At a Glance
- Tasks: Build and cultivate relationships with donors, leading solicitations for five and six-figure gifts.
- Company: The London Library, founded in 1841, is a historic lending library located in St James's Square.
- Benefits: Enjoy full borrowing access to the collection and online resources, plus a competitive salary of c.£50,000 pro-rata.
- Other info: This role supports an £8 million capital campaign aimed at transforming library spaces.
- Why this job: Join a supportive team focused on major gifts, with an established pipeline ready for engagement.
- Qualifications: Proven track record in securing five and six-figure gifts and excellent proposal-writing skills required.
The predicted salary is between 50000 - 50000 £ per year.
Location: London SW1Y 4LG | Salary: c.£50,000 pro-rata + benefits (Full-time / 0.8 FTE) | Closing date: Rolling applications (only CV required)
About the London Library
Founded in 1841 on the initiative of Thomas Carlyle, The London Library has spent more than 180 years as one of the world's great lending libraries and a home for everyone who loves the written word. From our building in St James's Square, our home since 1845, members can browse around a million books across seventeen miles of open-access shelves, with works dating from the sixteenth century to the present and almost all free to borrow and take home. We are an independent registered charity, supported by our members rather than the state. Our purpose is a simple one: the advancement of education, learning and knowledge. Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf and T.S. Eliot all wrote within our walls and today, around 7,500 members continue that tradition alongside a growing programme of events and access initiatives that open our collections to new audiences. Having cleared our operating deficit and grown our membership, we have now embarked on an ambitious capital campaign to transform our spaces for the readers still to come.
About the role
This is a rare major giving role in which the hard groundwork is already done. The strategy is in place and delivering results; operations, stewardship, prospecting and support are all set up; and a substantial pipeline of warm prospects is ready and waiting. You will join a brilliant, supportive team with a strong events programme already running, so your focus can fall where it matters most: building relationships with donors and making the ask. Reporting to the Director of Development, your gifts will fuel both our everyday revenue and our £8 million capital campaign.
- Build, cultivate and steward warm relationships across a substantial existing prospect pipeline.
- Lead solicitations through to five and six-figure gifts for revenue and the capital campaign.
- Make the ask with confidence, matching each donor's interests to the Library's priorities.
- Tailor persuasive proposals and a compelling case for support for every conversation.
- Identify and recruit campaign champions who can open doors and advocate for the Library.
- Brief Trustees and colleagues ahead of meetings and report progress to the Committee.
Like all our staff, you will also enjoy full borrowing use of the collection, up to ten books at a time, plus our online resources.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for an experienced major gifts fundraiser who loves the relationship and relishes the ask and who can turn a deep regard for the Library into lasting philanthropic support. With the strategy, systems and pipeline already in place, this is a role for someone who wants to focus on donors rather than infrastructure.
- A proven track record of securing five and six-figure gifts within revenue or capital fundraising.
- The confidence to work an established pipeline and convert warm prospects into committed donors.
- Outstanding relationship and influencing skills with donors, Trustees and senior volunteers.
- Excellent proposal-writing skills and a talent for shaping a persuasive case for support.
- Confident use of a fundraising CRM and careful handling of confidential donor information.
It would be a bonus if you:
- Share a genuine love of literature, reading and writing.
- Have run successful donor cultivation events, or worked with Microsoft Dynamics.
Above all, you will be motivated by the chance to help secure the future of one of the world's great literary institutions.
Senior Development Manager in City of Westminster employer: The London Library
The London Library is an independent charity with a rich history, located in London SW1Y 4LG. Employees enjoy benefits like full access to a vast collection of books and a strong events programme, contributing to the advancement of education and knowledge.
