Job Description

As the living, growing home of our national story, The National Archives is a special place to work. We’re an institution nearly 200 years old with a collection spanning 1,000 years of history.

We’ve set ourselves the challenge of becoming the 21st Century national archive - a different kind of cultural and heritage institution: Inclusive, Entrepreneurial, Disruptive. We won’t become this overnight. It will take time, focus, effort and daring.

That’s where you come in. Because we can’t do this without you.

Job Overview

Salary: £40,853 per annum

Contract type: Permanent

Band: F / Senior Executive Officer

Closing date: Wednesday 7th October 2026 at midnight

About us

The Philanthropy Manager will sit within The National Archives’ Research, Grants and Academic Engagement department, the central locus for our: 

1. Research strategy and delivery 
2. Research impact, culture and engagement
3. Grant fundraising and philanthropy
4. Management and assurance of external funding 
5. Grant-making to the archives and GLAM sectors. 

The National Archives has a strong track record of securing external funding and holds a grant portfolio of over £16m. Our per-annum grant income has grown by nearly 500% since 2022-23, and in April 2026, we consolidated our fundraising operations with The National Archives Trust. The National Archives has a strategic priority to secure new charitable and philanthropic funding, and this post is one of three new roles being advertised in Autumn 2026 to deliver on that goal. We want to grow our research income, including particularly beyond the arts and humanities; reach a wider breadth of funders both nationally and internationally; and raise our profile, through more creative and targeted public engagement and learning programmes with national reach.

About the role

The National Archives (TNA) is looking for an experienced Philanthropy Manager to work within its newly established Philanthropy team. Reporting to the Head of Philanthropy, the Philanthropy Manager will play an important role in shaping this new business function, working to grow the profile of The National Archives in the philanthropic community and generate donor income. They will build meaningful and sustainable donor relationships that enable exceptional projects across the breadth of The National Archives’ work.

The Philanthropy Manager will independently build and manage a portfolio of donors and prospects at various stages of cultivation and stewardship. Working collaboratively with colleagues across a range of disciplines, the Philanthropy Manager will develop compelling proposals to secure major gifts that support The National Archives’ strategic vision.

This will include generating income for strategic multi-year programmes, as well as annual priority projects, such as exhibitions, digitisation and conservation. Working closely with the Grant Development team, the Philanthropy Manager will coordinate approaches and share intelligence to ensure a strategic approach to achieving shared goals.

The Philanthropy Manager will develop and deliver cultivation and stewardship activities to bring donors and prospects close to The National Archives’ collection, activities and staff expertise. They will identify bespoke opportunities to steward and recognise donors during delivery of funded projects, develop engaging and timely progress reports and work closely with project teams to monitor projects and ensure accurate financial reporting.

The postholder will work closely with The National Archives Trust, a registered charity that supports The National Archives to engage and educate the public, and conserve and preserve the collection. The Philanthropy Officer will also work with the Grant Development team to achieve shared goals.

This is a full time post. However, requests for part-time working, flexible working and job share will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the Department.

A combination of onsite and home working is available and applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site for a minimum of 60% of their work time.

Application Process:

We ask all applicants to submit work history details and a personal statement addressing the 4 criteria below:

• Graduate-level education or equivalent experience, with excellent written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to translate complex information to compelling cases for support.
• Proven experience in securing five- and six-figure gifts from family trusts and foundations and/or high-net-worth individuals within an arts, culture and heritage organisation.
• Outstanding relationship management skills, with proven experience of managing senior donor relationships, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders, and of coaching and supporting senior staff and Trustees in donor engagement.
• Ability to work independently, maintain momentum across a variety of tasks and meet multiple and simultaneous deadlines.

Selection for interview will be based on these 4 criteria so please ensure that your application demonstrates in detail how you meet these requirements. You may find it helpful to use each criteria as a subheading, or to use the STAR method to structure your statement.

If we receive a large number of applications candidates will initially be assessed on one criteria:

• Proven experience in securing five- and six-figure gifts from family trusts and foundations and/or high-net-worth individuals within an arts, culture and heritage organisation.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.  Please visit the Civil Service Careers website where you can find further information on the use of AI in the application guidance section.

Interviews will be held on-site in October 2026.

Applicants invited to interview will be assessed against ALL of the essential criteria (see full job description below).

We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Job Description

Role and Responsibilities

• Cultivate and manage a portfolio of major gift donors, generating philanthropic income for The National Archives’ strategic priorities and meeting KPIs as agreed with the Head of Research, Grants and Academic Engagement and Head of Philanthropy.
• Contribute to the development of the Philanthropy team as new business function, working with the Head of Philanthropy and Head of Research, Grants and Academic Engagement to proactively identify, design and deliver initiatives which mature the Philanthropy team’s processes, policies and ways of working.
• Identify, research and qualify prospects, building a pipeline of donors with capacity and affinity to support The National Archives, assessing opportunities and determining engagement strategies to maximise philanthropic income.
• Manage the development of compelling funding proposals, collaborating with colleagues across The National Archives to ideate and shape initiatives that align with organisational strategy and the needs and interests of donors.
• Devise and deliver creative donor engagement opportunities through supporter groups and campaigns, identifying high-potential fundraising opportunities across the breadth of The National Archives’ activity.
• Plan and deliver bespoke cultivation and stewardship events and private tours to engage prospects and donors.
• Be responsible for donor due diligence, continuing to develop a donor acceptance policy for The National Archives, evaluating information and managing risk and opportunity in securing new funding in line with agreed frameworks.
• Manage the development of high-quality progress reports on funded projects in collaboration with project delivery teams, and identify stewardship opportunities to deliver an engaging donor experience.
• Work closely with the Projects and Process team to monitor funded projects, ensure compliance with funding agreements, deliver accurate and timely financial reporting and lead the identification, analysis and resolution of issues that may impact successful delivery.
• Manage the creation of a Development Forum of major philanthropic supporters and patrons, identifying potential members, providing high-quality stewardship and creating meeting agendas and papers.
• Work collaboratively and strategically with the Grant Development team to coordinate approaches, share intelligence and achieve shared goals.
• Liaise with The National Archives Trust and the Friends of The National Archives at operational and board level, contributing to a positive working relationship in pursuit of shared strategic and fundraising goals.
• Ensure accurate and comprehensive donor records are maintained on The National Archives’ CRM database, including information on prospects, donors, proposals, stewardship and gifts.

The post-holder may be required to undertake any other duties which may be reasonably requested within the nature of the duties and responsibilities of the post as defined.

Working Conditions

• Normal office environment
• Display Screen Equipment user

Person Specification

• Graduate-level education or equivalent experience, with excellent written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to translate complex information to compelling cases for support.
• Proven experience in securing five- and six-figure gifts from family trusts and foundations and/or high-net-worth individuals within an arts, culture and heritage organisation.
• Resourceful and proactive, with the ability to work creatively to develop stewardship and cultivation plans and refine future activities based on an understanding of what works.
• Outstanding relationship management skills, with proven experience of managing senior donor relationships, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders, and of coaching and supporting senior staff and Trustees in donor engagement.
• Ability to work independently, maintain momentum across a variety of tasks and meet multiple and simultaneous deadlines.
• Proficiency in using a CRM database for fundraising and Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Passion for arts, culture and heritage, with an ability to advocate for the work of The National Archives including at senior levels.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of working on a capital campaign.
• Experience of legacy fundraising.

Other Requirements

• A combination of onsite and home working is available and applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site. Our expectation is that 60% of our time is spent in the office or working offsite (e.g. on visits), with 40% being from home.
• Requirement to work flexibly, including attendance at evening events and occasional travel.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is

found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service

D&I Strategy.

Benefits

Generous benefits package, including pension, sports and social club facilities, onsite gym, discounted rates at our on-site cafe and opportunities for training and development. Annual leave entitlement of 22 days per calendar year (rising to 25 after the first year, and incrementally to 30 days after six years) and 10½ days public and privilege holidays per annum.

Any move to The National Archives from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at  https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/ (opens in new window)

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact The National Archives via careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs
• Complete the ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ section of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional

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Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks (opens in new window)

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code  (opens in new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. (opens in new window)

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. (opens in new window)

Contact point for applicants:

• Name: The National Archives Recruitment Team
• Email: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact The National Archives via email: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-complaints/ (opens in new window)