full time staff) at our King’s Cross office (2 Granary Square, London N1C 4BH).

Closing deadline: 23.59 on 30 June 2025

We are committed to building our team and trustees from the broad range of backgrounds and experiences across the UK, valuing difference and diversity, and building a workplace based on shared values of equality and mutual respect.

We have ambitious plans for the future and will be holding ourselves to account and putting our principles into action, as we all work together to help bring about positive change and a fairer future for everyone. We therefore want to encourage applications from all races, ages, religions and sexual orientations, as well as parents, veterans, people living with any kind of disabilities and any other groups that could bring diverse perspectives to our organisation.

Non-UK nationals will require current and valid permission to work in the UK.

Please note that any suspected use of AI in relation to answering sift questions will be marked down.

Please upload CV and cover letter into one document.