Head of Fundraising & Partnerships

Hours: 3 days (22.5 hrs) a week

The role will require additional hours during the three annual Festivals (up to 40 hours per week) including evenings and weekends. Time off in lieu will be given for these additional hours, largely to be taken in August (during the Festival’s annual office closure).

Salary: £40,000 (£24,000 pro rata)

Location: Lichfield

Responsible to: Festival Director and Board

Benefits: Flexible and hybrid working, subject to agreement and policy. On-the-ground presence required in Lichfield during the Summer Festival, the March Literature Festival and the October Chamber Music Festival.

About the Role

Lichfield Festival delivers 90+ diverse, high-quality performances every year alongside an extensive Learning & Participation (L & P) programme. With less than 50% of our income being derived from ticket sales, our ability to build and maintain proactive partnerships with corporate sponsors, HNW individuals and advertisers is crucial.

Our Head of Fundraising & Partnerships therefore needs to have excellent communication and relationship-building skills, a successful track record in sales/fundraising, an understanding of the business landscape in the Midlands and a genuine passion for the creative arts.

Lichfield Festival Background

Lichfield Festival is a registered charity, founded in 1981 by the Dean of Lichfield to promote arts and culture. Over the last 45 years it has grown into a flagship 12-day multi-arts Festival, a Literature Festival in the Spring, a Chamber Music Festival in the Autumn and ad hoc festive concerts come December.

Our small, staff team deliver 90+ diverse, high-quality performances across mainstream, contemporary and classical genres. From comedy to classical music, dance to drama, folk to family events, recent past performers have included Tony Hadley, Kate Rusby, The Unthanks, Mark Watson, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, KT Tunstall, Ballet Cymru, Tenebrae, Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Nitin Sawhney, Eddi Reader, Mica Paris, the London Community Gospel Choir, Alison Weir, Tracy Borman, Paul Johnson, Pierre Novellie and Justin Webb.

In addition, Aspire! our year-round Learning & Participation (L & P) programme works with schools, businesses and local community groups on a wide range of imaginative and inspirational projects expanding, free cultural engagement across the region.

Less than 50% of our revenue is derived from ticket sales, the rest being made up by corporate sponsorship, individual donors, advertising and other ad hoc revenue streams. Lichfield Festival Friends also provides financial support through their membership scheme and independent fundraising.

Impact

Lichfield Festival brings world-class performances and community events to our historic City each year, increasing access to the arts and uniting hearts and minds in the universal language of music. It boosts the visitor economy and plays an integral role in social well-being – breaking down barriers, bridging cultural and economic divides and bringing communities together.

In 2025, audience numbers increased by over 15%, whilst Aspire! continued to grow with the launch of Young Creatives and a revamped Young Critics scheme. In addition, 300 local primary school children are now receiving free instrumental music lessons as our Music in Schools project has gained traction.

Read our full impact reports at https://lichfieldfestival.org/join-us/our-impact-in-2025/

Staffing Structure

You would be working in a small team of four part-time staff under the direction of the Festival Director and the Board. The other three members of staff being the Festival Producer, the Box Office & Volunteer Manager and the L&P Producer.

With such a limited workforce, you need to be capable of working effectively on your own, as well as being a committed team player ready to support your colleagues as needed.

Job Specification

The Head of Fundraising & Partnerships will manage and maintain relationships with the Festival’s current corporate partners and HNW individual sponsors, and work to build new partnerships. They will have an innovative approach in finding new streams of income generation and be confident in making the ask to secure advertising revenue to support the Festival throughout the year and across the full range of its output.

Responsibilities

A. Deliver agreed corporate fundraising target by:

• Finding companies whose values and objectives align with our criteria and demographic
• Securing first meetings with new prospects
• Preparing impactful presentations to engage potential partners
• Negotiating and finalising partnership agreements
• Nurturing our current partners and, through great account management, turning them into multi-year, long-term relationships
• Delivering against partnership agreements, particularly during the Summer Festival
• Initiating annual account reviews to showcase activation and partnership results
• Using these reviews to build a bank of corporate case studies

B. Build in-kind corporate partnerships that deliver added value for the Festival

• Aim to maintain current partnerships in this area and win new ones that deliver added value – e.g. the costs of in-kind advertising that the Festival would otherwise have to incur as a cost in the P&L

C. Deliver agreed HNW Individuals fundraising target by:

• Continuing to love and build relationships with the Lichfield Festival Friends, many of whom are HNW Individuals and current sponsors
• Getting to know individual sponsors and their artistic preferences
• Stewarding sponsors at Festival events
• Creating unexpected touch points throughout the year to strengthen relationships
• Continuing to develop and implement individual crowdfunding campaigns e.g. ‘Adopt an Instrument’ and the ‘88 Key Club’ that encourage participation for those on varying income levels
• In the longer-term, working with the Festival Chair to explore how the Festival can build its base of supporters

D. Deliver agreed advertising revenue target

• Through securing paid advertisements in the Festival booking brochure, Festival Programme, on the Festival website and via the Festival flagpoles

E. Report on all fundraising income streams to include:

• Corporate revenue
• HNW Individual giving
• Trusts and Grants (managed by someone else in the team)
• Advertising revenue

Reports should be provided via monthly reports to the Chair/Board and Festival Director, and quarterly attendance at Festival Board meetings. Reports should cover actuals vs. target (and vs. YoY), with variances, and future risks and opportunities quantified.

F. Raise all corporate partnership and advertising revenue invoices

This should be done in a timely manner in conjunction with the Festival’s accountant, with responsibility for following up on any overdue invoices to secure payment. Income should also be reconciled with the Festival’s accountant for year-end.

G. Produce the Festival’s Impact Report

• Collate content including photographs, information on key marketing/CSR metrics from the Annual Audience Survey and the Festival’s marketing, website and volunteer leads, and partner testimonials/case studies
• Work with one of the Festival’s corporate partners to design the report to be published online in January every year, in line with the Festival’s accounts

Person Specification

Essential

• Fundraising or sales experience
• Knowledge of the business landscape in the Midlands
• Experience of delivering presentations, one-to-one or to a large audience
• Comfortable making the ask
• Negotiation skills
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills
• Organisational skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office – in particular PowerPoint, Excel and Word

Desirable

• Experience in securing and developing 5-figure corporate partnerships
• A minimum of three years account management experience
• Knowledge of the arts e.g. industry trends, key organisations, events
• Evidence of CPD, either in fundraising or business
• A driving licence or the ability to travel within the Midlands

Personal Attributes

• A genuine passion for the creative arts
• Great relationship-builder
• Emotional intelligence
• Confident
• Self-motivated
• Driven
• Team player

Recruitment Process

Applications will close on Saturday 1st August.

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 11th August. Please let us know in your letter of application if this clashes with holiday commitments and we will liaise to arrange an alternative date.

To apply for this role please send a CV and cover letter (maximum 2 pages) to helen.wiser@lichfieldfestival.org.

If you are interested in this role but would like an informal conversation prior to applying, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

No agencies please.